Key term
OCR GCSE Geography A J383
Ecosystems of the Planet
Topic overviewAbiotic and biotic components, and how ecosystems interactThe world’s biomes: where they are and what they are likeWhere the tropical rainforests are, and what they are likeWhere the coral reefs are, and what they are likeRainforest processes and nutrient cyclingTwo threatened ecosystems: a rainforest and a coral reef
Environmental Threats to Our Planet
Topic overviewClimate change through the Quaternary, and since 1000ADThe evidence for climate changeNatural causes of climate change, and the enhanced greenhouse effectThe consequences of climate changeThe world’s climatic regions and global atmospheric circulationHow global circulation produces extreme weatherTropical storms: causes, distribution and frequencyA drought caused by El Niño or La Niña
Fieldwork Skills
Geographical Skills
Topic overviewConstructing maps, and reading cross-sections and transectsCoordinates, scale, distance and reading information from a mapGradient, contours, spot heights and GISChoosing, constructing and presenting graphs and chartsReading and interpreting the main graph and chart typesNumber, area, scale and the relationships between unitsProportion and ratio, and measures of central tendency and spreadPercentages and percentiles, and designing data collection sheetsReading tables, and describing relationships in bivariate dataTrend lines and lines of best fitPredicting from data, and spotting weak statistical presentationDrawing and justifying conclusions from dataInterpreting images and written sources, and recognising biasJudging the limits of maps, graphs, statistics and images
Landscapes of the UK
People of the Planet
Topic overviewDefining and measuring developmentThe global pattern of development: ACs, EDCs and LIDCsWhy development is uneven, and the role of aidA developing or emerging country: its context and economyRostow’s model and the country’s path of developmentCities, megacities and world citiesWhy urban growth rates differ around the worldRapid urbanisation in poorer countries: causes and effectsA major city in a poorer or emerging country
People of the UK
Topic overviewThe UK’s trade, media and cultural links with the worldThe UK’s geographical diversity and its inequalitiesUneven development within the UK, and the effects of economic growthHow the UK’s population structure has changed since 1900Immigration into the UK in the twenty-first centuryUrban trends in the UK and their effectsA major UK city: its people, challenges and ways of life
UK Environmental Challenges
Topic overviewAir masses, the North Atlantic Drift and the UK’s extreme weatherA UK flood event: causes, effects and responsesHow people use, modify and change UK ecosystemsThe UK’s renewable and non-renewable energy sourcesChanging UK energy supply and demand, and sustainable useRenewables in the UK, and the future of fossil fuelsWhat shapes the UK’s energy choices
Geographical Skills
Gradient, contours, spot heights and GIS
- 3 things to know
- Component 03
Overview
Contour lines and intervals, spot heights, calculating gradient, isolines, GIS and its layers, base maps, choropleth maps and their weakness, flow line, desire line, sphere of influence, thematic and route maps, and atlas maps compared with 1:25 000 maps.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
How do choropleth maps, flow line maps, desire line maps and sphere of influence maps show their data?
Key term
What is a contour line?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is a contour line?
Model answer
A line joining all the points on a map that are at the same height above sea level.
- 2
What is the usual contour interval on a 1:50 000 map?
Model answer
Ten metres, so a new contour line appears for every ten metres the land rises or falls.
- 3
What do closely spaced contours tell you, and what do widely spaced ones show?
Model answer
Closely spaced contours mean a steep slope, while widely spaced ones mean gentle or almost flat ground.
- 4
What is a spot height?
Model answer
A dot printed with a number beside it, giving the exact height in metres of that single point.
- 5
What is gradient, and how is it usually expressed?
Model answer
The steepness of a slope, found by dividing the rise in height by the horizontal distance and given as a ratio such as 1 in 20, or as a percentage.
- 6
A hillside rises 50 m over a horizontal distance of 1000 m. What is its gradient?
Model answer
A gradient of 1 in 20, which is the same as 5 per cent.
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