OxfordAQA A Level Geography: Physical Geography 1 — Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs — examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available free from your board.

Related: Physical Geography 1 revision notes

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Section A: Living with hazards (all candidates)

1. Outline the Park model of human response to hazards. [3]

2. Explain two ways in which economic or cultural factors influence how people perceive a natural hazard. [4]

3. Explain the conditions that favour intense wildfires. [6]

4. Evaluate the view that the impacts of a seismic hazard depend more on the level of development of the area affected than on the magnitude of the event. [12]

Systems concepts (both options)

5. Define the terms system, input, store, flow and output as applied to physical geography. [3]

6. Explain the difference between dynamic equilibrium and negative feedback. [3]

Section B: Hot desert systems and landscapes (Unit 1a candidates)

7. Explain two causes of aridity. [4]

8. Explain how wind erodes and transports sediment in hot deserts. [6]

Section C: Coastal systems and landscapes (Unit 1b candidates)

9. Explain the concept of a sediment cell and why it matters for coastal management. [5]

10. Explain the formation of a spit. [5]

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Answers

1. The Park model plots quality of life (or level of normality) against time before, during and after a hazard event [1]. Quality of life falls sharply at the event and through the relief phase (hours to days of search and rescue and emergency aid) [1]. It then recovers through rehabilitation (weeks to months) and reconstruction (months to years), and may end above, level with or below its pre-disaster level depending on how well the community recovers and mitigates future risk [1].

2. Any two, 2 marks each (1 for the factor, 1 for how it shapes perception). Wealth — wealthier people can afford insurance, protection or relocation, so they tend to see the hazard as manageable and adjust to it [1], whereas poorer people may accept the risk because they cannot afford to leave the land or livelihood that exposes them [1]. Religious or cultural beliefs — where a hazard is seen as an act of God or of fate [1], people are more likely to respond with fatalism than with preparation [1]. Education and access to information — better-informed people understand the likelihood and consequences of the hazard more accurately [1], so they are more likely to support prediction, preparedness and mitigation [1].

3. Any three conditions, 2 marks each (1 for the condition, 1 for its explanation). Vegetation type — some vegetation, such as eucalyptus or conifers rich in oils and resins, ignites and burns very readily [1] [1]. Fuel characteristics — dry, fine fuels such as grass, twigs and leaf litter ignite easily, and an abundant, continuous fuel load, including ladder fuels, lets fire spread and climb into the canopy [1] [1]. Climate and recent weather — a long dry season or drought lowers the moisture content of fuel, while high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds preheat fuels and drive the fire forward [1] [1]. Fire behaviour — fire spreads faster uphill, and an intense fire can create its own winds and throw embers ahead of the front, starting spot fires [1] [1].

4. Marked by levels of response, assessing knowledge and understanding (AO1) and application, analysis and evaluation (AO2).

Level	Marks	Description
4	10–12	Detailed, accurate knowledge and understanding of seismic hazards and the factors affecting their impacts, supported by well-chosen detail from recent seismic events. Thorough analysis weighing the physical characteristics of events against the level of development and vulnerability of the areas affected. A well-supported evaluative conclusion that answers the question.
3	7–9	Clear knowledge and understanding, with relevant use of examples. Clear analysis of both sides of the argument, though with some imbalance. A clear conclusion based on the evidence.
2	4–6	Some relevant knowledge and understanding; examples may be generalised. Analysis is partial and may focus mainly on one side. Some sense of a conclusion.
1	1–3	Basic knowledge with limited relevance; largely descriptive, with little analysis. Conclusion absent or unsupported.
0	0	No creditable content.

Indicative content (not exhaustive; credit other valid points):

• Physical factors: magnitude; focal depth; distance of the epicentre from population centres; ground conditions, such as liquefaction of unconsolidated sediments; secondary hazards such as landslides and tsunamis; the timing of the event.
• Development and vulnerability: building design and enforcement of building codes; preparedness, education and drills; monitoring and warning systems (for example tsunami warnings); the capacity of emergency and health services; governance; insurance and the resources for rehabilitation and reconstruction; population density and informal housing.
• Evaluation: development usually has a stronger influence on death tolls than magnitude, which is why events of similar magnitude have very different outcomes in areas at contrasting levels of development; but a very high magnitude event, or one that triggers a tsunami, can overwhelm even a well-prepared country; and wealthier areas often suffer higher absolute economic losses because the value of property at risk is greater. A top-level answer reaches a supported judgement using evidence from recent seismic events it has studied.

5. A system is a set of interrelated components working together [1]. Inputs are what enters the system and outputs what leaves it [1]. Stores are where matter or energy is held, and flows (transfers) are the movements between stores [1].

6. Dynamic equilibrium is a state in which inputs and outputs are balanced over time, so the system is stable although its components are constantly changing [1]. Negative feedback is a self-regulating response that counteracts a change and returns the system towards equilibrium [1] — for example, when storm waves erode sand from a beach and deposit it offshore as a bar, the bar makes later waves break further out, dissipating their energy and reducing further erosion of the beach [1].

7. Any two causes, 2 marks each (1 for the cause, 1 for its explanation). Subtropical high pressure — air descending in the subtropics warms as it sinks, so its relative humidity falls [1] and cloud and rain rarely form [1]. Cold ocean currents — cold offshore currents cool the air above them, so it holds little moisture [1] and tends to produce coastal fog rather than rain, as along the Atacama and Namib coasts [1]. Continentality — places deep in continental interiors are far from the sea [1], so the air reaching them has lost most of its moisture [1]. Relief (rain shadow) — air that has risen over mountains and lost its moisture on the windward side [1] descends and warms on the leeward side, giving dry conditions [1]. Winds — prevailing winds that blow from over land, such as offshore trade winds [1], carry little moisture [1].

8. Erosion, up to 4 marks: deflation — wind lifts and removes loose, fine particles [1], lowering the surface to form deflation hollows or leaving a desert pavement of coarser stones [1]; abrasion — sand grains carried by the wind blast exposed rock surfaces [1], most effectively close to the ground where moving grains are concentrated, shaping ventifacts, yardangs and zeugen [1]. Transport, up to 2 marks: fine dust is carried in suspension [1]; sand grains move by saltation, bouncing along the surface [1]; coarser grains are pushed along by surface creep, driven by the impact of saltating grains [1].

9. A sediment cell is a largely self-contained stretch of coastline within which the movement of sediment is effectively closed [1], bounded by major headlands or estuaries that prevent significant transfer to adjacent cells [1]. It contains sources, transfers and sinks of sediment [1]. It matters for management because intervention at one point affects the whole cell [1] — building groynes at one resort starves beaches downdrift, so management must be planned at the scale of the whole cell, which is why shoreline management plans are organised on this basis [1].

10. Waves approach the coast at an angle set by the prevailing wind, so the swash carries sediment obliquely up the beach and the backwash returns it straight down under gravity [1], giving a net movement of sediment along the coast by longshore drift [1]. Where the coastline changes direction, for example at the mouth of a bay or estuary, sediment continues to be carried and deposited into more open, sheltered water, so a ridge of sand or shingle extends out from the land [1]. Waves from a secondary direction and wave refraction can curve the end of the spit into a recurved or hooked tip [1]. The sheltered, low-energy water behind the spit allows fine sediment to settle, so mudflats and saltmarsh can develop there [1].

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Where marks are usually lost

• Describing the Park model without naming its relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction phases.
• Listing wildfire conditions without explaining how each makes a fire more intense.
• Answering an evaluation question on one side only, or without evidence from recent events you have studied.
• Confusing stores with flows.
• Describing the sediment cell without linking it to management.