Edexcel A-Level Geography Active Recall Guide (9GE0)
Edexcel · A-Level
Edexcel A-Level Geography Active Recall Guide
Every topic of specification 9GE0 written as exam-style questions with the answers printed after them. 3,433 questions across 11 topics and 239 subtopics, including every optional topic so the guide fits whichever ones you sit.
- Edexcel
- A-Level
- Specification 9GE0
- 3,433 questions
Guide overview All 11 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
What the exam asks of you
Edexcel A-Level Geography is three written papers and an independent investigation. Paper 1, Physical Geography, and Paper 2, Human Geography, are 2 hours 15 minutes and 105 marks each, 30 per cent apiece. Paper 3, the Synoptic Investigation, is 2 hours 15 minutes, 70 marks and 20 per cent. The coursework is 70 marks and 20 per cent.
Three of the four areas of study pair compulsory content with a topic chosen from two, so no two cohorts study quite the same course. Every option is here.
| Paper | Covers | Length | Marks | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Paper 1 Physical Geography |
Section A is tectonic processes and hazards Section B is one landscape system, either glaciated or coastal Section C is the water cycle and the carbon cycle, with 12 and 20 mark extended writing across the paper |
2 hours 15 minutes | 105 marks | 30% |
|
Paper 2 Human Geography |
Globalisation and superpowers, both compulsory, with every question answered One Shaping Places topic, either regenerating or diverse places One Global Development and Connections topic, either health, human rights and intervention or migration, identity and sovereignty, with 12 and 20 mark extended writing across the paper |
2 hours 15 minutes | 105 marks | 30% |
|
Paper 3 Synoptic Investigation |
A resource booklet sets out a geographical issue in a particular place Questions draw on the compulsory content areas rather than on the optional topics Assesses the three synoptic themes: players, attitudes and actions, and futures and uncertainties |
2 hours 15 minutes | 70 marks | 20% |
|
Coursework Independent Investigation |
A question the student defines, on any aspect of the specification Built on fieldwork data, collected individually or as part of a group, with the student's own research and/or secondary data Marked in the centre and moderated by Pearson |
Non-examined | 70 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.
-
Global distribution of tectonic hazards and plate boundary processes
Explain how new oceanic crust is created at oceanic divergent boundaries.
Show the answer
Magma rises to fill the gap as plates separate, creating new oceanic crust through sea-floor spreading. -
The cryosphere and the types of glacier
How does the cryosphere affect atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns?
Show the answer
Cold polar regions create temperature gradients that drive global wind systems and ocean currents, influencing heat distribution across the planet. -
The littoral zone and the influences that shape it
How can changes in sea level be used as a longer-term criterion for classifying coasts?
Show the answer
Coasts can be classified as emergent (where land has risen or sea level fallen, exposing former seabed) or submergent (where land has subsided or sea level risen, flooding former land). -
Widening, deepening and the global flows
What would happen to global interdependence if a major disruption occurred to international shipping routes?
Show the answer
Countries and regions would struggle to access goods and raw materials they depend on, demonstrating their mutual reliance on commodity flows. -
Economic classification and variation from place to place
How does employed status differ from self-employed status as a classification of economic activity?
Show the answer
Employed workers work for an employer under a contract of employment, while self-employed individuals work for themselves, running their own business or working as freelancers. -
Population structure variation from place to place and over time
Give two examples of physical factors that influence population density.
Show the answer
Relief/topography (flat land is easier to build on), climate (milder climates attract settlement), water availability, or soil fertility. -
The processes of the hydrological cycle
Define evaporation in the context of the global hydrological cycle.
Show the answer
The process by which liquid water is converted into water vapour at the surface of water bodies or moist surfaces. -
Carbon stores and fluxes
What are atmospheric carbon stores?
Show the answer
Carbon held in the atmosphere, primarily as carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄).
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.
-
Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
-
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.
-
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.
- Tectonic Processes and Hazards345
- Glaciated Landscapes and Change330
- Coastal Landscapes and Change326
- Globalisation273
- Regenerating Places392
- Diverse Places286
- The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity396
- The Carbon Cycle and Energy Security273
- Superpowers267
- Health, Human Rights and Intervention269
- Migration, Identity and Sovereignty276
- What is the cryosphere?
- How does the cryosphere regulate Earth's albedo?
- In what way does the cryosphere influence global sea levels?
- Why is the cryosphere important for freshwater storage?
- How does the cryosphere affect atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns?
- What would happen to global albedo if the cryosphere significantly decreased in extent?
- Define an ice sheet and state where they currently exist.
- What is an ice cap?
- Define a cirque glacier.
- The portion of Earth's surface where water is frozen, including glaciers, ice sheets, ice caps, sea ice, permafrost, and snow cover.
- Ice and snow surfaces reflect a high proportion of incoming solar radiation back into space, helping to regulate global temperatures.
- Ice sheets and glaciers store vast amounts of water on land; when they melt, water is released into the oceans, raising sea levels.
- Glaciers and ice sheets contain approximately 69% of Earth's freshwater, acting as long-term reservoirs that release water gradually.
- Cold polar regions create temperature gradients that drive global wind systems and ocean currents, influencing heat distribution across the planet.
- Global albedo would decrease as less reflective surfaces (land, ocean) replace ice and snow, leading to greater absorption of solar radiation and further warming.
- A continental-scale ice mass exceeding 50,000 km², currently found only in Antarctica and Greenland.
- A dome-shaped ice mass smaller than an ice sheet, typically covering highland areas and flowing outward in all directions from a central point.
- A small glacier occupying an armchair-shaped hollow on a mountainside, often the source area for larger valley glaciers.
questions
Scroll sideways to turn through the pages.
Questions students ask first
I only do some of these topics. Is the rest wasted?
No. Paper 1 is tectonic processes and hazards plus one of glaciated or coastal landscapes, then the water cycle and the carbon cycle. Paper 2 is globalisation and superpowers plus one place study of two and one global topic of two.
Every option is in the guide because schools choose differently. Work yours and skip the rest.
What is Paper 3?
A synoptic investigation set against a resource booklet about a geographical issue in a particular place. It draws on the compulsory content only, not the optional topics, which is one reason the compulsory topics are worth the most attention.
Is the independent investigation covered?
No. It is your own question on any aspect of the specification, built on your own fieldwork data and marked by your school. It is 20 per cent and it is your own.
The geography it draws on is in the guide.
Do I need my own case studies?
Yes, and your school will have taught specific ones. The guide covers the processes, the concepts and the standard examples. Use your own named places where you have them.
Edexcel A-Level Geography Active Recall Guide
Every question paired with its answer, grouped by topic and subtopic, ready to work in three passes.