WJEC (B) GCSE Geography
Theme 1 Topic 1
Quality of life and
standard of living
Hodder Education Revision Lessons
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WJEC (B) GCSE Geography
Theme 1 Topic 1
We can compare quality of life in different regions and between
different countries by using indicators.
• quality of life is the happiness and contentment of an individual
• standard of living is a measure of the relative wealth and access to
services of individuals or families
Economic indicators
(jobs and money)
Environmental
indicators
(the air, land and
water around us)
Percentage of people with
qualifications (e.g. GCSEs
or degrees)
Unemployment rate
Level of biodiversity
Life expectancy
Income or wages
Amount of carbon dioxide
released per household
Infant mortality
Percentage of people who
own a house or car
Amount of derelict land
Social indicators
(family, health,
education and leisure)
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WJEC (B) GCSE Geography
Theme 1 Topic 1
Choose nine of the following indicators and write them on a sheet of
paper.
Owning a
house
Being
healthy
Having a
job
Having a
car
Having
central
heating
Having a
good diet
Having
money to
spend on
fun
Having
free time
Being in
love/
married
Going to
a good
school
Living in
a
peaceful
area
Feeling
safe
Being able
to get to a
shop easily
Having
your own
room
Having
somewhere
to play
Living a
long time
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WJEC (B) GCSE Geography
Theme 1 Topic 1
Sort your chosen indicators into the order that shows
which are the most important in affecting quality of life.
Most
important
Quite
important
Quite
important
Not very
important
Not very
important
Not
important
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WJEC (B) GCSE Geography
Theme 1 Topic 1
What affects quality of life?
In your exam, you may be asked how changes in housing and
services affect quality of life. For example ‘Explain how the
building of a new supermarket in a town will affect the quality
of life of local residents. (4 marks)’
Your answers could include:
Positive effects:
For example, jobs will be created in the supermarket, so local
incomes will increase. Prices in supermarkets are often low, so
local people will save money.
or
Negative effects:
For example, there will be more traffic created, so there will
be longer journey times for local people. Local businesses
can’t compete with low prices, so they might close.
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WJEC (B) GCSE Geography
Theme 1 Topic 1
Indicators
How would the following affect quality of life?
Owning a car
Having a burglar alarm
Being close to public transport
Having a park or open space
Owning your own home
Having a well lit area
Living near a shop
Having vandalism and graffiti
Living close to where you work
Having different types of houses
(e.g. flats, terraces, semis)
Travelling a long way to work
Not having central heating
Living in noisy area
Having poor qualifications
Having a garage or driveway
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WJEC (B) GCSE Geography
Theme 1 Topic 1
Indicators
Here are some suggestions. Now think of some more for all the
indicators on the previous slide.
Owning a car…
would improve your quality of life because it
gives you easy access to jobs and services
like healthcare. However, it would also be
costly to tax and insure, so this would mean
you have less disposable income.
Living near a shop…
would improve your quality of life because it
is quick and easy to get goods, so saves time
travelling. However, there could be a lot of
traffic in the area, so this could create
parking problems and lead to more accidents.
Living in noisy area…
would be stressful and it can disturb sleep
and lead to poor health.
could improve quality of life because it
creates a mixed community and there will be
people around most of the time so the area is
looked after.
Having different types of
houses (e.g. flats, terraces
and semis)…
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WJEC (B) GCSE Geography
Theme 1 Topic 1
How do quality of life and standard of living vary in
urban and rural areas?
Do you think
the housing
provides a
good quality
of life?
Do you
think it is
expensive
to live here?
Do you think
the
environment
affects the
quality of life?
In which
part of the
city do you
think these
houses have
been built?
Angela Calvert
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WJEC (B) GCSE Geography
Theme 1 Topic 1
How do quality of life and standard of living vary in
urban and rural areas?
Do you think
the housing
provides a
good quality
of life?
Do you
think it is
expensive
to live here?
Do you think
the
environment
affects the
quality of life?
Fotolia
In which
part of the
city do you
think these
houses have
been built?
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WJEC (B) GCSE Geography
Theme 1 Topic 1
How do quality of life and standard of living vary in
urban and rural areas?
Do you think
the housing
provides a
good quality
of life?
Do you
think it is
expensive
to live here?
Do you think
the
environment
affects the
quality of life?
Fotolia
In which
part of the
city do you
think these
houses have
been built?
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continue
WJEC (B) GCSE Geography
Theme 1 Topic 1
Quality of life in Nigeria
The graph shows
the differences
between access to
clean water and
sanitation in rural
and urban
Nigeria.
Source: Adapted from
www.unicef.org/infobycountry/nigeria_statistics.html
(1) Compare the differences between rural and urban access to clean water
and sanitation using figures from the graph.
(2) How will this affect quality of life for people living in different parts of
Nigeria?
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WJEC (B) GCSE Geography
Theme 1 Topic 1
Quality of life in Nigeria
(1) More people in urban areas of Nigeria have access to improved
drinking water — 74% compared with only 42% in rural areas. 36%
of people in urban areas of Nigeria have access to improved
sanitation, which is higher than the 28% in rural areas.
(2) Quality of life for people living in urban areas will improve
because fewer people will get ill from drinking contaminated water
and so life expectancy will increase, although diseases spread more
easily in urban areas because of high density housing and population.
WJEC (B) GCSE Geography
Theme 1 Topic 1
Exam practice
1 Compare the changes in life expectancy between 1990 and 2010 for
the UK and Nigeria. (2 marks)
2 Use the data in the table to suggest why there is a difference in life
expectancy between the UK and Nigeria. (2 marks)
UK
1990
Nigeria
2010
1990
2010
Life expectancy at
birth (years)
75.7
79.8
44.6
48.4
GDP per capita
(wealth) $US
24,617
34,342
1,538
2,289
Adult literacy (% 15
years and over)
99.0
99.0
55.4
74.8
Exam tip: Use figures from the table to compare the changes.
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WJEC (B) GCSE Geography
Theme 1 Topic 1
Exam practice answers
UK
1990
Nigeria
2010
1990
2010
Life expectancy at
birth (years)
75.7
79.8
44.6
48.4
GDP per capita
(wealth) $US
24,617
34,342
1,538
2,289
Adult literacy (% 15
years and over)
99.0
99.0
55.4
74.8
1 The UK’s life expectancy increased by 4.1 years between 1990 and
2010, which is more than Nigeria which increased by 3.8 years.
2 The UK’s life expectancy is higher because it has a higher GDP
(US$ 34,342 compared to US$2,289) so people can afford a
better diet, medicine and healthcare.
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WJEC (B) GCSE Geography
Theme 1 Topic 1
Exam practice
Explain how the housing may affect quality of life for people
living in the area shown in the photograph. (2 marks)
Fotolia
Exam tip: When the question asks you to ‘explain’, you need
to use the words ‘so’ or ‘because’ in your answer.
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WJEC (B) GCSE Geography
Theme 1 Topic 1
Exam practice answers
• It is high density so diseases will spread easily and make people ill.
• The houses are unstable and so might collapse, causing injuries or
deaths.
• The housing is high density, so there will be no space for roads
meaning there will be difficult access for emergency vehicles like
police, fire or ambulances and this will make it dangerous to live
there.
Fotolia