Download Year 10 Geography File

Your guide to GCSE
Geography exam revision and everything you need
to know!
What do I need to know?
Subject knowledge:

Definitions

Case study facts

Impacts: social, economic and
environmental. Positive and negative.
Skills

Map skills

Annotating photographs

Constructing and interpreting graphs

Decision Making Skills
If it says:
DESCRIBE: Say what you see!
If you are given a visual stimulus e.g. a picture, map or graph, look carefully at it and describe what it
shows.
REMEMBER: Use a FACT or NUMBER to back up
your
answer.
Useful descriptive terms for different sources include:

Graphs:
Trend: is there a pattern of change? What is it e.g.
increasing or decreasing. What is the timescale of
change e.g. through the year? Over several years?
Manipulation: think of words like double, half, over,
under.
Data: quote specific data e.g. maximum and
minimum values, data range and identify any
anomalies (strange values). Examples might be Can
you calculate the average or total e.g. total annual
rainfall? If it’s a climograph, are the temperatures/
rainfall high or low? Do they show seasonal change?
What is the annual temperature range?
Temperature trend: The
temperatures are high
throughout the year.
Rainfall trend: Rainfall is
highest between December
and May.
Overall trend:
temperatures increase
when rainfall decreases.
Temperature manipulation:
Remains above 24 ⁰C throughout
the year.
Rainfall manipulation: The rainfall is highest between December
and May when average monthly
rainfall is above 200mm. The
lowest rainfall is 16 times lower
than the maximum rainfall and
occurs in November.
Temperature data: Maximum 29⁰C in September and minimum 24⁰C in April. Temperature range: 5⁰C.
Rainfall data: Maximum 310mm in March and minimum
10mm in November. Average annual rainfall 1885mm.

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Maps: Maps can show the distribution of features. How are they spread? Are they
scattered? Are they concentrated?
Use map directions to describe the features e.g. to the north-west, there is a concentration of…
Do you know:

Map symbols, scale and direction

4 and 6 figure grid references
Can you:

Describe and explain features of the map e.g. relief using map features including
contours.
Photos / diagrams: What does the picture show? Does it show an ecosystem or
landform? What adaptations have the species made to the ecosystem? Can you identify challenges and use key terms like desertification and salisation?
EXPLAIN: Explanations require knowledge. You may be asked to explain:

What is the cause of a specific climate? e.g. how global circulation links to the distribution of ecosystems.

How and why are animals and plants adapted to different ecosystems?

How are human activities leasing to challenges such as desertification?

What strategies are being used to manage the impact of these challenges?
To explain, you need to use terms such as..
This is because...
Top Tip:
Read the
question
Read the
question again
Adjectives to DESCRIBE
Normal Adjectives:
Steep, gentle, high, low, quickly, slowly,
concentrated, dispersed, hot, cold, mild.
Comparative Adjectives
(comparing TWO things:
Steeper, more gentle, higher, lower,
quicker, slower, hotter, cooler, colder,
milder, stronger, weaker.
Superlative adjectives (comparing
MANY things:
Steepest, gentlest, highest, lowest,
quickest, slowest, most, least, hottest, coldest, strongest, weakest.
This means that...
Circle the
COMMAND
WORDS e.g.
Describe and
Explain
Answer the
question
Connectives to EXPLAIN
For example..
Therefore..
In other words..
Consequently..
For instance..
Anyway..
However..
Alternatively..
Nevertheless..
Whereas..
On the other hand.. So..
Furthermore..
Since..
Although..
Because..
Meanwhile..
Living with the Physical Environment: The Living World
You need to revise and consolidate everything in your exercise book to
make sure you fully understand the module.
For this exam, you might want to focus on the following areas:
1.
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Section A: The Living World
Can you describe the distribution of different ecosystems?
Can you describe the characteristics of different ecosystems including
climate and soils?
Describe and explain adaptations of plants and animals to Tropical
Rainforests and Hot Desert environments.
Do you understand the term interdependence?
Can you explain how soils, climate, vegetation and animals are
interdependent in each ecosystem: Deciduous Forests, Tropical
Rainforests and Hot Deserts.
Can you identify the causes, impacts and management of human
developments in the Tropical Rainforest, focussing on the Indonesia case
study.
2. Section B: Issues Evaluation
This is a critical thinking and problem-solving element to the assessment. It
allows you to demonstrate your geographical skills including the construction
and interpretation of graphs, maps and photos and also the application of
knowledge related to a particular issue.
You will be provided with some resources including maps, graphs and photos.

Look carefully at each piece of data and use your geographical skills e.g.
description and explanation to answer the questions.
What does ‘Issues Evaluation’ mean?
This is a DECISION MAKING EXERCISE. You need to look carefully at the
information provided which will include information and visual stimuli e.g.
graphs and maps then apply it to the question.
You need to decide which is the most appropriate option and JUSTIFY your
response:
The most appropriate option for the development is……….this is because……..
A second reason why this is an appropriate option is……..
The least appropriate option for this development is…… this is because…...