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
UK Environmental Challenges
Renewables in the UK, and the future of fossil fuels
- 3 things to know
- Component 01
Overview
The rapid growth of offshore wind, the benefits of renewable schemes and the objections and environmental harm they bring, the limits of hydroelectric power, intermittent wind and solar, the case for gas-fired stations and against burning more fossil fuel, and the arguments for and against more nuclear power.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
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Key term
What benefits do renewable schemes bring to British people?
Key term
What environmental harm can renewable schemes do?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Why has offshore wind expanded so quickly around the British coast?
Model answer
Shallow seas and strong steady winds suit very large turbines, and the cost per unit of electricity has fallen sharply as more have been built.
- 2
What benefits do renewable schemes bring to British people?
Model answer
Cleaner air and lower emissions, jobs in manufacture, installation and maintenance, and less reliance on fuel bought from abroad.
- 3
Give two objections local residents raise against renewable schemes.
Model answer
That turbines and solar farms spoil the view and depress house prices, and that turbine noise and flickering shadows disturb nearby homes.
- 4
What environmental harm can renewable schemes do?
Model answer
Turbines kill birds and bats, solar farms take productive farmland out of use, and a tidal barrage drowns the mudflats that wading birds feed on.
- 5
Why is hydroelectric power limited in Britain?
Model answer
It needs steep valleys with heavy and reliable rainfall, so suitable sites are confined to upland Scotland and Wales and most are already dammed.
- 6
What is the main difficulty wind and solar create for the grid?
Model answer
Their output is intermittent and depends on the weather, so supply has to be stored or backed up for calm, dull days.
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