Paper 1 Paper 2 Paper 3

Name of the
paper
People and Environment Issues – Making
Global Geographical Issues UK Geographical Issues
Geographical Decisions

Length of
paper
Type of questions 1 hour and 30 minutes 1 hour and 30 minutes 1 hour and 30 minutes

Contains a range of multiple choice questions,

Contains a range of multiple choice, short answer
questions, extended questions, calculations and 8
mark extended answer questions.
Amount of GCSE the paper is
worth
Contains a range of multiple choice, short answer
short answer questions and extended answer
questions, extended questions, calculations and 8
questions. There will also be a choice of one
mark extended answer questions.
decision making question worth 12 marks.

37.5% 37.5% 25%

Topic 1: Hazardous Earth (Climate Change,
Tectonics, Typhoons)
Topic 2: Development Dynamics (India Case
Study)
Topic 3: Challenges of an Urbanising World
ics in the paper
Topic 4: The UK’s evolving physical landscape –
including sub-topics 4A: Coastal change and
conflict and 4B: River processes and pressures.
Topic 5: The UK’s evolving human landscape –
including a Case Study - Dynamic UK cities.
Topic 7: People and the biosphere
Topic 8: Forests under threat (Rainforests and
Taiga)
Topic 9: Consuming energy resources

(Mumbai Case Study) Topic 6: Geographical investigations – including

unseen physical fieldwork (rivers) and unseen
human fieldwork (urban).
 Basic exam technique
1. Read the question!!! For example, does it ask about
DEVELOPED or DEVELOPING countries?!
2. If it is a question with multiple parts, read all sections before
you even start the first one!
3. Go through everything again at the end PRODUCTIVELY -
check for mistakes and omissions.
4. Don’t write outside of the lines given – use the space at the
back and/or extra paper.
5. If given a source always think how best to use it in your
answer.
6. If asked to refer to a source or a case study, or different
opinions- MAKE SURE YOU DO!!!
7. If describing a graph – general trend, then specifics; highest
and lowest, range and patterns.
8. Check the number of marks allocated and use them as a
guide to length of answer.
Exam skill: How to assess, evaluate or
justify
‘Assess’ is used for extended writing questions in which the student is required to use evidence
from located examples and/or a case study to determine the relative significance of something.
This is done by considering all the factors and identifying which are the most important; for
example, the relative impact of two things or the extent to which something happens in
different circumstances. ‘Assess’ does not require a conclusion although ‘Assess the importance
of...’ or ‘Assess the relative importance of...’ might lead students to a clear conclusion.
‘Assess’ (Paper 1, 8 mark questions)
When answering this type of question, which does not have resources, the more successful
candidates will use evidence (e.g. applying knowledge from a case study or located example,
which is AO3) to determine the relative significance of something.

‘Evaluate’ is used for extended writing questions in which the student must appraise things by
measuring the value or success of something and ultimately come to a definite
judgement/conclusion. This is done by analysing and reviewing information and then bringing
it together to develop a conclusion, drawing on evidence such as advantages, disadvantages,
strengths, weaknesses, alternatives and relevant data or details from located examples and/or
a case study.
A useful strategy to help students get to grips with the demands of
‘Assess’, ‘Evaluate’ and ‘Justify’ questions is to use evaluative language
in answers; when a student does this, it shows that they are
considering different perspectives, arguments and positions:
Developed Country – USA, Hurricane Sandy (2012) Preparation
Category - 3 Forecasting:

Storm surge height – 8.5m • Over 20 weather satellites operate each day
• Warnings issued on TV and on Radio
Number of deaths – 285
• Mobile phone ownership is high (103 per 100 people) so
Economic cost – US$70.2 billion
there is access to media
• National Hurricane Center who issue forecasts, warnings,
and educate people about tropical cyclones
Storm surges and defences:
• Soft management such as beach nourishment and saltmarsh
Response: development used to dissipate wave energy
• the President of the USA, Barack Obama, and the Risk and Evacuation:
authorities appealed to people to stay calm and out of harm's • More than 18,000 flights were cancelled leading to
way disruptions in business, tourism and trade.
• the police evacuated hundreds of thousands of people from • Only people who need to leave are evacuated and
low-lying coastal areas most vulnerable to Hurricane Sandy emergency services concentrate on getting these people out
• schools and public transport services closed down and many without being overwhelmed
flights were cancelled • The New York City marathon was cancelled resulting in a
• people temporarily relocated to evacuation centres such as loss of income for many businesses.
Developing Country – Philippines, Typhoon
Haiyan (2013)
Category - 5
Storm surge height – 5m
Number of deaths – 7000
Economic cost – US$3 billion
Preparation
• Assisted in the tracking of the Typhoon by Japan
• Public Storm Warning Signal (PSWS) system warned
people across the country of the risk they faced
• Evacuation took place for areas under threat of flooding or
landslide
• Military were ordered to send planes and helicopters to
areas most at risk, ready to provide aid.
• The warning began as a Level 1 (out of 4) and only grew
when the Typhoon reached landfall
• There are government-provided shelters, but many were not
high enough to escape the 5 metre storm surge
Response
• Seven provinces placed under a “state of national calamity”
• Relief effort slowed by blocked roads and major damage to
airports
• Some areas remained isolated for days
• Burst pipes and contaminated water meant people were
without fresh water for weeks
• Evacuations could only happen in day time houses because
there was no electricity for light at night time
• Some areas felt abandoned due to relief reaching them more
slowly than Tacloban
• Efforts are being made to improve satellite and computer
monitoring to improve prediction in future.
• Some soft engineering schemes like creating mangrove
plantations or tree plantations are being introduced to reduce
the impact of waves and to provide windbreaks.
• The government has also worked to improve warning
systems and emergency plans for next time, and the internet
is being used more to inform people.
Developing Country – Haiti 2010 Prediction:
Place: Port-au-Prince, Haiti 2010 - US Geologists presented a paper in 2008 that concluded
Magnitude: 7.0
Port-au-Prince could be hit by a 7.2 magnitude but they
Time: 4.53pm
couldn’t say with any certainty when this would take place.
Focus: 13km deep on a conservative plate boundary
Epicentre: 25km from Port-au-Prince (population 2.5 Preparation:
- There were no building regulations in Haiti which
million)
contributed to many Buildings in Haiti being built with poor
quality, cheap materials and these simply crumbled when
Primary:
 316 000 people died and a further 300 000 were injured.
the earthquake shook.
 Many houses were poorly built and collapsed instantly. 1.5 - 80% of education in Haiti was provided in often poor-
million people made homeless.
quality private schools, the state system generally provided
 The port, communication links and major roads were damaged
beyond repair. Rubble from collapsed buildings blocked road better education but provided far too few places
and rail links. - Half of people in Port-au-Prince had no access to latrines
Secondary:
and only one-third has access to tap water
 The water supply system was destroyed – a cholera outbreak
killed over 8000 people
 Landslides blocked roads to rural areas hindering rescue efforts.
 The port was destroyed – making it hard to get aid to the area.
 Haiti’s important clothing factories were damaged. These
provided over 60% of Haiti’s exports. 1 in 5 jobs were lost.
 By 2015 most people displaced by the earthquake had been re-
housed.
Developed Country – New Zealand – Christchurch, Prediction:
2011 - Experts knew where the earthquakes are likely to
happen but it is difficult to predict when they will
Place: Christchurch, New Zealand 2011
happen.
Magnitude: 6.3 - If an earthquake is detected, people are warned
Time: 12.51pm immediately.

Focus: 4.9km deep on a conservative plate boundary Preparation:

Primary:
• 185 people were killed and a further 2000 injured
• 50%+ of the city’s buildings were damaged
• Water and sewage pipes were damaged
• Liquefaction caused lots of damage to roads and buildings.
• 80% of the city was without electricity.
Secondary:
• Businesses were closed for a very long time which impacted
the economy.
• Schools were closed for two weeks due to the damage caused.
• Damage to roads through liquefaction made it difficult for
people and emergency services to move around.
• $28 billion cost to recover.
• 1/5 of population migrated away.
- Strict building laws help prevent major damage
during an earthquake.
- Buildings are reinforced with steel frames to
prevent them from collapsing.
- High-rise buildings have deep foundations with
shock absorbers to reduce vibrations and shaking in
the building.
- Drills and warning sirens implemented
- Earthquake survival kits
- Education and social media
India is large! With 3.3 million sq km, it is 13 times larger than
the UK, though it's only a third the size of the USA.
Socially. India has:
- The world's second largest population, 1.25 billion in 2015!
By 2022, that will probably overtake China to become the
world's largest.
- The world's 4th and 5th largest cities - Mumbai (population
16 million) and Kolkata (15 million).
- Some of the world's worst urban slums, housing 40 million
people, a quarter of its urban population.
- Indian society is divided into social ranks known as ‘castes’ –
2.4 - Development of the emerging country is influenced by its locationeconomic
a person’s caste is determined at birth by their parents’
status. The bottom of the groupings are known as
‘untouchables’. They have no caste and do the most menial
of jobs. The system is controversial and many people want
it to be scrapped.
- India is a former British colony; this has helped India
become important globally due to the millions of people
who speak English.
- There are 20 million Indian people living in over 100
countries (a diaspora). In 2014, they sent back $71billion in
remittances. This is a very important source of income for
India’s economy.
Culturally India:
- Is the birthplace of four of the world's religions, Hinduism,
Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.
- Is diverse. In 2011, 78% of the population practiced
Hinduism, 15% Islam, 2.5% Christianity, and 2% Sikhism.
- Now has the world's largest film industry, Bollywood,
producing over 1200 films each year!
Environmentally. India has some of the world's:
- Richest biodiversity. While elephants and tigers (shown in
Figure 4) are well known, its diversity includes 6% of the
world's bird and plant species. However, population and
and context in thethreaten
growth world them.
- Worst environmental problems, with land, air and water
pollution. India is the world's third greatest emitter of
greenhouse gases.
- India has a range of landscapes and climates with a
powerful monsoon.
Politically India is:
- The world's largest democracy - in 2015, 672 million people
were registered to vote.
- A growing global influence. It was one of the founding
members of United Nations and of the G20 industrial
nations. It takes part in UN peacekeeping missions and
contributes the second-largest number of troops to the UN.
2.5 - Globalisation causes rapid economic change in the emerging country
In 1991 the government introduced ‘Economic Liberalisation’. Before 1991 the government decided which industries produced
what and where. Liberalisation changed it to a market economy where the ‘market’ decided: What people will buy based on
demand; Where goods can be made most cheaply; Where investment in products will make most profits
India is one of the few emerging countries that gives more aid than receives it. It gives to Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal and still
receives some ‘technical assistance’ from the UK.
- Globalisation has helped the economic growth as a result of India’s connectivity.
- Containerisation and shipping developments have helped the trade of textiles, clothing and footwear from India
- India now produces more sophisticated and valuable items e.g. computer software and hardware.
- The low cost labour and high-level technology are attractive for Western countries and The tourism sector is growing rapidly – 39
million people are employed in tourism.
How TNCs operate in India (Outsourcing)
- BT have located their call centres in Bangalore. Indian graduates are paid £3000 a year (20% of what they pay in the UK). Call centre
workers earn more than doctors and teachers so a ‘brain drain’ is feared. The workforce are cheaper, well-educated and can speak
very good English.
- TNCs are attracted to Bangalore as the Indian government offers reduced taxes.
- The expertise in areas such as software development has encouraged Samsung, Microsoft and Intel to locate there.
- Communications technology like Skype can help BT and other TNCs have business meetings with India without having to fly their
employees there.
- Other industries include Manufacturing (Toyota) and Aerospace (Boeing).
- Walmart (ASDA), Gap and Zara all use Indian labour to make their clothes as the minimum wage for garment factories is 87% lower
than the UK.
- India has the second largest wireless network after China.
2.6 - Rapid economic growth results in significant positive and negative impacts on people and environment in the emerging
country
Economic changes
- Since 1991 (Economic liberalisation) TNCs were attracted to India. By 2015 clothing was India’s largest manufacturing industry,
employing 80 million people and earned $300 billion in GDP.
- People are willing to work 100-hour weeks for average wages of £35.
- No equal pay between men and women – 70% of garment workers are women on the lowest pay.
- The growth of IT in places like Bangalore has created increasing numbers of well paid ‘middle classes’ in India – estimated to be 200
million by 2020!
- India’s economy has grown by 7% per year since 1997.
- India is likely to have the 2nd biggest GDP in the world by 2050.
- Between 1991 and 2014 India’s GDP per capita went from $1150 to $5800.
- HDI has risen from 0.496 in 2000 to 0.609 in 2014.
- Agriculture is no longer as important to the GDP – fallen from 37.2% in 1980 to 14.5% in 2011. Manufacturing has fallen slightly from
16.9% in 1980 to 18.4% in 2011. Services have risen rapidly in importance from 45.8% in 1980 to 67.1% in 1991.
- Key exports are now petroleum products, gems and jewellery, pharmaceutical products and transport equipment. Over 50% of
exports go to Asia.
- Key imports are oil, gold and silver and electronic goods. The largest source of imports are from China.
- FDI is increasing with over $250 billion worth of investment into India from foreign companies like BT and over $120 billion worth of
investment overseas by Indian TNCs like Tata.
- Changes in health and education has seen: Increased access to safe water supplies; Rapid expansion of hospitals in rural areas
 
2.6 - Rapid economic growth results in significant positive and negative impacts on people and environment in the emerging
country
Social changes
- Urban expansion increases the number of single professionals living alone.
- Large scale rural to urban migration is occurring but the level of urbanisation is way behind the global average (India – 32.7% in 2015,
World – 54% in 2015)
- For educated urban women, they choose to develop a career and marry later. As a result, birth rate has fallen from 30 (per 1000) in
1991 to 19.9 in 2014. Also, fertility rate has fallen from 4 in 1991 to 2.5 in 2014.
- Life expectancy has increased from 60 years in 1991 to 68 in 2014.
- India’s infant mortality rate has fallen since 1991 by over 50%.
- Average no. of years in school has increased from 2.4 in 1991 to 12 in 2011.
- 40 million people live in urban slums in India.
- India’s population was 1.25 billion in 2015. This has increased by 48% since 1990.
- Adult literacy has increased from 50% in 1991 to 72 in 2011.
Environmental changes
- Air pollution reduce life expectancy by 3 years for the 660 million urban residents in India
- Delhi is the most polluted city in India
- 275 rivers in India are polluted with sewage
- Deforestation is becoming a major problem with the ever-rising demand for forest-based products
- In 2014 the Indian government stated that 25% of India’s land is experiencing desertification.
- 68% of the country is prone to drought.
- India is the world’s third largest emitter of carbon dioxide – due to it being heavily reliant on coal.
- India is looking to create a carbon sink by planting large areas of forest.
- Climate change is a big threat to India’s economy. The increasingly erratic monsoon rains threatens the farming sector worth
$370billion and hundreds of millions of jobs. 
2.7 - Rapid economic development has changed the international role of the emerging country
 

- India is now a major international player

- It is part of the emerging country groups called the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and
South Africa)
- The BRICS account for 42% of the world’s population and ¼ of the global GDP.
- India is a member of the G20 (alongside the UK, USA, France, Germany etc) and also supports
the World Bank and Asia Development Bank.
- India wants to be a permanent member of the UN Security Council and more global
organisations such as the IMF and WTO.
- India plays an important part in global climate talks including the Cop26 (Glasgow 2021).