Geography A-Level
Abrasion
What Abrasion means in Geography A-Level, as defined for Pearson Edexcel.
Definitions of Abrasion
Exam boards and our study guides word this term in slightly different ways. Learn the version your board uses.
The mechanical scraping of a rock surface by friction between rocks embedded in the glacier and the underlying bedrock.
The mechanical scraping of a rock surface by debris embedded within the basal ice of a moving glacier.
Topics that use Abrasion
- Glaciated Landscapes and Change (Pearson Edexcel A-Level)
Related terms
- Accumulation and Ablation Dynamics
- Anthropogenic Encroachment
- Anthropogenic Radiative Forcing
- Bergschrund
- Climate Change and Cryospheric Flux
- Coastal Landscape Development
- Cryogenic Weathering and Mass Movement
- Cryospheric Feedback Mechanisms
Using Abrasion in the exam
Definition questions usually carry one or two marks, and examiners look for the precise wording. Write the definition from memory, check it against the version above, and then use the term in a longer answer on the same topic so it sticks.
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