Key term
Edexcel A-Level Geography 9GE0
Tectonic Processes and Hazards
Topic overviewGlobal distribution of tectonic hazards and plate boundary processesThe structure of the Earth and mantle convectionRidge push, slab pull and sea-floor spreadingDestructive and constructive plate marginsCollision and transform marginsMagma composition and eruption styleThe Benioff zone and earthquake magnitudeSeismic waves and their effectsVolcanic hazards and tsunamisHazard, vulnerability, resilience and the risk equationThe Pressure and Release modelThe impacts of tectonic hazardsMeasuring hazards, and the hazard profileSpeed of onset, areal extent, duration and predictabilityWhy impacts differ between countriesEducation, buildings, healthcare and income as factors in vulnerabilityGovernance at local and national levelPopulation density, isolation and urbanisationHow development level shapes disaster outcomesTrends in tectonic disasters, data reliability and samplingMega-disasters and multiple-hazard zonesTheoretical frameworks for prediction, impact and managementLand-use zoning and hazard-resistant designMonitoring, prediction, preparedness and aid
Glaciated Landscapes and ChangeLandscape
Topic overviewThe cryosphere and the types of glacierGlacial chronology and the causes of climate changeEvidence for Pleistocene ice extentRelict glacial landscapes, and polar against temperate glaciersPermafrost, nivation, frost heave and solifluctionIce wedges, patterned ground, pingos and loessGlacial mass balance and the ice-albedo feedbackAccumulation and ablation processesThe equilibrium line and how glaciers moveWhat controls the rate of glacial movementBasal slip and internal deformationWhat speeds a glacier up or slows it downDebris entrainment, transport and the scale of glacial landformsGlacial erosion, corries, aretes and pyramidal peaksTroughs, hanging valleys, ribbon lakes and roches moutonneesMoraines: lateral, medial, recessional and terminalDrumlins, till plains and the two kinds of tillErratics and reconstructing former ice movementMeltwater pathways, and analysing fluvioglacial sedimentFluvio-glacial (meltwater) landformsThe value of glaciated landscapes to peopleNatural hazards and human threats to glaciated landscapesClimate change and the players who manage these landscapesManagement approaches, legislation and scale
Coastal Landscapes and ChangeLandscape
Topic overviewThe littoral zone and the influences that shape itConcordant and discordant coasts, and geological structureCoastal types and the influence of rock structureFaulting, folding and geological weaknessesRock type, permeability and cliff profilesPsammosere succession on sand dunesHalosere succession and rates of recessionWaves, beach profiles and marine erosionWave-cut notches, platforms and cliffsCaves, arches, stacks and stumpsLongshore drift and the transport of sedimentSpits, bars, tombolos and other depositional landformsSediment cells: sources, transfers and sinksWeathering on the coastMass movement and its landformsRapid coastal recession and variations in its rateCauses of sea level change, and emergent coastlinesSubmergent coastlines and contemporary sea level riseCoastal flooding as a significant and increasing riskLosses from coastal recession, and environmental refugeesHard and soft engineering on the coastIntegrated coastal zone management and shoreline policiesHow coastal management decisions are made, and by whomUsing GIS, photographs and crowd-sourced data in coastal management
Globalisation
Topic overviewWidening, deepening and the global flowsThe five global flows definedTransport, ICT and the shrinking worldPolitical and economic decision making in globalisationMeasuring globalisation: the AT Kearney and KOF indicesTNCs, glocalisation, outsourcing and switched-off placesThe global shift and who gains from itThe social and environmental costs of the global shiftDeindustrialised regions in developed countriesRural-urban migration and the growth of megacitiesGlobal hub cities and international migrationThe costs and benefits of economic migrationCultural diffusion and the spread of a global cultureCultural erosion and opposition to globalisationMeasuring development: GDP, HDI and the Gender Inequality IndexEnvironmental measures, the Gini coefficient and the Lorenz curveGeographical skills: statistics, data and research ethicsWinners, losers and the widening development gapSocial, political and environmental tensions from global changeLocal sourcing and its costs and benefitsFair trade, ethical consumption and recycling
Regenerating PlacesPlaces
Topic overviewEconomic classification and variation from place to placeThe functions of a place and why they changeMeasuring place change and deprivationPast and present connections shaping economic and social characteristicsEconomic and social inequalities changing perceptions of areasLived experience, attachment and conflict over placeEvidence, representations, Spearman's rank and significance testingMeasures of dispersion: range, interquartile range and standard deviationSuccessful regions and the spiral of declinePerceptions of the need for regenerationNational planning, transport and funding decisionsNational policy: Levelling Up, house-building targets and foreign investmentLocal government incentives and inward investmentWhat attracts investment, and the multiplier effectLocal interest groups and tourism, sport and rural regenerationRebranding to change public perception of placesRebranding deindustrialised cities and rural areasEconomic, social and environmental measures of successDeprivation domains and demographic changeHow different stakeholders judge regenerationUrban stakeholders and their criteria for successUrban regeneration: reality, image and contested decisionsRural stakeholders and their criteria for successRural regeneration: reality, image and contested decisions
Diverse PlacesPlaces
Topic overviewPopulation structure variation from place to place and over timePopulation characteristics variation from place to place and over timeGlobal, national and regional influences on placeHow places are represented in film, art, music and mediaContinuity and change in demographic and cultural characterUrban places viewed differently by different groupsIdyllic and negative perceptions of rural placesHow reputation, media and lived experience shape rural viewsEvidence about living spaces, and research ethicsMedia and creative sources, coding and samplingIncreasing cultural and social diversity in the UKWhat causes segregationSegregation along the rural-urban continuum, and migrationPerceptions of segregated places, and measuring segregationLand-use change and tension between residents and newcomersMeasuring integration, and community cohesion in SloughDiverse rural communities: the Lake District
The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity
Topic overviewThe processes of the hydrological cycleThe stores of water and their relative sizeFluxes, residence time, fossil water and the cryosphereThe drainage basin as an open systemWhat influences drainage basin processesWater budgets and river regimesWhat shapes a storm hydrographReading a storm hydrographMeteorological and hydrological drought, ENSO and human causesThe impacts of drought on wetlands and forestsThe physical causes of floodingHuman causes of floodingThe environmental and economic impacts of floodingSocial impacts, case studies and synoptic chartsHow climate change alters the hydrological cycleENSO, uncertainty and future projectionsWater stress, scarcity and the physical causes of insecurityHuman causes of water insecurity and rising demandPhysical and economic water scarcityWhy economic scarcity happens, and the price of waterHow water is used: industry, energy and agricultureThe consequences of water insecurityCompeting users and trans-boundary riversThe players in water conflict, and its causesWater transfers as a hard engineering solutionMega dams and their costsDesalination, and the case against the techno-fixThe value of more sustainable schemes of restoration of water supplies and water conservationIntegrated drainage basin management and water treatiesThe players in water management and the conflicts between them
The Carbon Cycle and Energy Security
Topic overviewCarbon stores and fluxesChemical weathering, carbonate rocks and the slow carbon cycleBiological processes sequestering carbon (fast carbon cycle)Balanced carbon cycle sustaining earth systemsEnergy security and measuring energy useWhat shapes a country's energy mixContrasting energy mixes, public perception and OPECThe players in energy security, and energy pathwaysEnergy pathways and the mismatch between supply and demandUnconventional fossil fuels and their environmental costRenewables and nuclear: the costs and benefitsBiofuels, carbon capture, hydrogen and the uncertaintiesLand-use change and its effect on the carbon and water cyclesOcean acidification and coral reefsClimate belts, Amazonian drought and ecosystem servicesForest loss, the Kuznets curve and consumer attitudesHow warming changes the hydrological cycleUncertainty, ocean health and vulnerable regionsUncertainty, feedback loops and tipping pointsAdaptation and mitigation strategiesWhy players disagree, and handling climate data
Superpowers
Topic overviewWhat makes a superpower: economy, politics and militaryCultural, demographic and resource characteristicsHard power, soft power and smart powerThe Belt and Road Initiative, and power indexesPatterns of power change over timeEmerging powers and how their strengths are assessedWorld systems, dependency and modernisation theoryIGOs and how superpowers dominate themTNCs, cultural influence and WesternisationHow superpowers and emerging nations act in global decisionsAlliances, IGOs and geostrategyThe environmental cost of superpower demandThe rising middle class in emerging superpowersContested resources and intellectual propertyContested political spheres and open conflictChina's ties with the developing worldTensions in Asia and the Middle EastChallenges to existing superpowers, and future power structures
Health, Human Rights and InterventionConnections
Topic overviewConcepts of human developmentWhat causes variations in health and life expectancyHealth variations within countriesGovernments and IGOs defining development targets and policiesHuman rights in international law and agreementsDifferences between countries in definitions and protection of human rightsVariations in rights within countriesProgress towards equality, and the case studiesForms of geopolitical interventionDevelopment aid and the arguments about itEconomic development projects and military aidDevelopment focused on human rights and welfareHealth and life expectancy variation between and within countriesWelfare states, neo-liberalism and IGO programmesThe Responsibility to Protect and UN authorisationMilitary alliances, war crimes and the cost of military powerMeasuring the success of geopolitical interventionsThe mixed record of development aidWhy superpowers give aid, and the Gini coefficientMilitary interventions, both direct and indirect, have a mixed record of success
Migration, Identity and SovereigntyConnections
Topic overviewGlobalisation and the growth of migrationWhat changes migration patterns, and flow-line mapsVaried and complex causes of migrationConsequences of international migrationNation states and their varied historiesNationalism in the development of the modern worldTax havens, new state forms and alternatives to capitalismThe UN and its interventionsThe IMF, World Bank, WTO and other IGOsMigration in a globalised worldOpen borders, deregulation and migrant integrationNation states, borders and contested territoryNationalism, decolonisation and low-tax regimesIGOs managing environmental problemsNational identity as an elusive and contested conceptChallenges to national identityConsequences of disunity within nations
Health, Human Rights and Intervention
- 20 subtopics
- 60 things to know
- Paper 2
- Global Development and Connections option, one of two
What Health, Human Rights and Intervention covers
Covers how development is defined beyond income, how health and rights vary between and within countries, the forms outside intervention takes, and how successfully aid and armed force have improved people's lives.
Where it is assessed
Paper 2
Human Geography. Optional content is not drawn on by the synoptic paper.
Check the Pearson Edexcel specification ↗The 20 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Concepts of human developmentGDP growth against wellbeing as a measure of development, the Happy Planet Index, Sharia law and Bolivia under Evo Morales as contested alternatives, Hans Rosling's view of development goals, how education builds human capital and helps people assert their rights, why access to education and achievement vary between countries, and the monitoring role of UNESCO.Open →
- What causes variations in health and life expectancyRecall questions on access to food, water and sanitation, lifestyle, deprivation and the cost of medical care.Open →
- Health variations within countriesHow ethnicity, income and inequality create health gaps inside a country, the UK, Brazil and Indigenous Australians as examples, how the main causes of health variation differ between developing and developed countries, and scatter graphs and correlation for relating health to development.Open →
- Governments and IGOs defining development targets and policiesWhy wealth does not translate simply into wellbeing, welfare states against totalitarian regimes, the neo-liberal free trade, privatisation and financial deregulation promoted by the World Bank, IMF and WTO and how their programmes have widened, the Millennium and Sustainable Development Goals, and proportional circles for comparing government spending.Open →
- Human rights in international law and agreementsRecall questions on the Universal Declaration, the European Convention and the Geneva Conventions.Open →
- Differences between countries in definitions and protection of human rightsHow some states put human rights at the centre of diplomacy while others prioritise economic development, the shift of some powers towards democracy, differences in rights and freedom of speech between authoritarian and democratic systems, and how corruption undermines the rule of law, measured and mapped with a corruption index.Open →
- Variations in rights within countriesHow differences in rights show in social development within countries, fewer rights for women and ethnic minorities in post-colonial states, how restricted rights appear in health and education outcomes, and First Nations in Canada as the example.Open →
- Progress towards equality, and the case studiesFirst Nations in Canada as an example of rights and social development, demands for equality from women and ethnic groups, why progress has been uneven between countries, and Afghanistan, Australia and Bolivia as examples of those demands.Open →
- Forms of geopolitical interventionRecall questions on trade embargoes, military aid, direct and indirect action, and the roles of IGOs and NGOs.Open →
- Development aid and the arguments about itThe forms development aid takes, from charitable gifts after hazards in places such as Haiti to IGO loans, NGOs such as Oxfam and Christian Aid, successes against malaria and for gender equality, and criticisms that aid creates dependency, encourages corruption and entrenches those in power.Open →
- Economic development projects and military aidHow economic development by superpowers and TNCs harms the rights of minority groups, with oil extraction in the Niger Delta, the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines and land acquisitions in Ethiopia as examples, strategic interests behind military intervention, training and weapons sales as military aid, and the contradictions of the war on terror.Open →
- Development focused on human rights and welfareRecall questions on rights-based approaches, the Happy Planet Index, and the place of education in development.Open →
- Health and life expectancy variation between and within countriesHow access to food, water and sanitation drives health gaps and infant and maternal mortality in developing countries, lifestyle, deprivation and medical care in developed countries, and how ethnicity, income and inequality create gaps within countries such as the UK and Brazil and for Indigenous Australians.Open →
- Welfare states, neo-liberalism and IGO programmesWhat high and low social spending show about wealth and wellbeing, the free trade, privatisation and financial deregulation traditionally promoted by the World Bank, IMF and WTO, their newer programmes on environment, health, education and human rights, the post-2015 agenda, flow-line maps of aid, and evaluating newspapers, marketing material and photographs about development.Open →
- The Responsibility to Protect and UN authorisationRecall questions on R2P, Security Council authorisation and the purpose of peacekeeping.Open →
- Military alliances, war crimes and the cost of military powerRecall questions on NATO and ANZUS, the framework for prosecuting war crimes, and what military power costs.Open →
- Measuring the success of geopolitical interventionsHealth, life expectancy, education, gender equality, refugee management, GDP per capita, democratic institutions and freedom of speech as measures of intervention success, why countries favouring economic growth and those taking a holistic view judge success differently, and sources of error and bias in assessing refugee interventions.Open →
- The mixed record of development aidRecall questions on Botswana, Haiti and Iraq as contrasting cases, and on what happened to inequality.Open →
- Why superpowers give aid, and the Gini coefficientRecall questions on the strategic, resource and military motives behind aid, and on measuring inequality with the Gini coefficient.Open →
- Military interventions, both direct and indirect, have a mixed record of successCritical analysis of sources and misuse of data in judging military interventions, loss of sovereignty and human rights violations as costs, why short-term gains often fade, the better record of non-military interventions by bodies such as UN Women and UNICEF, the consequences of geopolitical inaction, and Libya as an example.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Evaluation
Contrast the approaches of governments that measure intervention success through democratic and human rights indicators versus those focusing on economic growth metrics.
Process
What is human capital and how does education contribute to economic development through it?
Process
How do income levels and inequalities relate to within-country health variations?
Study
Name a European country suggested for studying within-country health variations related to ethnicity, income and inequalities.
Key term
What is the current framework used to measure global development progress?
Process
In terms of legal enforceability, how does the UDHR differ from binding treaties?
Process
What political transition have some superpowers and emerging powers undergone over time?
Evaluation
Why have demands for equality from women been significant in shaping the recent history of many states?
Process
What criticism is made about development aid's effect on power structures within recipient countries?
Key term
What often drives military interventions, even when they are publicly justified in terms of human rights?
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What neo-liberal policy regarding state ownership have dominant IGOs traditionally promoted?
Evaluation
What principle allows the international community to justify military intervention when a state commits mass atrocities against its own population?
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Under the Responsibility to Protect principle, who bears responsibility when a state fails to protect its citizens from mass atrocities?
Process
What is ANZUS and what is its geostrategic significance?
Evaluation
Name four components of global military power whose economic costs are questioned in some superpowers.
Evaluation
Why do some governments and IGOs consider the introduction of democratic institutions an important measure of intervention success?
Evaluation
Why is the relationship between development aid and outcomes in development, health and human rights described as contested?
Evaluation
Give an example of how a superpower might benefit politically from development aid in international forums.
Evaluation
How might inaction by the global community affect social development?
Evaluation
What would likely happen to human rights in a conflict zone if the international community chose not to intervene?
Key term
What has traditionally been used as the primary indicator of human development and progress?
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Why does unequal access to water supply contribute to health variations in developing countries?
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What characterises a welfare state's approach to social progress?
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Is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights universally adopted by all nations?
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How do some states use human rights as part of their international relations?
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In post-colonial states, which groups defined by gender have historically experienced fewer rights?
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Explain why gender-based inequalities in rights are particularly evident in post-colonial states.
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What has been an important feature of the recent history of many states regarding ethnic groups?
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What does military aid involve as a form of geopolitical intervention?
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How does indirect military action differ from direct military intervention?
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Is there agreement on whether development aid is effective?
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Give an example of economic development with serious environmental impacts affecting minority groups' rights in Africa.
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How does a human rights-focused approach to development view health as a development goal?
Who and when
How did Bolivia under Evo Morales represent an alternative to western GDP-focused development models?
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How does uneven access to food shape how long people live in poorer countries?
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How does differential access to water supply cause health variations in the developing world?
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What neo-liberal policy regarding international commerce have the World Bank, IMF and WTO traditionally promoted?
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Which health crisis in West Africa is considered a relative success story for international aid intervention?
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Why might superpowers provide development aid for reasons beyond humanitarian purposes?
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Why does higher GDP not necessarily lead to greater happiness or wellbeing?
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How does differential access to sanitation explain health variations in the developing world?
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How can ethnic variations between population groups explain within-country health differences?
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How do totalitarian regimes typically approach social spending?
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Which organisation drafted the European Convention on Human Rights?
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How does the protection of human rights differ between authoritarian and democratic political systems?
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In post-colonial states, how have ethnic minorities historically been treated regarding rights compared to dominant ethnic groups?
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How have demands for equality from ethnic groups influenced the recent history of states?
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What characterises direct military action as a form of geopolitical intervention?
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What health-related achievement is cited as evidence of development aid success?
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Name a pipeline project in North America that has been criticised for disregarding indigenous peoples' rights to their land and culture.
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Why is education considered central to understanding human rights?
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How does differential access to sanitation affect health and life expectancy in developing countries?
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What neo-liberal policy regarding financial markets have the World Bank, IMF and WTO traditionally promoted?
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Under R2P, what type of events can trigger international military intervention?
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Which international document provides a framework for foreign policy statements that can be used to explain or justify military intervention?
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Name one variable used to measure the success of geopolitical interventions relating to population wellbeing.
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Why is the international response to Ebola in West Africa viewed as a relative success?
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How might a superpower judge the success of its development aid in terms of natural resources?
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What is one significant cost of military interventions for the nation being intervened in, relating to their political independence?
Take Health, Human Rights and Intervention further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Human right vs Civil liberty
Human right: universal entitlement held by every person. Civil liberty: freedom protected within a particular legal system.
Direct intervention vs Indirect intervention
Direct intervention: external involvement using immediate political, military or economic action. Indirect intervention: external influence exercised through support, sanctions or institutions.
Development aid vs Humanitarian aid
Development aid: resources intended to improve long-term welfare and capacity. Humanitarian aid: emergency assistance intended to relieve immediate suffering.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What has traditionally been used as the primary indicator of human development and progress?
Model answer
GDP growth, treated as an end in itself, with economic output viewed as the main measure of progress.
- 2
Why does higher GDP not necessarily lead to greater happiness or wellbeing?
Model answer
Money and contentment do not track one another neatly, so a richer country is not reliably a happier one.
- 3
What is the Happy Planet Index?
Model answer
An alternative measure of development that assesses human wellbeing in relation to environmental sustainability rather than purely economic output.
- 4
If a country has high GDP per capita but scores poorly on the Happy Planet Index, what might this suggest?
Model answer
That its economic wealth is not translating into sustainable wellbeing, possibly due to high environmental costs or poor quality of life outcomes.
- 5
How does Sharia law represent a contested alternative to dominant western development models?
Model answer
It prioritises religious principles over secular economic growth metrics, challenging the assumption that economic output should be the primary development goal.
- 6
What development priorities did Bolivia under Evo Morales emphasise as an alternative to western models?
Model answer
Indigenous rights and environmental protection over conventional economic growth.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Health, Human Rights and Intervention revision questions
- What does Health, Human Rights and Intervention cover in Edexcel A-Level Geography?
- 20 subtopics: concepts of human development, what causes variations in health and life expectancy, health variations within countries, governments and igos defining development targets and policies, human rights in international law and agreements, differences between countries in definitions and protection of human rights, variations in rights within countries, progress towards equality, and the case studies, forms of geopolitical intervention, development aid and the arguments about it, economic development projects and military aid, development focused on human rights and welfare, health and life expectancy variation between and within countries, welfare states, neo-liberalism and igo programmes, the responsibility to protect and un authorisation, military alliances, war crimes and the cost of military power, measuring the success of geopolitical interventions, the mixed record of development aid, why superpowers give aid, and the gini coefficient and military interventions, both direct and indirect, have a mixed record of success. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Health, Human Rights and Intervention organised?
- By the Edexcel 9GE0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Health, Human Rights and Intervention, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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