AS Unit 1
Changing Landscapes
- Coastal Landscapes
- Glaciated Landscapes
- Tectonic Hazards
2 hours96 marks24%
WJEC AS Geography, memorised in year one.
Everything the AS examines and nothing from the second year. Drill the 6 topics you are actually sitting in Wales this summer.
- AS of 601-8455-3
- 6 topics
- 75 subtopics
WJEC AS-Level Geography 601-8455-3
Coastal Landscapes
Topic overviewThe coast as an open systemSediment sources and sediment cellsTides and coastal currentsConstructive and destructive wavesHigh energy coasts and erosional landscape systemsLow energy coasts and depositional landscape systemsFetch, wave refraction and wave energyLithology and structural geology at the coastSub-aerial weathering and mass movementMarine processes of erosionErosional landforms of rocky coastsCoastal transport and longshore driftDeposition, flocculation and sediment sortingDepositional landforms of sandy coastsSand dunes and aeolian processesEstuaries, tidal flats and salt marshesCoral reefs and mangrove coastlinesCoastal change over different timescalesCoastal processes and human activityHuman impact on coastal landscape systems
Glaciated Landscapes
Topic overviewThe glacier as an open systemClimate change and the glacier budgetGlacier movementTypes of ice mass and their distributionGlacial weathering and erosion processesMacro-scale erosional landformsGlacial transport and depositional landformsFluvioglacial landformsSuites of landforms in glacial landscapesPeriglacial processes and ground icePeriglacial action of water and windGlacial change over different timescalesGlacial environments and human activity
Tectonic Hazards
Topic overviewThe internal structure of the EarthMechanisms of plate movementDivergent and conservative plate marginsConvergent margins and subductionHot spots and the global distribution of tectonic hazardsThe hazard profile and measuring magnitudeTypes of volcano and styles of eruptionPrimary volcanic hazardsSecondary volcanic hazardsImpacts of volcanic activity at different scalesContrasting volcanic eruptionsEarthquake characteristics and seismic wavesEarthquake hazards and ground behaviourTsunami processes and impactsContrasting earthquake eventsRisk, vulnerability and human factorsMonitoring, prediction and warningMitigation, response and the hazard management cycle
Changing Places
Topic overviewWhat gives a place its characterFlows and connections that shape placesMeaning, perception and attachment to placeHow places are representedEconomic restructuring and the Clark Fisher modelDeindustrialisation and social inequalityThe service economy and its impactsThe knowledge economy and clustersRebranding rural placesManaging change in rural placesRebranding urban placesManaging change in urban placesComparing a home place with a contrasting placeHow place change affects people's lives
Fieldwork and Geographical Skills
What WJEC AS Geography covers, and what it leaves out
WJEC AS Geography is the first year of the 601-8455-3 course and a qualification in its own right, examined in 2 units, AS Unit 1 and AS Unit 2. This page holds only what the AS examines: 6 topics across 75 subtopics, 1,139 active recall questions, starting with Coastal Landscapes, Glaciated Landscapes and Tectonic Hazards. The 9 topics kept back for the second year are not shown, so nothing here is content you have not been taught yet.
Starting the second year? The full WJEC A-Level Geography page adds the A2 topics on top of everything here.
WJEC GCE AS and A Level Geography (Wales), qualification number 601/8455/3, first teaching 2016. Read the WJEC specification ↗
How it is assessed
AS Unit 2
Changing Places
- Changing Places
- Fieldwork and Geographical Skills
1 hour 30 minutes64 marks16%
The full specification
6 topics, 75 subtopics. Open any topic to see what is inside it.
01Coastal Landscapes20 subtopicsOpen topic
- The coast as an open system
- Sediment sources and sediment cells
- Tides and coastal currents
- Constructive and destructive waves
- High energy coasts and erosional landscape systems
- Low energy coasts and depositional landscape systems
- Fetch, wave refraction and wave energy
- Lithology and structural geology at the coast
- Sub-aerial weathering and mass movement
- Marine processes of erosion
- Erosional landforms of rocky coasts
- Coastal transport and longshore drift
- Deposition, flocculation and sediment sorting
- Depositional landforms of sandy coasts
- Sand dunes and aeolian processes
- Estuaries, tidal flats and salt marshes
- Coral reefs and mangrove coastlines
- Coastal change over different timescales
- Coastal processes and human activity
- Human impact on coastal landscape systems
02Glaciated Landscapes13 subtopicsOpen topic
- The glacier as an open system
- Climate change and the glacier budget
- Glacier movement
- Types of ice mass and their distribution
- Glacial weathering and erosion processes
- Macro-scale erosional landforms
- Glacial transport and depositional landforms
- Fluvioglacial landforms
- Suites of landforms in glacial landscapes
- Periglacial processes and ground ice
- Periglacial action of water and wind
- Glacial change over different timescales
- Glacial environments and human activity
03Tectonic Hazards18 subtopicsOpen topic
- The internal structure of the Earth
- Mechanisms of plate movement
- Divergent and conservative plate margins
- Convergent margins and subduction
- Hot spots and the global distribution of tectonic hazards
- The hazard profile and measuring magnitude
- Types of volcano and styles of eruption
- Primary volcanic hazards
- Secondary volcanic hazards
- Impacts of volcanic activity at different scales
- Contrasting volcanic eruptions
- Earthquake characteristics and seismic waves
- Earthquake hazards and ground behaviour
- Tsunami processes and impacts
- Contrasting earthquake events
- Risk, vulnerability and human factors
- Monitoring, prediction and warning
- Mitigation, response and the hazard management cycle
04Changing Places14 subtopicsOpen topic
- What gives a place its character
- Flows and connections that shape places
- Meaning, perception and attachment to place
- How places are represented
- Economic restructuring and the Clark Fisher model
- Deindustrialisation and social inequality
- The service economy and its impacts
- The knowledge economy and clusters
- Rebranding rural places
- Managing change in rural places
- Rebranding urban places
- Managing change in urban places
- Comparing a home place with a contrasting place
- How place change affects people's lives
05Fieldwork and Geographical Skills6 subtopicsOpen topic
How you work through it
Pick the mode that fits the time you have.
Try three questions
No account needed. Answer from memory first.
Your recallNot started
Key term
Explain why estuaries accumulate fine sediment rather than sand.
Process
Explain the sequence that produces a cave, arch, stack and stump.
Key term
Define a geo.
Spaced Repetition Schedule
How reviews are timed
Levo will automatically distribute all of your progress into a spaced repetition calendar. Once you’ve answered, it’s scheduled for you on the next day in the spaced repetition schedule. Over time, the gaps between your recall get bigger, from a day to three years, reinforcing memorisation over a long period of time.
Interval sequence
- 1 day
- 3 days
- 7 days
- 14 days
- 30 days
- 60 days
- 4 months
- 8 months
- 1 year
- 2 years
- 3 years
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material
Geography revision questions
Common questions about revising WJEC AS-Level Geography. Tap any to open it.
What is on WJEC AS Geography?
6 topics across 75 subtopics, examined in AS Unit 1 and AS Unit 2. They are all listed on this page, and each one opens to the subtopics inside it. The full topic list is Coastal Landscapes, Glaciated Landscapes, Tectonic Hazards, Changing Places, Fieldwork and Geographical Skills, Key Concepts in Geography.
Does AS Geography count towards the full A level?
Yes. In Wales the AS units are marked as a standalone AS qualification and also carry forward into the full WJEC A level, which is why the first year matters more here than it does in England. Check the current weighting on the 601-8455-3 specification, as it is set by the board rather than by us.
What is the difference between AS and A level Geography?
AS is the first-year units only. The A level adds 9 further topics, among them Water and Carbon Cycles, Global Migration, Global Governance of the Oceans, and expects you to connect them back to the AS material. Work the AS content here, then move up to the full A level page when you start the second year.
When do you sit WJEC AS Geography?
Normally at the end of Year 12, in the summer series. That gives you one year to memorise 1,139 questions' worth of material, which is roughly 6 questions a day across an academic year if you start in September.
How should you revise for AS Geography?
By retrieval, not rereading. Cover the answer, pull it from memory, then check. Levo runs that loop across all 6 AS topics and brings each question back on a spaced schedule, so what you learn in September is still there in June.
Is it worth revising AS content again for the A level?
Yes, and it is the mistake most students make. The second-year papers assume the first year, and in Wales the AS marks usually count towards the final grade as well. Keeping the AS material on a spaced schedule through Year 13 costs far less time than relearning it.
How many questions are there for WJEC AS Geography?
1,139, written from the 601-8455-3 subject content and grouped into 75 subtopics so you can work one small area at a time rather than a whole topic at once.
Can you use Levo for just the AS year?
Yes. Pick your subject, choose the AS topics on the topic screen, and every mode — the 3-step method, Cram, Blank Blitz, Build It and Test It — works only that material. Add the second-year topics when you get to them.
Every question in Geography, 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.
Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.