GCSE-readyGCSE and International GCSE Geography A: common mistakes
The wrong answers students pick most often in our Geography A questions, and why they are wrong. Read these before a test, then open the lesson for anything that surprises you.
Getting started
- Locating places: compass, latitude and grid references
- Not “The Prime Meridian”. The Prime Meridian is 0° longitude, not latitude.
- Scale, distance and contour lines
- Not “A gentle slope”. Gentle slopes have contours spread far apart.
- Not “Places with the same rainfall”. Lines joining places with equal rainfall are isohyets, a different kind of isoline.
- Graphs and data: reading charts and finding averages
- Not “A pie chart”. Pie charts show parts of a whole, not change over time.
- Key physical geography terms
- Not “Erosion”. Erosion also moves the material away.
- Not “The weather today”. Today's conditions are the weather, not the climate.
- Key human geography terms
- Not “War in the home region”. War drives people away, so it is a push factor.
- Not “Primary”. Primary jobs take raw materials, such as farming or mining.
Topic 1: The changing landscapes of the UK (study two of coasts, rivers, glaciated uplands)
- Coasts: weathering, mass movement and geology
- Not “Abrasion”. Abrasion is erosion by material carried by waves.
- Coastal processes and landforms
- Not “Attrition”. Attrition is rocks knocking against each other.
- Not “Hydraulic action”. Hydraulic action is the force of water and trapped air.
- Coasts: people, defences and Holderness
- Not “Sea wall”. A sea wall reflects waves; it does not trap sediment.
- Rivers: flooding, hydrographs and defences
- Not “A dam across a valley”. A dam is hard engineering.
- Glaciated uplands: processes and landforms
- Not “Abrasion”. Abrasion is scraping, like sandpaper.
Topic 2: Weather hazards and climate change
- Tropical cyclones: impacts and responses
- Not “Richter scale”. The Richter scale measures earthquakes.
- Drought: causes, impacts and responses
- Not “A place that is always dry”. That describes an arid environment.
Topic 3: Ecosystems, biodiversity and management
- Global ecosystems and the biosphere
- Not “Fungi”. Fungi are living things, so they are biotic.
- Tropical rainforests: how they work
- Not “Litter”. Litter decomposes very fast, so the store is small.
- Deciduous woodlands: how they work
- Not “Latosol”. Latosols are rainforest soils.
- Deciduous woodlands: threats and the New Forest
- Not “Carbon storage”. Carbon storage is a service.
Topic 4: Changing cities
- Changing UK cities
- Not “Land that has never been built on”. That is a greenfield site.
- A city in an emerging country: Mumbai
- Not “Drought in rural villages”. Drought in villages is a push factor.
- Rapid urban growth: challenges and solutions
- Not “Work in large factories with contracts”. Factory jobs with contracts are part of the formal economy.
Topic 5: Global development
- Uneven development: patterns and consequences
- Not “Being landlocked”. Being landlocked is a physical factor.
- Reducing uneven development
- Not “Aid from one country directly to another”. That is bilateral aid.
- India: development case study (1)
- Not “Bihar”. Bihar is one of the poorest, peripheral states.
Topic 6: Resource management (study energy or water)
- Energy: sources and the energy mix
- Not “They produce no carbon dioxide”. Burning gas does release carbon dioxide.
- Energy: demand, impacts and sustainable management
- Not “Damming a river”. Damming a river is used for HEP.
Topic 7: Geographical investigations: fieldwork
- Fieldwork: investigating rivers or coasts
- Not “Flow meter”. A flow meter measures river velocity.
- The enquiry process: sampling, presenting and evaluating
- Not “Data that are exactly correct”. That describes accuracy.
Topic 8: Geographical investigations: UK challenges
- UK challenges: people, resources and the economy
- Not “It is always cheaper”. Brownfield sites can be costly to clean up.
- UK challenges: landscapes and climate change
- Not “The New Forest”. The New Forest became a National Park in 2005.
Geo 2026: Year 10 revision (economic activity and energy; coasts to erosional landforms)
- Geo 2026: Job sectors and the Clark-Fisher model
- Not “Quaternary”. The quaternary sector is growing but still small.
- Geo 2026: The informal economy and Mumbai
- Not “It gives the government tax revenue”. Informal work is not taxed.
- Geo 2026: Population and resources
- Not “People will always invent ways to grow more food”. That is Boserup's view.
- Geo 2026: Coasts introduction, waves and key words
- Not “Weak swash, strong backwash, steep and close together”. That describes a destructive wave.
- Not “Corrosion”. Corrosion is another name for solution.
- Geo 2026: Coastal processes
- Not “Constructive”. Constructive waves have a strong swash and build beaches.
- Not “Attrition”. Attrition is rocks hitting each other.
- Geo 2026: Erosional coastal landforms
- Not “Hard rock erodes quickly”. Hard rock forms headlands.
Topic 1: River environments (Paper 1 option)
- The hydrological cycle and drainage basins
- Not “Ice sheets”. Ice sheets are the largest store of fresh water, not all water.
- Not “Where two rivers join”. That is a confluence.
Topic 3: Hazardous environments (Paper 1 option)
- Hazardous environments: where and why
- Not “Constructive”. Constructive boundaries have volcanoes.
- Hazards: vulnerability and impacts
- Not “Living on a steep slope”. A steep slope is physical vulnerability.
- Managing earthquakes
- Not “Rebuilding to new codes”. Rebuilding is long-term.
Paper 1 Section B: Fieldwork (rivers, coasts or hazards)
- Fieldwork: investigating an extreme weather event
- Not “Wind vane”. A wind vane shows direction, not speed.
Topic 4: Economic activity and energy (Paper 2 option)
- Economic sectors and their location
- Not “Tertiary”. Tertiary is services such as retail and healthcare.
- Economic change, impacts and population theories
- Not “Famine is inevitable”. That is closer to Malthus' view.
Topic 5: Rural environments (Paper 2 option)
- Farming systems and modified ecosystems
- Not “Rainfall”. Rainfall is a physical input.
- Sustainable rural environments
- Not “A United Nations agency”. A UN agency is an IGO.
Topic 6: Urban environments (Paper 2 option)
- Urban land use and the rural-urban fringe
- Not “It is very expensive to clear pollution”. Clearing pollution is a brownfield issue.
Topic 7: Fragile environments and climate change (global issue option)
- Fragile environments under threat
- Not “Reduced rainfall”. Reduced rainfall is a natural cause.
- Responding to desertification and climate change
- Not “Signing the Paris Agreement”. International agreements are signed by governments.
Topic 8: Globalisation and migration (global issue option)
- Globalisation: a connected world
- Not “Lends money to poor countries”. That is the IMF's role.
- Globalisation: winners, losers and geopolitics
- Not “Profits sent abroad”. Profits leaving is a cost.
- Migration: causes, impacts and management
- Not “Higher wages abroad”. Higher wages abroad is a pull factor.