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How this guide works...

This guide is not a revision guide – that comes later down the line – this instead is a

booklet for exam questions – fun right?

There is method in this though – AQA are unlikely to re-invent the wheel too much,

and so if you practice enough questions, a part of them is likely to reappear, or at

the very least you’ll get higher confidence with answering exam questions.

Some of these questions will be used in class, some will be used for homework,

some will be left and you may wish to do in your own revision. Either way – you do

them, I mark them, you respond / improve and then I remark.

The next six pages are the best places to start they talk about what the exam will

look like, what the exam board say you should know for this unit, a small guide to

the types of questions there are on GCSE geography exams and how to answer

them and finally a list of command words.

Any questions...

...please ask!

What will my exam look like? You will have two exams, both will last 1 and a half hours and will be made up of 2 sections – the helpful diagram below will

explain everything.

Physical Geography - 1 and 1/2 hours

long

Section A

Q1 - Restless Earth

Section B

Q5 - Water on the Land

Q6 - Ice on the Land

Human Geography - 1 and 1/2 hours

long

Section A

Q2 - Changing Urban

Environments

Section B

Q4 - Development

Gap Q6 - Tourism

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What does the exam board expect me to know for the Restless Earth Section?

You should know and understand: ✓

What a tectonic plate is and where they are

What the difference between continental and oceanic tectonic

plates are

What happens at the destructive, constructive and conservative

plate margins (boundaries)

The sorts of landforms that are found at plate margins like fold

mountains, ocean trenches, composite volcanoes and shield

volcanoes

A case study of how one range of fold mountains are used

Volcanoes – the characteristics of shield and composite volcanoes

A case study of a volcanic eruption – it’s cause, primary and

secondary effects, positive and negative impacts, immediate and

long term responses

How can volcanic eruptions be monitored and predicted for

The characteristics and likely effects of a Supervolcano

The locations and causes of earthquakes, its features (epicentre,

focus, shock waves) and how earthquakes are measured.

How countries can predict, protect and prepare for earthquakes

and why this is important.

TWO case studies of an earthquake – one in an MDC and one in a

LDC – their specific causes, primary and secondary effects,

immediate and long term responses and the differences between

them.

A case study of a tsunami – its cause, effects and responses.

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The really helpful bit

In GCSE geography there are two types of questions – short answer questions

(worth 1, 2 or 3 marks) and longer answer questions (worth 4, 6 or 8 marks). This

help guide should help you recognise the difference between the two and how to

answer each type of question.

Short Answer Questions (worth 1, 2, or 3 marks)

These questions are point marked. This means that the examiner will give you a

mark for each point that you make and explain (if the question asks for it).

Before answering the question you should read it carefully. It might be worth

highlighting or circling what the command words are and then underline what

topic the question actually is asking for.

A few quick points:

- Make sure you give / answer the correct number of points for the marks that

the question is worth.

- Make sure you introduce your answer – it only takes a few words and shows

the examiner you know what you’re talking about. Avoid starting any

sentence with words like it or they. A better example would be “An MDC is a

more developed country”

Long Answer Questions (worth 4, 6, or 8 marks)

These questions are level marked. This means that the examiner will read all of

your answer and then decide on a level to give you. In 4 or 6 mark questions the

maximum level you can get is level 2, in an 8 mark questions the maximum level is

level 3.

On your human geography paper for your 8 mark questions there is 3 extra marks

awarded for your spelling punctuation and grammar. The table below shows what

you need to do to get these extra marks.

Threshold performance

(1 mark)

- You spell, use punctuation and use the rules of grammar with reasonable accuracy.

- Any mistakes do not stop the examiner understanding what you meant in your response.

- You use a limited range of key words appropriately.

Intermediate performance

(2 marks)

- You spell, use punctuation and use the rules of grammar with considerable accuracy

- The examiner has a good idea of what you mean in your answer. - You use a good range of key words appropriately.

High performance

(3 marks)

- You spell, use punctuation and use the rules of grammar with consistent accuracy.

- The examiner has no trouble understanding what you mean in your answer.

- You use a wide range of specialist terms adeptly and with precision.

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The examiner is looking for what are called ‘linked statements’ to give you the

higher levels, and therefore higher marks.

Linked statements are sentences with developed explanation, statistics or

examples in your answer that prove your point.

What the examiner is looking for at each level is shown in the table below along

with some example sentences to help.

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

Basic knowledge with little or no detail showing very simple understanding. There is little organisation of the answer and few key words.

Clear knowledge with clear and developing understanding and explanation shown. Some examples are used along with key words.

Detailed knowledge with clear and detailed understanding and explanation. Examples are used to answer the question with explanation and a wide range of key words are also used.

Lots of people die in poorer countries die in earthquakes.

Lots of people die in earthquakes in LDCs because there is likely to be less emergency services.

Lots of people die in earthquakes in poorer countries because there is likely to be less effective emergency services. This is because there is less money to pay for training for them, or give them good equipment. This means that less people will be saved and therefore more people will die.

A good 4 step plan to remember when writing a longer answer essay question is:

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Exam Command Words

These are sometimes called trigger words – they should trigger you into knowing

what the question is asking of you. But sometimes people can get confused as to

what they need to do to answer the question effectively.

The table below shows you the most often used command words and what they

mean. They are in an order with most often used ones first.

Command Word

Definition

Describe Give a detailed version of what happens / has happened.

Give Use words like because in your answer as you will be explaining how or why something is that way.

Discuss Explore the subject by looking at its advantages and disadvantages (i.e. for and against). Attempt to come to some sort of judgement.

Explain Describe, giving reasons and causes.

Define Give the meaning. This should be short.

Outline Concentrate on the main bits of the topic or item. Ignore the minor detail.

Evaluate / Assess

Give an opinion by exploring the good and bad points. It’s a bit like asking you to assess something. Attempt to support your argument with expert opinion.

Factors Not strictly a command word – but it can come up – where a question asks about factors it means give the facts, reasons or circumstances that can make something happen.

Identify Recognise, prove something as being certain.

Compare / Contrast

Show the similarities / Show the differences (but you can also point out the other side of the argument).

Analyse Explore the main ideas of the subject, show they are important and how they are related.

Comment Discuss the subject, explain it and give an opinion on it.

Justify Give a good reason for offering an opinion.

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2010 1 (a) Study Figure 1 below which shows the earth’s tectonic plates and the places where

earthquakes occur worldwide.

Figure 1

1 (a) (i) Describe the distribution of earthquakes. (3 marks)

Response

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1 (a) (ii) Draw a labelled diagram(s) to explain why earthquakes occur at conservative

plate boundaries. (4 marks)

Response

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1 (b) Study Figure 2, below, a 1:50 000 Ordnance Survey map extract of Market Rasen, Lincolnshire. An earthquake struck Market Rasen on 27 February 2008.

Figure 3 on the next page is a sketch map drawn from Figure 2.

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1 (b) (i) The epicentre of the earthquake was 4 km north of the railway station in Market Rasen. On Figure 3, mark the position of the epicentre with the letter X.

(2 marks)

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1 (b) (ii) Damage was reported to Legsby parish church in grid square 1385 and to chimneys of houses at grid reference 108892. On Figure 3, draw two arrows to show where this damage occurred. Label these arrows with the correct letters Y and Z from the key.

(3 marks)

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1 (b) (iii) The earthquake measured 5.2 on the Richter Scale. With the help of Figure 2 and your own knowledge, explain why the damage was limited. (4 marks)

Response

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1 (c) Use a case study to describe the responses to a tsunami. (9 marks)

Response

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2011 1 (a) Give two differences between continental crust and oceanic crust. (2 marks)

Response

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1 (b) (i) Study Figure 1 below, a photograph of Mount Vesuvius, a volcano in Italy. Draw a labelled sketch of Figure 1 to show the characteristics of this volcano. (3 marks)

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1 (b) (ii) Explain how volcanoes form at constructive plate margins. (4 marks)

Response

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1 (c) (i) Describe the size and shape of a Supervolcano (2 marks)

Response

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1 (c) (ii) Describe the likely worldwide effects of a supervolcano eruption. (6 marks)

Response

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1 (d) Study Figure 2 below, photographs of how people use fold mountains. With the help of Figure 2 and a case study of a fold mountain range, describe how people use fold mountains. (8 marks)

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Response

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2012 1 (a) Study Figure 1 below, a map showing the locations of young fold mountains and ocean trenches.

1 (a) (i) Describe the location of ocean trenches. (2 marks)

Response

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1 (a) (ii) With the help of a diagram(s), explain the formation of young fold mountains and ocean trenches. (8 marks)

Response

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1 (b) Outline how the Richter scale is used to measure earthquakes. (3 marks)

Response

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1 (c) What is the difference between the focus and the epicentre of an earthquake? (2 marks)

Response

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1 (d) Study Figure 2 below, which shows characteristics of the L’Aquila, Italy earthquake in April 2009, and the Haiti earthquake in January 2010.

Compare and/or contrast the characteristics of the two earthquakes. (4 marks)

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Response

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1 (e) Describe how the effects of an earthquake in a richer area of the world are different from the effects of an earthquake in a poorer area of the world. (6 marks)

Response

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2013 1 (a) Study Figure 1, a map showing the earth’s tectonic plates and margins (boundaries).

1 (a) (i) With the help of Figure 1, outline differences between constructive and destructive plate margins (3 marks)

Response

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1 (a) (ii) Give one example of a conservative plate margin shown in Figure 1. (1 mark)

Response

1 (b) Outline the characteristics of a shield volcano. (2 marks)

Response

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1 (c) Explain the formation of a composite volcano. (4 marks)

Response

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1 (d) Describe how volcanoes are monitored so that people can prepare for an eruption. (4 marks)

Response

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1 (e) Study Figures 2a and 2b below, information about the Japanese earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011.

Use Figures 2a and 2b to explain the cause of the Japanese tsunami. (3 marks)

Response

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1 (f) Use a case study to describe the effects of a tsunami. (8 marks)

Response

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2014 1 (a) 1 (a) Study Figure 1, a table showing the largest and deadliest earthquakes from 2008 to 2012.

1 (a) (i) To what extent is there a relationship between the largest and deadliest earthquakes shown in Figure 1? (3 marks)

Response

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1 (a) (ii) Outline one reason why the largest earthquakes do not always cause the most deaths. (2 marks)

Response

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1 (b) Draw an annotated diagram to explain why earthquakes occur at destructive plate margins. (4 marks)

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1 (c) Study Figures 2a, 2b and 2c below, photographs showing responses to the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2010.

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Use Figures 2a, 2b and 2c and your own knowledge to describe how the three Ps (predict, protect and prepare) can help to reduce the effects of earthquakes. (8 marks)

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Response

1 (d) (i) What are fold mountains? (2 marks)

Response

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1 (d) (ii) Use a case study to describe how people use fold mountains. (6 marks)

Response

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2015 1 (a) Describe the characteristics of oceanic crust. (3 marks)

Response

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1 (b) Study Figure 1 below, a map showing the world distribution of volcanoes. Describe the world distribution of volcanoes. (3 marks)

Response

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1 (c) Study Figure 2 below, a photograph of Eyjafjallajökull, a volcano in Iceland.

1 (c) (i) Draw a labelled sketch cross section to show the characteristics of this volcano. (3 marks)

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1 (c) (ii) Use a case study to discuss the immediate and long-term responses to a volcanic eruption. (8 marks)

Response

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1 (d) Study Figure 3 on the insert, a map showing the Yellowstone supervolcano in the USA.

1 (d) (i) Use information in Figure 3 to complete the table below. (2 marks)

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1 (d) (ii) How is a supervolcano different from a volcano? (2 marks)

Response

1 (d) (iii) Describe the likely global consequences of a supervolcano eruption. (4 marks)

Response

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