Exam-style questions by topic — OCR GCSE Geography
One question for each of 40 topics. These are written for this specification by MasteryMind. They are not past-paper questions, and they are not from OCR.
The physical landscapes of the UK have distinctive characteristics.
Which rock type is typical of many of the UK's upland areas, such as the Scottish Highlands and Dartmoor?
Practise The physical landscapes of the UK have distinctive characteristics.There are a number of geomorphic processes which create distinctive landscapes.
Pebbles in a fast-flowing river bounce along the riverbed in short hops, rising into the water briefly before falling back to the bed. Which method of transport is this?
Practise There are a number of geomorphic processes which create distinctive landscapes.Rivers create a range of landforms which change with distance from their source within a river basin.
A meander loop on a lowland river has a neck of land only 40 m wide between two sections of the same channel, and the outside of the loop is being eroded rapidly by lateral erosion. Floods then cut through the neck, and most of the river's flow now follows the new straight channel. What landform is left behind in the old loop, and why does it form?
Practise Rivers create a range of landforms which change with distance from their source within a river basin.There are a range of landforms within the coastal landscape.
A rocky coastline is made of alternating bands of hard resistant rock and softer clay. Which landform is most likely to form first at the coast where the softer clay is eroded more quickly, leaving the hard rock projecting out into the sea?
Practise There are a range of landforms within the coastal landscape.Landscapes are dynamic and differ depending on their geology, climate and human activity.
In the upper catchment of the River Tees (Upper Teesdale), a heavy storm falls on steep slopes underlain by impermeable Whin Sill and Carboniferous limestone. How do these upland catchment characteristics affect river discharge following the storm?
Practise Landscapes are dynamic and differ depending on their geology, climate and human activity.The UK is connected to many other countries and places.
Which of these groups of countries or blocs are the UK's largest trading partners today?
Practise The UK is connected to many other countries and places.The UK is a diverse and unequal society which has geographical patterns.
A geographer compares two areas of the UK. Area A has a life expectancy at birth of 82 years and 92% of households with access to superfast broadband. Area B has a life expectancy at birth of 76 years and 61% of households with access to superfast broadband. Which conclusion best uses this evidence to show geographical inequality?
Practise The UK is a diverse and unequal society which has geographical patterns.There are different causes and consequences of development within the UK.
Cornwall has long had high unemployment and low wages. A large distribution centre has recently opened in a former industrial town there, creating several hundred jobs. Which statement best explains why this growth may not remove all of the area's economic and social problems?
Practise There are different causes and consequences of development within the UK.The UK’s population is changing.
Migrant workers from the EU filled many low-paid jobs in the UK during the 2000s. Which economic impact of this immigration is most likely to be shown by evidence from that period?
Practise The UK’s population is changing.There are causes for and consequences of urban trends in the UK.
A retired couple sell their house in Manchester and buy a cottage in a Yorkshire village 60 km from any city, hoping for a quieter life. Which urban trend does this show, and what cause is behind it?
Practise There are causes for and consequences of urban trends in the UK.Cities have distinct challenges and ways of life, influenced by its people, culture and geography.
A student is studying a UK city and wants to explain why its residents face particular challenges. Which combination of evidence would best show how the city's people, culture and geography together shape those challenges?
Practise Cities have distinct challenges and ways of life, influenced by its people, culture and geography.The UK has a unique climate for its latitude which can create extreme weather conditions.
The North Atlantic Drift is a warm ocean current that flows towards north-west Europe. How does it influence the weather of the UK?
Practise The UK has a unique climate for its latitude which can create extreme weather conditions.Extreme flood hazard events are becoming more commonplace in the UK.
During a winter storm, a warm, moist airmass was forced up over high ground such as the Pennines and Lake District, and intense rain fell on already saturated ground. Which of the following best explains why this combination of weather conditions caused severe flooding in northern England?
Practise Extreme flood hazard events are becoming more commonplace in the UK.Humans use, modify and change ecosystems and environments to obtain food, energy and water.
A lowland river in England is straightened and embanked to speed up water flow and protect farmland, and the adjacent meadows are then drained and intensively farmed. Explain one way this combined modification could increase flood risk downstream, and state the ecosystem consequence for the river channel.
Practise Humans use, modify and change ecosystems and environments to obtain food, energy and water.There are a range of energy sources available to the UK.
Which of the following energy sources is classed as non-renewable because its stock is finite and it cannot be replenished on a human timescale?
Practise There are a range of energy sources available to the UK.Energy in the UK is affected by a number of factors and requires careful management and consideration of future supplies.
The UK government has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions sharply by 2050, which will mean closing remaining coal-fired power stations and building more low-carbon generation. Which statement best explains how political and environmental factors combine to shape the UK's future energy supply?
Practise Energy in the UK is affected by a number of factors and requires careful management and consideration of future supplies.Ecosystems consist of interdependent components.
In a grassland ecosystem, a long dry spell reduces soil moisture and the grass begins to die back. Which statement best shows the interdependence of abiotic and biotic components in this situation?
Practise Ecosystems consist of interdependent components.Ecosystems have distinct distributions and characteristics.
A temperate deciduous forest has a mean summer temperature of 18°C and a mean winter temperature of 1°C, with about 800 mm of rain spread evenly through the year. Trees in this forest drop their leaves in autumn. Which explanation best accounts for the leaf loss in the autumn period?
Practise Ecosystems have distinct distributions and characteristics.There are major tropical rainforests in the world.
Which continent contains the Congo River Basin rainforest?
Practise There are major tropical rainforests in the world.There are major coral reefs in the world.
A diver is planning trips to two coral reefs in the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean that are close to the coast of the United States. Which reef is located off the southern tip of the Florida peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean?
Practise There are major coral reefs in the world.Bio-diverse ecosystems are under threat from human activity.
A hillside of rainforest is cleared and burned. After two years crops grow poorly on the soil. Which explanation links this to the rainforest nutrient cycle?
Practise Bio-diverse ecosystems are under threat from human activity.The world is developing unevenly.
A town council proposes building a new bypass that will improve travel times for businesses but will remove a area of woodland used by local residents for recreation. Which definition of development best describes the council's proposal as an example of economic development?
Practise The world is developing unevenly.There are many causes of uneven development.
Which one of the following is an example of emergency aid?
Practise There are many causes of uneven development.Many factors contribute to a country’s economic development.
Ghana's economy has changed as cocoa farming, gold mining and urban manufacturing have grown at different rates. Which explanation best accounts for how these sectors have influenced one another's development over time?
Practise Many factors contribute to a country’s economic development.The majority of the world’s population now live in urban areas.
Which of the following best describes a megacity?
Practise The majority of the world’s population now live in urban areas.There are causes and consequences of rapid urbanisation in LIDCs.
In a low-income city, rapid growth is driven by both migration and natural increase. Which explanation correctly describes how natural increase contributes to the city's population growth?
Practise There are causes and consequences of rapid urbanisation in LIDCs.Cities have distinct challenges and ways of life, influenced by its people and culture.
A city supplies fresh food to surrounding villages, is the national capital, and has a headquarters for a company that trades with several continents. Which statement best explains the city's position across these three scales?
Practise Cities have distinct challenges and ways of life, influenced by its people and culture.The climate has changed from the start of the Quaternary period.
About 20,000 years ago, ice sheets reached their greatest extent in the most recent glacial period. Which change followed in the period leading to the present day?
Practise The climate has changed from the start of the Quaternary period.There are a number of possible causes of climate change.
After a very large volcanic eruption, global average temperatures fall for around one to two years. Which explanation best accounts for this short-term cooling?
Practise There are a number of possible causes of climate change.Climate change has consequences.
Which of the following is a current consequence of climate change that is being observed across the planet?
Practise Climate change has consequences.The global circulation of the atmosphere controls weather and climate.
Which statement best describes the main reason air moves between the equator and the poles in the global atmospheric circulation?
Practise The global circulation of the atmosphere controls weather and climate.Extreme weather conditions cause different natural weather hazards.
Which latitude band contains most of the world's tropical storm activity, given that these storms form over warm tropical oceans?
Practise Extreme weather conditions cause different natural weather hazards.Drought can be devastating for people and the environment.
In normal conditions in the tropical Pacific, the trade winds blow from east to west, piling warm water in the west. Which sequence best explains how a weakening of these trade winds can develop into an El Niño event that can lead to drought?
Practise Drought can be devastating for people and the environment.Geographical Skills - 3.1 With respect to cartographic skills, learners should be able to:
A GIS holds a layer of river locations as points, a layer of roads as lines and a layer of land use as polygons. Which vector data type should be used in the GIS to store a flood-risk zone that covers an area of land?
Practise Geographical Skills - 3.1 With respect to cartographic skills, learners should be able to:Geographical Skills - 3.2 With respect to graphical skills, learners should be able to:
A survey of river water quality at five sites along a river gives dissolved oxygen (mg/l) at sites 1 to 5 as 10.2, 9.1, 6.3, 4.8 and 5.6. A student claims the water quality is worst at site 4 and that the drop from site 1 to site 4 shows steady, continuous decline along the whole river. Which evaluation of the student's claim is most accurate?
Practise Geographical Skills - 3.2 With respect to graphical skills, learners should be able to:Geographical Skills - 3.3 With respect to numerical and statistical skills, learners should be able to:
A rainfall gauge collects 45 millimetres of rain over a 24-hour period across a catchment of 2 square kilometres. What is the total volume of rainwater collected, in cubic metres? (1 km² = 1 000 000 m²; 1 m depth over 1 m² = 1 m³; 1 mm = 0.001 m)
Practise Geographical Skills - 3.3 With respect to numerical and statistical skills, learners should be able to:Geographical Skills - 3.4 Learners should also be able to:
A newspaper article about a proposed new road states: 'Residents are angry that the council has ignored their concerns, and the scheme will bring nothing but noise and pollution to the village.' Which is the best evidence in the article that the writer is presenting a biased view?
Practise Geographical Skills - 3.4 Learners should also be able to:Geographical Skills - Graphs and charts to be studied:
A population pyramid for a country shows a wide base, with the bars for the youngest age groups longer than those for the oldest age groups. What does this shape indicate about the population?
Practise Geographical Skills - Graphs and charts to be studied:Geographical Skills - Maps to be studied:
A desire-line survey of a leisure centre records movements from the car park to the pool (360 people per day), from the car park to the gym (180 people per day), and from the pool to the café (90 people per day). A planner says the café should be widened because the largest flow ends there. Which response is most justified by the desire-line evidence?
Practise Geographical Skills - Maps to be studied:Fieldwork skills
A student measures the width of a river at 5 points along a 200 m reach and gets widths of 6.4 m, 7.1 m, 5.8 m, 8.0 m and 6.7 m. The student wants to test whether the river becomes wider downstream along a 2 km reach, where the widths are measured at the same five spacing. Which enquiry process best tests this question?
Practise Fieldwork skills
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