Year 10 International GCSE Geography revision, built from the class notes and checklist: economic activity and energy, and coasts up to erosional landforms. 17 lessons, each explained below, with notes, a worked example, practice questions and exam-style questions with model answers.
1. Start here
1 Your International GCSE Geography exams
What it covers: Know what you are being tested on. This is the plan from your class notes for the June 2027 exams.
In one line: Paper 1 (physical): 1 h 10 min, 70 marks, 40%: coasts, hazards, coast fieldwork. Paper 2 (human): 1 h 45 min, 105 marks, 60%: economic activity and energy, urban environments, urban fieldwork, fragile environments and climate change.
16 min · 5 sections · 8 practice questions · 3 exam questions
2 Writing strong exam answers
What it covers: Knowing the content is half the job. The other half is writing answers that pick up every mark.
In one line: Read the command word: define, identify, describe (what), explain (why or how), assess (weigh up and judge). Write developed points with because, therefore, leading to. Use named examples, data, precise terms and the resource you are given.
24 min · 6 sections · 8 practice questions · 3 exam questions
2. Economic activity
3 Economic activity key words
What it covers: Start here. These are the key words from your revision notes. Learn them exactly: definition questions are easy marks.
In one line: Learn these exactly: economic activity, economic development, GDP, formal and informal economy, employment structure, industrialisation, deindustrialisation, globalisation, TNC, outsourcing, multiplier effect and sustainability.
24 min · 6 sections · 8 practice questions · 4 exam questions
4 Job sectors and the Clark-Fisher model
What it covers: Every job belongs to one of four sectors. As a country develops, the mix of jobs changes in a predictable way.
In one line: Primary extracts, secondary makes, tertiary serves, quaternary researches. Clark-Fisher: pre-industrial (primary largest), industrial (secondary peaks), post-industrial (tertiary largest, quaternary appears). Poorer countries have more primary jobs; richer countries more tertiary and quaternary.
27 min · 6 sections · 8 practice questions · 5 exam questions
5 Why employment structures change
What it covers: Sector shift is when the main economic sector of a country changes, for example from primary to secondary. Here is why it happens.
In one line: Primary jobs fall because of low wages, mechanisation, danger, better education, depleted resources and imports. A country's economy is shaped by resources, development, technology, globalisation, government policy and demographic change. Sector shifts bring gains (new jobs, incomes) and losses (unemployment, pollution).
27 min · 6 sections · 8 practice questions · 5 exam questions
6 Location of economic activity and Nissan, Sunderland
What it covers: Why is a farm, a factory or an IT company found where it is? The answer depends on the sector and changes over time.
In one line: Location depends on physical factors (resources, climate, land), human factors (labour, transport, markets), politics (incentives, stability) and technology (internet, automation). Nissan chose Sunderland (opened 1986) for flat cheap land, skilled workers after shipyard and mine closures, ports and roads, and government support.
28 min · 6 sections · 8 practice questions · 4 exam questions
7 The informal economy and Mumbai
What it covers: Millions of people earn a living without contracts, taxes or legal protection. This is the informal economy.
In one line: The informal economy is unregulated, untaxed work: low pay, no security, cash-based. Causes: unemployment, rural-urban migration, weak governance, low education. It gives income and cheap goods but no tax revenue, poor conditions and pollution. Mumbai's Dharavi has a huge informal economy (vendors, domestic workers, recyclers).
27 min · 6 sections · 8 practice questions · 4 exam questions
8 Population and resources
What it covers: Will the world run out of resources as population grows? Three famous views give different answers. All three focus on food.
In one line: Malthus (1798): population outgrows food, leading to famine, disease and war (pessimist). Boserup (1965): population pressure drives new technology and more food (optimist). Club of Rome, Limits to Growth (1972): limits within 100 years unless growth is managed. Optimum, over- and underpopulation describe the balance.
27 min · 6 sections · 8 practice questions · 5 exam questions
3. Energy
9 Energy demand, supply and security
What it covers: Energy is one of the world's most important resources. Learn the key terms first, then why demand and supply vary.
In one line: Primary energy is used as found (coal); secondary is made from it (petrol). Energy security: supply exceeds demand; insecurity: demand exceeds supply. The energy gap is the difference between energy produced and required. Demand rises with wealth, population and technology; supply depends on politics, cost and geography.
27 min · 6 sections · 8 practice questions · 5 exam questions
10 Global energy use and fuelwood
What it covers: Energy use varies hugely around the world. Rich countries use far more energy per person, and many poorer families still burn wood.
In one line: Energy use per person is highest in rich countries (USA, Canada, Norway, Qatar, Australia) and lowest in poor ones (Chad, Niger, Nepal); total use is highest in big countries (China, India, USA). Demand and supply depend on physical (climate, resources) and human factors (population, urbanisation, cost, politics, technology). Fuelwood is common in developing countries but causes deforestation and indoor air pollution (about 2.9 million deaths in 2021, WHO).
36 min · 8 sections · 8 practice questions · 6 exam questions
11 Energy sources and a balanced energy mix
What it covers: Energy comes from finite sources that will run out and renewable sources that will not. Most countries use a mix.
In one line: Non-renewable: coal, oil, gas, shale gas and oil, uranium: reliable but finite and polluting (nuclear has waste). Renewable: solar, wind, HEP, geothermal, biomass: clean and infinite but weather-dependent or location-limited. A balanced energy mix uses several sources for energy security.
32 min · 8 sections · 8 practice questions · 7 exam questions
12 Sustainable energy and Curitiba
What it covers: Sustainable energy use meets today's needs without harming the future. Education, efficiency and conservation all help.
In one line: Sustainable energy management uses education, efficiency and conservation in industry, transport and homes, plus footprint calculations. Curitiba, Brazil: bus rapid transit (1974), about 52 m² of green space per person, parks for flood control, recycling schemes ('Garbage that is not garbage', Green Exchange). Revise UK and China for energy case studies.
31 min · 7 sections · 8 practice questions · 6 exam questions
13 Saving energy: people, governments, the UAE, Qatar and Nepal
What it covers: Sustainable energy comes from sources that will not run out and do not damage the environment. Everyone, from families to governments, can help.
In one line: Individuals: switch off, LED bulbs, insulation, double glazing, solar panels, cut waste, measure their carbon footprint. Governments: national (renewable projects, grants, laws, taxes, rail, targets) and local (solar on public buildings, cycle lanes, recycling, LED street lights). Qatar: Al Kharsaah solar plant (800 MWp, 2022, 10% of peak demand). Nepal: micro hydropower for remote villages.
32 min · 7 sections · 8 practice questions · 5 exam questions
4. Coasts (up to erosional landforms)
14 Coasts introduction, waves and key words
What it covers: A coastline is where the land meets the sea. It ranges from dramatic cliffs to fine sandy beaches and is always changing.
In one line: A coastline is where land meets sea. Constructive waves (strong swash, low, far apart) build beaches; destructive waves (strong backwash, steep, close together) erode. Erosion: hydraulic action, abrasion (corrasion), attrition, solution (corrosion). Learn the key words: weathering, erosion, transportation, deposition, mass movement, hard and soft engineering, storm surge, wave-cut platform.
30 min · 7 sections · 8 practice questions · 6 exam questions
15 Coastal processes
What it covers: Waves shape the coast. They erode, transport and deposit material, while weathering and mass movement attack cliffs from above.
In one line: Destructive waves erode (strong backwash); constructive waves deposit (strong swash). Erosion: hydraulic action, abrasion, attrition, solution. Transport: traction, saltation, suspension, solution, and longshore drift. Weathering: mechanical, chemical, biological. Mass movement: sliding and slumping. Geology, weather, people and sea level all influence coasts.
27 min · 6 sections · 8 practice questions · 5 exam questions
16 Erosional coastal landforms
What it covers: Erosion carves headlands, bays, caves, arches, stacks and stumps. You need to explain each one in sequence and recognise it in a photograph.
In one line: Differential erosion of hard and soft rock forms headlands (hard) and bays (soft). Waves cut a notch, the cliff collapses and retreats, leaving a wave-cut platform. On headlands: crack, cave, arch, stack, stump, through hydraulic action, abrasion and weathering.
31 min · 7 sections · 8 practice questions · 5 exam questions