Edexcel GCSE spec A: examples of questions:
Paper 1: skills and challenges
Skills:
2009 Describe the research that you would carry out to discover whether
Swanage’s population pyramid is typical of a seaside resort. (4)
2010 Describe what is meant by layering information. (2)
2011 State two advantages of using GIS compared to looking at the maps
separately. (2)
Challenges:
2011: Outline how fossil fuels have cause the increase in CO2 emissions (4)
2011: Explain the management initiatives used in rainforest areas where
resources have been extracted. Use examples within your answer (6)
2009: Explain how two natural processes also contribute to climate change. (4)
2009: Explain how and why car exhaust emissions are a major contributor to
global warming. (4)
2009: Describe how global warming leads to rising sea-levels. (3)
2009: In many areas of the world tropical rainforests are under threat. With the
use of examples explain some of the ways in which tropical rainforests are being
managed. (6)
2010 Describe the effects of resource extraction on tropical rainforest
environments and the people who live there. Use examples in your answer. (4)
2010 Outline how transport is being managed in urban areas. You should refer
to a number of different sustainable schemes in your answer. (6)
2011 Outline how fossil fuels have caused the increase in CO2 emissions. (4)
2011 Explain two other causes of climate change since the last ice age. (4)
Paper 2: Physical
Tectonics
2009: Landform C shown on Figure 4a is an area of fold mountains. Explain how
they are formed. You may use a diagram to help your answer. (4)
2009: Explain why the distribution of volcanoes is very uneven. (3)
2009: The plate boundary illustrated in Figure 4a is a destructive one. Some
plate boundaries are known as constructive. Explain the processes that take place
at constructive plate boundaries. (4)
2009: Explain the methods used both before and after a natural disaster to limit
its effects. (6)
2010: Explain how volcanoes form at this plate boundary. You may use a
diagram in your answer. (4)
2010: Outline the differences between the Mercalli and the Richter scales. (3)
2010: Suggest reasons why people continue to live in areas affected by volcanic
eruptions. (4)
2010: Choose a volcanic eruption or an earthquake you have studied.
Explain the effects of the volcanic eruption or the earthquake on the people and
the environment. (6)
2011 Outline a difference between the focus and epicentre of an earthquake. (2)
2011 Outline why people continue to live on volcanic islands such as Lanzarote.
(3)
2011 Explain how volcanoes form over hotspots. Use an annotated diagram or
diagrams in your answer. (4)
2011 Explain how the effects of an earthquake can be reduced. (4)
2011 Choose a volcanic eruption or an earthquake you have studied. Explain the
causes of the volcanic eruption or earthquake. (6)
Water
2009 Describe two problems of water supply in high-income countries. (4)
2009 Explain why water consumption is so high in HICs, such as those in North
America. (4)
2009 For a water management scheme you have studied explain why the scheme
was necessary. (4)
2010 There is an imbalance between water supply and population in Great
Britain. Explain why.(4)
2010 Explain two water supply problems in Low Income Countries. (4)
2010 Choose a water management scheme you have studied. Explain the effects
of the scheme. (6)
2011 Outline how a lack of clean water can lead to increased water-borne
diseases such as cholera. (3)
2011 Outline how a seasonal imbalance in rainfall can cause water supply
problems in High Income Countries (HICs). You may use an example in your
answer. (4)
2011 Explain how Low Income Countries (LICs) use appropriate technology to
provide water for small communities. (4)
2011 Choose a water transfer scheme you have studied. Explain how the water
transfer scheme has caused conflicts between areas. (6)
Paper 3: Human
Population
2010 Explain how physical factors have influenced the population distribution of
China. (4)
2011 What is meant by the term youthful population? (2)
2011 Explain the positive and negative consequences (impacts) of a youthful
population. (4)
2011 Choose a country with an ageing population. Explain the advantages and
disadvantages of an ageing population on this country. (6)
Settlement
(2009) Suggest reasons for the rapid growth of cities in LICs. (3)
2010 Explain why people migrate into rural areas. Use examples in your answer.
(3)
2010 Outline the advantages and disadvantages of developing on brownfield
sites. Use examples in your answer. (4)
2010 Choose an urban area in a Low Income Country (LIC), which has
experienced rapid growth. Explain the reasons for this rapid growth. (6)
2010 Suggest reasons why birth rates are low during Stage 3 of the demographic
transition model. (4
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2010 Choose a country which is trying to increase its birth rate. Explain the
methods used by this country to increase its birth rate. (6)
2011 What is meant by the term counter-urbanisation? (2)
2011 Outline the reasons for counter-urbanisation. (3)
2011 Explain the advantages of developing brownfield sites. (3)
2011 Explain the consequences (impacts) of de-industrialisation in the UK. Use
examples in your answer. (6)
Tourism
(2009) With the use of examples explain the strategies that can be used when
the stagnation stage is reached. (6)
2010 Explain why tourism has increased in the last 50 years. (3)
2010 Outline the ways in which tourism can have a negative impact on the
environment. Include examples in your answer. (4)
2010 Choose a study you have made of a holiday resort in the European Union.
Use the Butler model of resort development to explain how the resort has
developed. (6)
2011 Describe what happens to a resort when it is at the stagnation stage (Stage
5) of the Butler model. (4)
2011 Explain the negative impacts (effects) that tourism has had on an area that
you have studied. (4)
2011 Choose a study you have made of an eco-tourist destination. Explain how
eco-tourism can protect the environment and benefit the local community. (6)