Geography GCSE
Abrasion
What Abrasion means in Geography GCSE, 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.
A type of glacial erosion where rocks and stones frozen into the base of the glacier act like sandpaper, grinding away the bedrock.
A glacial erosion process where rocks frozen into the base of the ice scrape and grind against the bedrock like sandpaper.
A process of glacial erosion where rocks embedded in the base of the glacier scrape and grind the bedrock like sandpaper.
The process where waves pick up sediment (rocks, pebbles, sand) and hurl it against the cliff face, wearing it away.
The scraping, scouring, and rubbing action of materials carried by the river against the bed and banks.
A type of glacial erosion where rocks embedded in the ice scrape and grind the bedrock like sandpaper.
Topics that use Abrasion
- A number of physical and human processes work together to create distinct UK landscapes (Pearson Edexcel GCSE)
- A variety of physical processes interact to shape glaciated upland landscapes (Pearson Edexcel GCSE)
- A variety of physical processes interact to shape river landscapes (Pearson Edexcel GCSE)
- Coastal erosion and deposition create distinctive landforms within the coastal landscape (Pearson Edexcel GCSE)
- Distinctive glaciated upland landscapes are the outcome of the interaction between physical and human processes (Pearson Edexcel GCSE)
- Glacial erosion and deposition create distinctive landforms within glaciated upland landscapes (Pearson Edexcel GCSE)
Related terms
- Plucking
- Freeze-thaw Weathering
- Hydraulic Action
- Relict landscape
- Rotational slip
- Alluvium
- Discordant Coastline
- Hard Engineering
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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