AQA A-Level Geography Active Recall Guide (7037)
AQA · A-Level
AQA A-Level Geography Active Recall Guide
Every topic of specification 7037 written as exam-style questions with the answers printed after them. 3,320 questions across 11 topics and 251 subtopics, including every optional topic so the guide fits whichever ones you sit.
- AQA
- A-Level
- Specification 7037
- 3,320 questions
Guide overview All 11 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
What the exam asks of you
AQA A-Level Geography is two written papers and a fieldwork investigation. Component 1, physical geography, and Component 2, human geography, are each 2 hours 30 minutes, 120 marks and 40 per cent. Component 3 is an individual investigation of 3,000 to 4,000 words, worth 60 marks and 20 per cent.
Each paper carries choices. On Component 1 you take one landscape system of three and one of Hazards or Ecosystems under Stress. On Component 2 you take one of Contemporary Urban Environments, Population and the Environment or Resource Security. Every option is here.
| Paper | Covers | Length | Marks | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Component 1 Physical geography |
Section A: Water and carbon cycles (36 marks) Section B: one of Hot desert, Coastal or Glacial systems and landscapes (36 marks) Section C: either Hazards or Ecosystems under stress (48 marks) |
2 hours 30 minutes | 120 marks | 40% |
|
Component 2 Human geography |
Section A: Global systems and global governance (36 marks) Section B: Changing places (36 marks) Section C: one of Contemporary urban environments, Population and the environment or Resource security (48 marks) |
2 hours 30 minutes | 120 marks | 40% |
|
Component 3 Geography fieldwork investigation |
An individual investigation using data collected in the field A question or issue defined and developed by the student Marked by teachers and moderated by AQA |
3,000 to 4,000 words | 60 marks | 20% |
What is in the guide
All 11 topics
Every topic has its own page with its subtopics, what it covers and sample questions.
Sample questions
Taken from the guide. Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Systems, Stores and Flows
What are flows (or transfers) in a system?
Show the answer
Movements of energy or matter between stores within a system. -
Deserts as Systems: Inputs, Stores, Flows and Feedback
What are stores or components in a physical geography system?
Show the answer
Stores or components are places where energy or matter is held within the system. -
Energy Inputs to the Coastal System
Where does sediment go when it leaves a coastal system as an output?
Show the answer
Sediment is lost to offshore zones beyond the active coastal system -
Glaciers as Systems: Inputs, Stores and Flows
What is iceberg calving?
Show the answer
The breaking off of chunks of ice from the glacier terminus, typically into water, representing a loss of mass from the system. -
Natural Hazards: Types, Perception and Responses
Identify four economic factors that influence hazard perception.
Show the answer
Wealth, income levels, access to insurance, and economic dependence on hazard-prone locations. -
Biodiversity Levels and Causes of Decline
What is ecosystem diversity?
Show the answer
The variety of different habitats, biological communities and ecological processes within a region -
Global Flows of Capital, Labour, Goods and Information
Why are skilled workers significant in the global flow of labour?
Show the answer
Skilled workers possess specialised qualifications or expertise that are in demand internationally, leading to brain drain from some countries and brain gain in others. -
What Place Means
What characterises an insider perspective on place?
Show the answer
Personal experience of living in or belonging to a place, giving subjective emotional attachment and detailed local knowledge.
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Look inside
Questions for a subtopic print together and the answers for that section print after them.
- Water and Carbon Cycles377
- Hot Desert Systems and Landscapes223
- Coastal Systems and Landscapes199
- Glacial Systems and Landscapes227
- Hazards407
- Ecosystems Under Stress357
- Global Systems and Global Governance265
- Changing Places220
- Contemporary Urban Environments386
- Population and the Environment322
- Resource Security337
- What are the six main components that make up a system in physical geography?
- Define what inputs are in a physical geography system.
- Define what outputs are in a physical geography system.
- What role does energy play in a physical geography system?
- What are stores or components in a physical geography system?
- Define flows or transfers in the context of a physical geography system.
- What are feedback mechanisms in a physical geography system?
- Name four inputs to a desert system.
- What are the main outputs from a desert system?
- Inputs, outputs, energy, stores/components, flows/transfers, and feedback mechanisms.
- Inputs are additions of energy or matter entering the system from outside.
- Outputs are losses of energy or matter leaving the system.
- Energy drives the processes and transfers within the system, enabling work to be done.
- Stores or components are places where energy or matter is held within the system.
- Flows or transfers are movements of energy or matter between stores within the system.
- Feedback mechanisms are processes where outputs of the system influence subsequent inputs, either amplifying or dampening change.
- Solar energy, precipitation, wind-blown sediment, and weathered material from surrounding areas.
- Evaporation, sediment transported out by wind or ephemeral streams, and heat radiation.
questions
Scroll sideways to turn through the pages.
Questions students ask first
I only do some of these topics. Is the rest wasted?
No. Component 1 is Water and Carbon Cycles plus one landscape system of three plus one of Hazards or Ecosystems under Stress. Component 2 is Global Systems, Changing Places and one of three.
Every option is in the guide because schools choose differently. Work yours and skip the rest.
Which parts are compulsory?
Water and Carbon Cycles on Component 1, and Global Systems and Global Governance plus Changing Places on Component 2. Everything else on both papers is chosen.
Is the individual investigation covered?
No. Component 3 is your own fieldwork question, written up over 3,000 to 4,000 words and marked by your teachers. It is 20 per cent and it is entirely your own.
The geography it draws on is in the guide, and so are the skills and processes you will apply.
Do I need my own case studies?
Yes, and your school will have taught specific ones. The guide covers the processes and concepts they illustrate, and the standard examples. Use your own named examples where you have them.
AQA A-Level Geography Active Recall Guide
Every question paired with its answer, grouped by topic and subtopic, ready to work in three passes.