Exam Survival Guide
Geography Topic
Tier
Restless Earth
Higher
Name: ______________________________FFT: ____________
Tutor group:
____________________ Room: ___________
Geography Teacher: ____________________________________
Expectations:
 You will be given specific tasks at different times, not necessarily in the
order shown.
 You will be expected to bring your revision booklet to every lesson as you
will be using it in class time.
 You must keep your booklet neat and tidy as this is your survival guide to
getting through the exams.
 You must work independently to complete tasks set.
Activity
Revision Tasks
1
Complete glossary of key words linked to the topic –
complete definitions for each of the key words listed.
2
Practise exam questions – work your way steadily
through the exam questions to develop your exam
technique.
3
Complete overviews of each case study for this topic
in the templates provided.
GCSE Tectonics Revision Booklet
Tick
Specification at a glance.
Content
The Distribution of Tectonic
Plates
Contrasts between continental
and oceanic crust
Characteristics and movements
of constructive, destructive and
conservative plate margins
Formation of Fold Mountains
How are the French Alps used?
Advantages and disadvantages
Similarities of composite and
shield volcanoes
Supervolcanoes: Characteristics
(Size, Scale, Shape) and likely
effects
Eruption of a volcano: Cause,
Impacts (primary /secondary)
and solutions (Rich country)
Eruption of a volcano: Cause,
Impacts (primary/secondary)
and solutions (Poor country)
Earthquakes – causes, features
(epicentre, focus and shock
waves)
How Earthquakes are measured –
Richter and Mercalli Scales
Case study of an Earthquake:
Causes, impacts
(primary/secondary),
immediate/long term responses
(Rich Country)
Case Study of an Earthquake:
Causes, impacts
(primary/secondary),
immediate/long term responses
(Poor Country)
Tsunami – Its causes, effects
and responses
GCSE Tectonics Revision Booklet
Case Studies
(P3 of revision guide)
(p4 of revision guide)
The Alps Mountain range
(Europe) (p5 of revision guide)
(p6 of revision guide)
Yellow Stone (USA)
Mt St Helens (USA 1980/2010)
Montserrat (Caribbean 1995/7)
(p7 of revision guide)
(p9 revision guide)
(p9 revision guide)
Kobe (Japan 1995), San
Francisco (USA 1989), L’Aquila
(Italy 2009) (p10 revision guide)
China (2010), Haiti (Caribbean
2010) Izmit (Turkey 1999),
Kashmir (Pakistan 2005) (p10
revision guide)
Indian Ocean (2004) (p11
revision guide)
Japan (2011)
Facts
Command Words:
What is the question asking you? Look for key words and do exactly what has been asked. e.g.:
Annotate: - add notes or labels to a map or diagram to explain what it shows.
Compare: - Look at 2 (or more) things and state the similarities and differences. Make direct
comparisons and use appropriate link words such as more than, less than, larger, whereas, unlike,
as opposed to, as well as opposites such as, rural/urban, high/low, etc.
Complete: - add to a map or graph to finish it off.
Contrast: - look for the differences between features or places. Often the question will ask you
to compare and contrast.
Define: - explain what something means e.g. hydraulic action.
Describe: - State what it is like; its characteristics and appearance.
Draw: - a sketch map or diagram with labels to explain something.
Explain or Account for: - Make clear, give details why it is like that.
Identify: - name, locate, recognise or select a particular feature or features, usually from a
map, photo or diagram.
Mark: - put onto a map or diagram.
Name, state, list: - give accurate details or features.
Study: - look carefully at a map, photo, table, diagram etc. and say what it shows.
With reference to /refer to examples you have studied: - give specific details (dates,
specific names, facts & figures) about your case studies.
With the help of/using the information provided: - make sure you include examples from the
information, including grid references if it is a map.
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Top Hints!
1. Read all the questions
2.
Understand the questions. Reading them and understanding them is not always the same.
Make sure that you carefully read the question and discover what is being asked of you. Look
for words like how, why, where, what and when. Check also for details like features and
locations. If you're asked for a UK case study, you will lose marks if you write about a
French one. Likewise, if the theme of the question is coasts, resist the temptation to write
about rivers. Look for command words such as describe, contrast, compare and explain,
then make sure that your answer does what has been asked.
3. Think, then write.
4. Write clearly and Logically. Don't waffle and try to fill space for the sake of it. Write clear
sentences in a well-structured answer. Follow a logical sequence of events, but don't panic!
Use your connectives, key words, and use PEE
5. Talk the talk. The examiner will be looking for geographical words in your answers. There
are marks available for using the right words. Using good geographical terminology shows
that you know what you are talking about, that you understand what the specialist terms
mean, and will impress the examiners. In short, it will help you to get more marks.
GCSE Tectonics Revision Booklet
Activity 1 – Complete the key word glossary below.
Crust
Plate Margin
Mantle
Convection Currents
Subduction Zone
Collision
Fold Mountains
Ocean Trenches
Shield Volcano
Composite Volcano
Immediate Responses
Long Term Response
Supervolcano
Caldera
Fissures
Earthquake
Focus
Epicentre
Richter Scale
Shock Waves
Mercalli Scale
Tsunami
GCSE Tectonics Revision Booklet
Activity 2 – Practise answering the exam questions below.
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Give two differences between continental crust and oceanic crust.
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(2 marks)
Points
Mark
 Describe the size and shape of a supervolcano
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(2 marks)
Points
Mark
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Study Figure 1 which shows the earth’s tectonic plates and the places where earthquakes occur
worldwide.
GCSE Tectonics Revision Booklet
Describe the distribution of earthquakes.
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(3 marks)
Points
Mark
 Explain how volcanoes form at constructive plate margins.
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(4 marks)
L1
L2
Mark
GCSE Tectonics Revision Booklet
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Draw a labelled diagram(s) to explain why earthquakes occur at conservative plate boundaries.
(4 marks)
L1
L2
Mark
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Describe the likely worldwide effects of a supervolcano eruption.
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GCSE Tectonics Revision Booklet
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(6 marks)
L1
L2
Mark
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Use a case study of a tsunami to describe its effects on coastal areas.
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(6 marks)
L1
L2
Mark
GCSE Tectonics Revision Booklet
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With the help of a case study of a fold mountain range, describe how people use Fold Mountains.
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(8 marks)
L1
L2
L3
Mark
GCSE Tectonics Revision Booklet
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Use a case study to describe the responses to a tsunami.
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(9 marks)
L1
L2
L3
Mark
GCSE Tectonics Revision Booklet
Activity 3 – Produce case study overviews in the templates below, using this example.
The Alps as a Fold Mountain Range
Map
Fact File
 Central Europe – it stretches across
Austria,
France,
Germany,
Italy,
Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
 Formed 30 million years ago – collision
between Africa and European plates.
 Tallest peak = Mont Blanc at 4810m high.
 Population = 12 million people.
How do people use the Alps?
Farming:
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HEP
Steep upland areas are used to farm goats, which
provide milk and cheese.
Some sunnier slopes are terraced to plant
vineyards (Switzerland).
Tourism:
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Narrow valleys are dammed to generate HEP,
Switzerland gets 60% of its electricity via HEP.
HEP produced is used locally to power homes and
businesses. It’s also exported further away.
Mining
100 million tourists visit the Alps each year,
making tourism huge for the economy.
70% of tourists visit the steep mountains for
skiing, snowboarding and climbing.
New villages have been built to cater for the
quantity of tourists e.g. Tignes in France.
Ski runs, ski lifts, cable cars, chalets and
restaurants scatter the landscape.
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Salt, iron ore, gold, silver and copper are mined in
the Alps. But mining has declined as cheaper
abroad.
Forestry
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Scots pine is planted all over the Alps because
it’s resilient. Trees are logged and sold.
How have people adapted?
1. Steep Relief – Goats are farmed as they’ve adapted to live on steep mountains. Trees and
man-made defences are used to protect against avalanches and rock slides.
2. Poor Soils – Animals are grazed in most high areas as the soil isn’t great for growing crops.
3. Limited Communications – Roads are built over passes. It takes a long time to drive over
passes and they can be blocked by snow. Tunnels have been cut through the mountains to
provide fast transport links. For example, the Lötschberg Base Tunnel has been cut
through the Bernese Alps in Switzerland.
GCSE Tectonics Revision Booklet
Title:
Map
GCSE Tectonics Revision Booklet
Fact File
Title:
Map
GCSE Tectonics Revision Booklet
Fact File
Title:
Map
GCSE Tectonics Revision Booklet
Fact File
Title:
Map
GCSE Tectonics Revision Booklet
Fact File
Title:
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GCSE Tectonics Revision Booklet
Fact File
Title:
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GCSE Tectonics Revision Booklet
Fact File
Generic Exam Mark Scheme
GRADE
A*
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A
B
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D
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F
G
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DESCRIPTOR
Conclusions are made and justified using evidence
Summarise knowledge and understanding and provide evidence for the complex relationships that exists
between people and the environment
Analyse and evaluate an effective range of skills and techniques
Justify and provide a range of evidence for geographical patterns and processes
Evaluate your own knowledge and understanding of places, environments and concepts using extensive use of
case studies at a range of scales
Use and justify terminology accurately and appropriately
Compare and contrast issues and problems and evaluate why they occur
Conclusions are made using evidence
Explain and compare relationships between people and the environment using detailed case studies
Select and analyse an effective range of skills and techniques
Analyse patterns and processes through the use of detailed case studies on a range of scales
You justify you knowledge and understanding of places, environments and concepts using examples
Use of key terminology is accurate and appropriate
Explain issues and problems, beginning to evaluate reasons as to why they occur
Valid conclusions are made with some evidence
Describe and explain the relationship between people and the environment
Select and use effectively a range of skills and techniques
Describe and explain patterns and processes and refer to case studies at various locations
Describe and explain your knowledge and understanding of places, environments and concepts using examples
Use key terminology appropriately
Describe issues and problems and give explanations as to why they occur
Valid conclusions are made
Describe relationships between people and environments using at least one case study
Select and use a variety of skills and appropriate techniques
Describe and begin to explain patterns and processes with reference to examples
Describe and explain your understanding of places, environments and concepts
Use terminology appropriately
Basic conclusions are made
Outline relationships between people and the environment
Some skills and techniques are used appropriately
Identify and begin to describe patterns and process
Describe your understanding of places, environments and concepts
You outline key terminology to communicate your ideas
Identify problems and give basic reasons
Limited conclusions are made
Recognise relationships between people and the environment
You show basic skills and techniques
Identify patterns and processes
Understanding of places, environments and concepts is basic
Communicate your ideas in a basic manner
Identify problems and issues
Identify relationships between people and environments
Skills and techniques are limited
Name patterns and processes
List your knowledge and understanding about places, the environment and concepts
Communicate ideas using simple everyday language
List problems and issues
Skills and techniques used are limited
State simple patterns and processes
Understanding about places, environments and processes are limited
Communication of ideas are limited
List problems and issues
GCSE Tectonics Revision Booklet
Feedback
Activity:
Teacher Feedback:
__________________________
Mark/Grade:
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Activity:
Teacher Feedback:
__________________________
Mark/Grade:
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_______________________________________________________
Activity:
Self/Peer Feedback:
__________________________
Mark/Grade:
________________________
_______________________________________________________
GCSE Tectonics Revision Booklet