AQA Geography Paper One Revision

General Advice

• Focus on the sections needed for your curriculum, ignoring any unstudied options or case studies.
• Use the free revision guide or purchase a printed version via Amazon.
• Utilize checklists, workbooks, and practice papers available online for comprehensive revision.

Natural Hazards

• Definition: Natural events with social impacts, such as property damage or loss of life.
• Types of Hazards:
  • Tectonic: Volcanoes, tsunamis, earthquakes
  • Biological: Forest fires
  • Geomorphological: Flooding, landslides
  • Atmospheric: Hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning, rain
• Risk Factors: Proximity to tectonic plates, economic reasons, social factors (e.g., language barriers)
• Impact of Human Activity: Climate change contributes to increased flooding and severe weather events.

Tectonic Plates

• Structure of Earth: Crust, mantle (magma), and core (hot)
• Plate Margins:
  • Destructive: Continental vs. continental (mountains, earthquakes, no volcanoes)
  • Destructive: Continental vs. oceanic (volcanoes, earthquakes)
  • Conservative: Plates slide past each other (earthquakes)
  • Constructive: Plates move apart (new rock formation, volcanoes)
• Types of Plates: Oceanic (thin, dense) vs. continental (thick, less dense)

Impacts and Responses to Earthquakes

• Case Studies:
  • Chile 2010: 8.8 Richter, $30 billion, tsunamis, landslides
  • Italy 2009: 6.3 Richter, $11 billion, building collapses
  • Nepal 2015: 7.9 Richter, $5 billion, avalanches, landslides
• Responses: Search for survivors, international aid, rebuilding, tax reductions

Weather Patterns & Climate

• Global Atmospheric Circulation: Affects weather patterns (rainy, hot, cold areas)
• Tropical Storms: Require low altitude, high temperature, and deep warm water
• Climate Change Effects: Increased temperatures, sea level rise, more severe storms

Ecosystems

• Components: Producers (plants), consumers (animals), decomposers (bacteria, fungi)
• Nutrient Cycling: Essential for ecosystem health

Biomes

• Types: Tropical rainforest, deserts, grasslands, deciduous forests, coniferous forests
• Adaptations: Plants and animals have specialized features to survive in their environments

Deforestation

• Causes: Farming, mining, logging, infrastructure
• Impacts: Biodiversity loss, climate change, soil erosion
• Management Strategies: Conservation, education, sustainable logging

Deserts

• Adaptations: Plants with deep taproots, animals obtaining water from food
• Case Study: Thar Desert (Pakistan & India) - industry based on tourism, mining

Cold Environments

• Regions: Polar and tundra
• Adaptations: Plants and animals with specialized adaptations to cold
• Case Study: Svalbard (Norway) - economy relies on coal, tourism, fishing

River Landscapes

• Processes: Erosion, transportation, deposition
• Landforms: Waterfalls, meanders, oxbow lakes, floodplains
• Management Strategies: Hard and soft engineering

Coastal Landscapes

• Erosion Types: Mechanical, chemical, biological
• Landforms: Cliffs, beaches, spits, bars
• Protection Strategies: Hard engineering (sea walls, groynes) and soft engineering

Glacial Landscapes

• Erosion and Deposition: Ice movement shapes the landscape
• Landforms: Glacial troughs, moraines, erratics
• Case Study: Tourism in the Lake District - impacts on local economy, environment

Revision Tips

• Take regular breaks, manage stress, and focus on covering key areas you need for your exam.