Active recall questions Geography for exam

Section 1(Coastal environments)

1. Name the 2 types of waves. Give 2 characteristic for each wave type.
2. What does Fetch mean?
3. What does prevailing wind mean?
4. What is swash and backwash?
5. Give the 4 types of coastal erosion and describe them in detail.
6. Give the 3 types of weathering erosion and describe them in detail.
7. Give the 4 types of transportation of material and describe them in detail.
8. Describe the process of longshore drift.
9. How does erosional landform occur?
10. What are 2 differences between bays and headlands?
11. Give 4 types of coastal landforms. Then describe how each of them are formed.
12. How are beaches, bars and spits formed?
13. What is a tombolo?
14. What are the 4 factors affecting the coastal environment?
15. What is a salt marsh and what is its function?
16. Name the 5 types of sand dunes in order from the youngest to oldest, then explain what is
its function?
17. What are mangroves, give 2 advantages and 1 disadvantage of using mangroves.
18. Where do mangroves, sand dunes and salt marshes like to live in.
19. What are the 2 main causes of coastal flooding and describe how each of them occur.
20. Give 1 prediction and 2 preventions of coastal flooding.
21. Name all the types of hard engineering
22. Name all the types of soft engineering.
23. What is wave rarefaction?
24. What are the 3 types of mass movement? Explain them.
25. Explain how these 3 occur.
26. Explain 3 factors affecting the coastline.
27. What are the main features of a rising sea level?
28. Explain the 6 factors that coral reefs require to grow.
29. What are the 4 benefits of coral reefs?
30. What are the 4 main human threats to the mangrove ecosystem?
31. What are the 3 best conditions for sand dune to develop?
32. How are sand dunes formed?
33. Give 3 benefits of sand dunes.
34. Give 5 features of sand dunes.
35. Give 5 threats to sand dunes.
36. Explain the 4 threats to salt marshes.
37. Explain the 3 stores in a coral reef ecosystem.
38. Who are the stakeholders and what are their needs? Explain 8.
39. Why is there conflict at the coast. Give an example.
40. Describe 7 ways to prevent coastal flooding.
41. Explain the 5 types of hard engineering.
42. Explain the 3 types of soft engineering.
43. Describe the 4 types of shoreline management plan.
44. Give 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages of beach replenishment.
45. Give 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages of cliff regrading.
46. Give 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages of sand dune regeneration.
47. Give 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages of managed retreat.
48. Give 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages of groynes.
49. Give 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages of revetments.
50. Give 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages of sea walls.
51. Give 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages of gabions.
52. Give 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages of rip rap

Answers for section 1:

1. Constructive and destructive waves.
Constructive have a strong swash and a weak wash and destructive have a weak wash and
strong backwash.
2. Fetch is the direction of the wind blowing on the surface of the sea creation waves. The
longer the fetch the bigger the waves.
3. Prevailing wind the direction that the wind blows at a beach.
4. Swash is the movement of the wave towards the beach and vice versa.
5. Hydraulic action-The strong powerful waves hit a hole or a crack in a cliff which pushes the
air and compresses it meaning that it forces the cliff to open the crack even more.
Attrition-Waves smash rocks and pebbles on the shore into each other meaning that they
break and become smoother.
Solution-water from the sea dissolves the soft rock in the cliff because of the acidity of the
water.
Abrasion- Bits of rocks and sand the are transported in the wave that when the wave hits
the cliff it grinds down the cliff like sandpaper.
6. Biological weathering- When a plant grows on a rock and the roots grown on the rock which
make small cracks that make the rock weaker. As the roots grow the rocks become weaker
and weaker eventually leading to the rock braking.
Chemical weathering-Acid rain dissolves the surface of the cliff which is soft rock.
Freeze-thaw weathering-When water from the rain or sea stays in a small crack and the
temperatures drop the water turns into ice meaning that it expands the crack.
7. Solution-When soft rocks are dissolved by the water and then are carried out by the acid
Suspension-Small particles such as silts and clay are transported in the water.
Saltation-when large sediment bounce along the seabed.
Traction-when pebbles or small rocks are rolled along the seabed.
8. The movement of materials such as sediment along a coast that comes from waves at an
angle due to the prevailing wind, but it recedes directly backwards due to gravity.
9. Erosional landforms occur when a cliff with soft rock and hard rock has destructive waves
which erode the soft rocks leaving the hard rocks making bays and clays.
10. Bays are made from soft rocks while headlands are made from hard rocks. Bays are inwards
the coast and vice versa.
11. There is the fault which is formed largely by hydraulic action and abrasion. Then there is a
cave which is the continuation of the fault. The there is an arch then a stack and then a
stump
12. Beaches are formed in sheltered environments such as bays where the swash is stronger
than the backwash meaning that deposition occurs.
 13. It is a bar that goes from an island and stretches to another.
14. Type of rock
Type of weather
Amount of vegetation
Amount of human interference
15. A unique ecosystem containing mudflats and silt in a sheltered are near the coastline. It also
contains vegetation with salt water to create animal habitat.
16. Embryo dunes, foredunes, main ridge, fixed dune, and dune heath
17. A tree or shrub which grows in tidal, chiefly tropical, coastal swamps, having numerous
tangled roots that grow above ground and form dense thickets. A tree or a shrub that grows
in tidal tropical coastal swamps where the water is saline. They grow above the water and
form very thick thickets. One advantage is that they provide habitat to commercial fish and
shellfish. Another advantage is that they absorb the energy and water when there are
storms with big waves. One disadvantage is that mangroves look bad and smell bad meaning
that it is not attractive.
18. They like to live in the coast.
19. One cause is global warming because as earth temperature increases so does the water
meaning that it rises and is more likely to cause flooding.
20. Natural events such as tsunamis which are big waves metres high.
21. Sea walls-Houses don’t flood and bounces the wave energy back meaning that it is very
effective. But it is very expensive.
Rock armour-Cheaper than a sea wall and can be used for fishing. The rocks are expensive
for transport.
22. Beach nourishment-widens the recreational beach and has a natural look. But turns into a
construction zone when doing the beach nourishment.
Reprofiling-cheap and simple. Reduces the energy of the waves but needs to be repeated
continuously
23. Managed retreat is basically not doing anything and just leaving the sea to move inland. One
advantage of this is that it is a very cheap option and creates salt marshes. Land is lost as it is
reclaimed by the sea and landowners need to move out. This means that they need to be
compensated at around 5000 to 10000 per hectare .

Section 2(Hazardous Environments)

Key terms:
1. Define the meaning of hazard. (1)
2. What is the Coriolis force? (1)
3. What is focus. (1)
4. What is epicentre? (1)
5. What does GIS stand for? (1)
6. What is meant by risk assessment? (1)

Hurricane:
1. How is a hurricane formed? (4)
 2. Where are hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons generally distributed? (1)
3. How are storm surges formed? (2)
4. What scale is used to measure hurricanes? (1)
5. Give 2 impacts of hurricane for physical, social, and economic and environmental. (8)
6. Give 4 factors that affect the vulnerability of people that live in a hurricane area. (4)
7. Give 3 short- and long-term impacts of hurricanes (6)
8. What are the 4 main components of the structure of the earth? (4)
9. State 7 characteristics of a volcano.
10. What is a shield volcano?
11. What is a composite volcano?
12. Explain the concept of a hotspot.

Volcanoes:

1. Describe what is a destructive plate margin, collision margin, constructive plate

boundary and conservative plate boundaries. (4)
2. Give 4 characteristics of volcanoes. (4)
3. What can you use to measure volcanoes magnitude? How do they measure the
volcanic eruption? (1)
4. What benefit can volcanoes offer? (1)
5. Give 4 factors that affect the vulnerability of people that live in a volcanic area. (4)
6. Give 3 short- and long-term impacts of volcanoes. (6)

Earthquakes:

1. What factors determine how strong the earthquake will be? (2)
2. Explain how tsunamis take place. (4)
3. What can you use to measure the earthquake’s magnitude? Include 2 if possible (2)
4. For the above measurements, how do they compare the earthquake’s magnitude? (2)
5. Give 4 factors that affect the vulnerability of people that live in an earthquake area?
(4)
6. Give 3 short- and long-term impacts of earthquake. (6)
7. Give 2 impacts of earthquake for social, economic, and environmental. (6)
8. Give 5 factors which affect the death rate of earthquake. (5)
9. How can you prepare for an earthquake? Give 4 ideas (4)
10. Where does emergency help normally come from when a hazard is occurred? (1)
11. What do they normally bring with them to help the people that were affected by the
hazard? (4)
12. Give 4 features of an earthquake proof house. (4)
13. What are the 4 characteristics of a tropical cyclone?
14. Give 4 factors needed for a tropical cyclone to develop.
15. What is a multi-hazardous area?

Answers for section 2

Key terms:
1. It is a danger or a risk
2. It is the force of the spinning of the earth.
3. It is exactly the place where the earthquake occurred.
4. It is the place on the surface where the earthquake occurred.
5. Geographical information system
6. It is assessing the risk of what could happen in a certain place by preventing and
predicting

Hurricane:

1. Warm moist air over water begins to rise. The rising air is replaced by cooling air.
This process continues to grow large cloud and thunderstorms. The thunderstorms
continue to get bigger and begin to rotate due to the Coriolis effect.
2. Equator
3. With the high tide warm air rises this creates a vertical bulge which then strong
winds push this bulge towards the coastline and flood.
4. Saffir Simpson scale
5. Injuries and deaths, lack of communication due to wires being cut and death so
people cannot communicate, reconstruction and lack of workers due to deaths, loss
of animal habitat and fires which release co2
6. money, education, communication and how well they are prepared for example if
they have stored food or the type of house.
7. Short-injuries, deaths, destruction of housing
Long-term-Poverty, mental issues, and conflict

Volcanoes:

1. A destructive plate margin includes a continental plate and an oceanic. The

oceanic plate is denser so when they collide the oceanic goes below the
continental. These movements cause earthquakes and volcanoes. A collision
margin is when two continental plates collide and none of them sink, and it
creates mountains. A constructive plate margin is when two plates move away
from each other which creates shield volcanoes due to the magma of the inner
earth that flows up and constructs new land. A conservative plate boundary is
when two plates move side to side past each other at different speeds
2. Lava flows, ash, dust, forest fires
3. Volcanic explosivity index measures the sizes of the volcanic eruptions based on
magnitude and intensity.
4. Fertile land
5. Education, culture, money, and optimism.
6. Short- infrastructure damage, injuries, and ash releases co2 to the atmosphere
and fires.
Long-Cool down of the earth due to ash blocking sunlight, economic decline to
reconstruction and deaths from injured people and migration.

Earthquakes:

1. How close it is to the surface and the magnitude.

2. Tsunamis occur when there is an earthquake in the seabed. One side of the
seabed separates and moves either up or down. This causes a sudden
change of water level which makes a big bulge of water going 360 degrees.
When this bulge gets closer to the coast it forms a bigger wave which causes
coastal flooding.
 3. Richter scale, Mercalli scale.
4. Mercalli is the observable damage while Richter is the magnitude of the
earthquake.
5. Money, Infrastructure, population density and the distance away from
earthquake.
6. Short-Deaths, injuries, infrastructure damage and fires.
Long- Deaths from injuries, migration, and economic loss due to rebuilding.
7. Social-Migration, families split
Economic- Rebuilding, and payment for emergency aid companies.
Environmental- Fires produce co2, sewage mixes with the water meaning
there are diseases.
8. Magnitude, population density, how prepared a country is, how prepared an
individual is and the area where they live.
9. Earthquake proof buildings, education, remote sensing and GIS and warning
systems.
10. Outside developed countries such as the USA.
11. Temporary shelters for temporary homeless, provide transportation for
emergency supplies, food, and gear such as lifting gear to clear debris.
12. Fireproof, shock absorbers, and interlocking steel frame.

Section 3 (Economic Activity)

1. What are the “big four” and explain each of them by also giving one job for each.
2. What is economy?
3. What is the economic sector?
4. State 7 factors which affect location of industry.
5. What is the difference between heavy industry and light industry?
6. Give and explain 4 factors which affect the number of people employed by each
economic sector?
7. What is the meaning of globalisation?
8. What do these key words mean: sector shift, fertility rate, GDP per capita.
9. Give 2 impacts of a shrinking primary source.
10. What does disposable income mean?
11. Give 2 positive and 2 negative impacts of economic shifts in China.
12. What does de – industrialization/mechanisation mean?
13. What is meant by informal employment?
14. Give 3 causes and 3 consequences of informal employment?
15. Explain in detail what was Malthus, Club of Rome and Boserup’s theory about
population and resource.
16. Give and explain 2 ways we can balance population – resource.
17. Give 5 examples of industries and their locations.
18. Why do economic sectors change? Give 2 ideas.
19. How does technology affect sector change?
20. How has technology advanced the global economy? Give 6.
21. How does government policy play a role in the global economy?
 22. Explain how demographics and social change promote global economy?
23. List 4 advantages and 4 disadvantages of informal economy.

Energy
1. What is energy security?
2. Give 2 factors affecting global energy supply?
3. Give 2 reasons global energy demoing is rising?
4. Explain what is non-renewable and renewable energy resources?
5. What is meant by “sustainable”?
6. Give 5 ways we can become more sustainable in houses?
7. How does energy demand vary?
8. What is energy security?
9. What factors affect energy security?
10. What is a carbon footprint and how can we reduce ours?
11. Give 3 ways of how we can conserve energy.
12. How can technology improve energy efficiency?

Section 3 answers
1. Primary sector-The extraction of raw materials for example mining.
Secondary sector- Raw materials are assembled, manufactured, or processed. Factories
Tertiary sector- Providing goods and services for example shops.
Quaternary sector- Research and development. Computer programming.
2. The state of a country or region on the types of activities that take place.
3. It is the division of the economy based on the types of activities that take place.
4. Good transport, raw materials, cheap land, and employees.
5. Heavy industry is when raw materials are top priority for industries such as shipbuilding, as
well of the supply of energy. Light industries are typically like electrical goods or food
processing where there isn’t as much need for raw materials but there is a big energy supply
need for the specific.
6. How much the government values each sector
The situation they are in for example developing or developed
The availability of raw materials
7. The process by which businesses develop international influence or start operation in an
international scale.
8. Sector shift-Changes in the relative importance of the economic sectors that take place as
countries develop.
Fertility rate-the ratio of lives and deaths
GDP per capita- The sum of gross value added by all residents that are producers in the
economy.
9. Give 2 impacts of a shrinking primary source
When there is less of a primary source such as oil then it means that everything will become
more expensive as oil is needed for almost everything such as transporting goods.
10. Money that is leftover and a person can use it to spend it on everything he wants such as
gadgets.
11. Negative is that they import food from other countries because their primary sector is
shrinking. Not everyone is benefited from urbanisations as low skilled workers still get paid
 the same. High skilled workers benefited, and China becomes more urbanised meaning they
can invest the money in the future.
12. What does de-industrialization/mechanisation mean?
Means when countries no longer have the secondary sector as their highest employment
percentage sector.
13. It is another sector which is unofficial and unregulated and employs millions of people.
14. Low income, unemployment, and poverty
Don’t get life insurance, jail, and bad quality of life
15. Malthus-(1798) The population growth increased faster than the food source. So, there
would come a time where there is not enough food for everybody.
Boserup-(1965) Increases In population growth also means that we will find ways to provide
energy and food resources for the population as there is developments on technology.
Club of Rome- (1972) The limits to global population will be reached in the next 100 years if
development and population growth increased at the same rate as in 1970’s.
16. 1 child policy and the use of resources efficiently.

Energy
1. A country that can meet all its energy needs.
2. Number of natural resources such as oil.
3. Population growth and countries becoming more developed.
4. Non-renewable means it is going to run out and renewable means that it will never
end.
5. Meeting our needs without compromising our future generations.
6. Double glazed windows
Insulation in roof space
Gas fires
Renewable energy
Hot water services should be in small rooms to prevent heat loss.

Fragile Environments
1. Give the definition of fragile Environment.
2. Give 2 examples of fragile environments.
3. What is the difference between biome and ecosystem?
4. Give 2 characteristics of rainforests, hot deserts, tundra, savanna, boreal forests,
temperate grasslands, and temperate forests.
5. What is meant by desertification?
6. Where does desertification take place the most?
7. Give 4 characteristics of deserts.
8. Explain 3 causes of desertification.
9. Explain 3 impacts of desertification.
10. Explain 3 managements of desertification. (Include at least one management to reduce
water shortages)
11. What is deforestation and afforestation?
12. Explain 3 causes of deforestation.
13. Explain 3 impacts of deforestation.
14. What is soil erosion?
 15. How is soil erosion and deforestation directly linked to each other?
16. How is deforestation and climate change directly linked to each other?
17. In the case study of Amazon, what were the 4 main causes of deforestation?
18. Give 2 managements to combat deforestation.
19. What is the Milankovitch cycle? What is the Milankovitch theory?
20. Explain the 3 changes in the Milankovitch cycle, and how long they last.
21. How does volcanic activity affect the earth’s global temperature?
22. How do humans contribute to climate change?
23. Explain what is meant by the greenhouse gas effect.
24. What are the 4 main gases released to the atmosphere which contributes to climate
change?
25. Which human activity contributes the most and the least to global warming?
26. What is meant by enhanced greenhouse effect?
27. Explain 3 causes of climate change.
28. Explain e impacts of climate change.
29. What are the 3 responses that the world has implemented to combat climate change?
30. Explain all 3 of the responses. (Include when it was established, some countries that are
included, what they are doing, what went well and what did not go well)
31. What are the 3 countries (case studies) that we covered in class? Explain all 3.

Fragile environments answers

1. An environment that is in danger because they are very sensitive to environmental changes
and shifts that result from outside influences and presences.
2. Sahara Desert and amazon rainforest
3. Biome is an environment containing many ecosystems, while an ecosystem is an area where
different species live and communicate.
4. Rainforest-Humid and contains most of the species in the world.
Hot deserts-Hot in day cold in night very dry.
Tundra-Extreme cold temperatures and no vegetation.
Savanna-Rainy and dry seasons, grassland.
Boreal forests-long winters and short summers, contain many large trees.
Temperate grassland-Grassland is the dominant vegetation, no trees, and shrubs
Temperate forests- Lots of large bread leaves trees, and many nutrients and minerals in the
soil.
5. It is a type of land degradation where the soil does not get rainfall for a long time and
becomes drier and hotter which leads to water shortages as the water passes straight
through the soil which stops animal and plant productivity which eventually leads to a
desert.
6. Semi-arid places. Borders of deserts.
7. Cold night hot day, very dry, little vegetation.
8. Overgrazing- When too many animals are grown in a certain place, they damage the soil and
cannot recover meaning that the soil becomes loose and loses its nutrients causing land
degradation and eventually lead to desertification.
Overcultivation-When farmers use the same land to grow crops too many times. This
damages the soil and means it cannot recover meaning that it becomes loose and loses its
nutrients which eventually leads to desertification.
 Droughts- The lack of rainfall means that it makes the soil loose and weak which means that
it loses its nutrients and starts degrading which leads to desertification.
9. Malnutrition and famine- As the soil becomes weak it loses its nutrients. Crops cannot be
grown which means that people cannot grow food to eat and therefore starve or eat very
badly.
Land degradation-The soil becomes loose, weak, and dry which make it break into smaller
pieces which then get blown by the wind.
10. Zai pit- This is where you dig a hole in the soil and put cow’s poop. This regenerates the soil
because it has nutrients and other things.
Education-Educating farmers to correctly farm is very important because then they won’t
over cultivate or overgraze which means that it will prevent desertification.
11. Deforestation is the process of cutting down trees while afforestation is the process of
planting new trees.
12. Illegal business economy- As companies need more money, they cut down trees over the
limit to get more money which results in many precious trees being chopped down.
More material to support population- As the world population is rising so is the demand for
materials meaning that companies chop down more trees for things like furniture and paper.
Roads-People must build roads through forests so that they can get to a place faster which
results in deforestation.
13. Loss of animal habitat- As trees are cut down animals that used to live in those places no
longer have any place to live which means that they must adapt or move to another place.
Increase in rate of global warming- As more trees are cut down the conversion from c02 to
oxygen is less meaning that there will be more co2 in the atmosphere which will increase the
rate of global warming.
Fires- When trees are cut down, unnecessary parts of the trees and waste is burned which
means that it could potentially spread and burn a forest.
14. Soil erosion is when the soil becomes weak and dry which means that it breaks down to
smaller pieces. These the get blown away by the wind.
15. As trees are cut down, the soil will now be exposed to the sun which means that it will
damage it therefore meaning that it loses its nutrients, weakens, and becomes loose which
then the wind blows it away.
16. Since trees absorb carbon dioxide and convert it to oxygen. If there are less trees, then it
means that there will be less rate of this conversion which mean that there will be more co2
in the atmosphere which will warm up the earth quicker.
17. Logging, cattle ranching, small scale agriculture and large-scale agriculture.
18. Afforestation and Education
19. The Milankovitch cycle is what people think that in some time we will go to an ice age due to
lack of solar radiation reaching the earth. The Milankovitch cycle is where people think that
every 100 000 years 3 factors combined change the earth to an ice age.
20. Eccentricity-Earth orbiting the sun (100 000 years)
Obliquity- Changes the angle of tilt of the earth’s rotation axis (41 000 years)
Precession- Changes in the orientation of the earth’s rotational axis (24 000 years)