Edexcel A-Level Geography Active Recall Guide (9GE0)

Edexcel · A-Level

Edexcel A-Level Geography Active Recall Guide

A question-and-answer revision guide for Edexcel A-Level Geography, built to be worked in three passes rather than read.

Edexcel
A-Level
Specification 9GE0
11 topics

See what is inside or try the sample questions.

Edexcel A-Level Geography Active Recall Guide cover

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The 3-step active recall method

Re-reading notes is a futile process when your aim is to remember the information and successfully apply it in exam settings. Active recall is the method you use to ensure the information sticks for a long period of time. But even active recall can be futile unless you have a structured way of implementing it. This is where the 3-step active recall method comes in, a structured method that is signature to the Levo Learning guides.

Step 1
Answer up to 10 questions cold, closed book, even if you are unsure on the topic.
Step 2
Answer the same questions again, but open book. Write the correct answer down even if it seems pointless.
Step 3
Repeat as step 1 and answer the questions closed book again.

Worked across the Edexcel A-Level Geography specification, one subtopic at a time.

The subject, and what is assessed

Edexcel A-Level Geography (specification 9GE0) is built from four areas of study, each pairing compulsory content with a topic chosen from two. A student sits tectonic hazards and either glaciated or coastal landscapes; globalisation and either regenerating or diverse places; the water cycle and the carbon cycle; superpowers and either health and human rights or migration and sovereignty. Physical topics are examined on one paper and human topics on another. A third paper is synoptic, drawn from the compulsory content only, and an independent investigation is completed as coursework.

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 Section A is globalisation and superpowers; Section B is one Shaping Places topic, either regenerating or diverse places; Section C is one Global Development and Connections topic, 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 the student's own fieldwork data together with their own research; Marked in the centre and moderated by Pearson	Non-examined	70 marks	20%

Memorisation, then application

Marks are given for applying content to the question that has been set, which cannot happen while the content is still being looked up. Step 1 shows what is actually held. Step 2 puts the correct wording in front of you while the gap is still fresh. Step 3 repeats the cold test, and the difference between the first and third attempt is the part that has moved.

Every question in the guide is paired with its answer in the same document, so step 2 is done from the guide itself rather than from a separate set of notes.

What is inside the guide

Questions are grouped by topic and then by subtopic, following the Edexcel specification. Open a topic to see its subtopics.

Tectonic Processes and Hazards24 subtopics

Covers why the Earth's crust moves and what happens when it does: plate boundaries and the forces driving them, the hazards each produces, and why the same magnitude event kills thousands in one country and dozens in another.

Global distribution of tectonic hazards and plate boundary processes21
The structure of the Earth and mantle convection8
Ridge push, slab pull and sea-floor spreading15
Destructive and constructive plate margins12
Collision and transform margins9
Magma composition and eruption style10
The Benioff zone and earthquake magnitude13
Seismic waves and their effects13
Volcanic hazards and tsunamis14
Hazard, vulnerability, resilience and the risk equation9
The Pressure and Release model11
The impacts of tectonic hazards16
Measuring hazards, and the hazard profile14
Speed of onset, areal extent, duration and predictability13
Why impacts differ between countries17
Education, buildings and healthcare as factors in vulnerability12
Governance at local and national level8
Population density, isolation and urbanisation9
and 6 more subtopics in this topic

Glaciated Landscapes and Change22 subtopics

Covers ice as a system and as a sculptor: where ice sits now and where it once reached, how a glacier gains and loses mass and how it moves, the landforms it erodes and deposits, and how people use and manage glaciated country.

The cryosphere and the types of glacier16
Evidence for Pleistocene ice extent8
Relict glacial landscapes, and polar against temperate glaciers13
Permafrost, nivation, frost heave and solifluction16
Ice wedges, patterned ground, pingos and loess11
Glacial mass balance and the ice-albedo feedback10
Accumulation and ablation processes14
The equilibrium line and how glaciers move14
What controls the rate of glacial movement14
Basal slip and internal deformation9
What speeds a glacier up or slows it down18
Glacial erosion, corries, aretes and pyramidal peaks13
Troughs, hanging valleys, ribbon lakes and roches moutonnees11
Moraines: lateral, medial, recessional and terminal11
Drumlins, till plains and the two kinds of till13
Erratics and reconstructing former ice movement22
Glacial meltwater landforms and landscapes14
Fluvio-glacial (meltwater) landforms14
and 4 more subtopics in this topic

Coastal Landscapes and Change21 subtopics

Covers the coast as a system: the geology and waves that shape it, the landforms erosion and deposition produce, sediment cells, sea level change, and how flooding and erosion are managed.

The littoral zone and the influences that shape it13
Concordant and discordant coasts, and geological structure18
Coastal types and the influence of rock structure14
Faulting, folding and geological weaknesses8
Rock type, permeability and cliff profiles13
Psammosere succession on sand dunes8
Halosere succession and rates of recession14
Waves, beach profiles and marine erosion18
Wave-cut notches, platforms and cliffs10
Caves, arches, stacks and stumps11
Longshore drift and the transport of sediment9
Spits, bars, tombolos and other depositional landforms8
Sediment cells: sources, transfers and sinks19
Weathering on the coast11
Mass movement and its landforms10
Causes of sea level change, and emergent coastlines11
Submergent coastlines and contemporary sea level rise11
Coastal flooding as a significant and increasing risk20
and 3 more subtopics in this topic

Globalisation20 subtopics

Covers how the world became connected and who has gained and lost by it: the flows and technologies behind globalisation, the global shift in production, migration, cultural change, and the widening gaps it has left.

Widening, deepening and the global flows14
The five global flows defined11
Transport, ICT and the shrinking world17
Political and economic decision making in globalisation22
Measuring globalisation: the AT Kearney and KOF indices8
TNCs, glocalisation, outsourcing and switched-off places16
The global shift and who gains from it10
The environmental costs of the global shift10
Deindustrialised regions in developed countries13
Rural-urban migration and the growth of megacities14
Global hub cities and international migration8
The costs and benefits of economic migration18
Cultural diffusion and the spread of a global culture9
Cultural erosion and opposition to globalisation18
Measuring development: GDP, HDI and the Gender Inequality Index14
Environmental measures, the Gini coefficient and the Lorenz curve8
Winners, losers and the widening development gap16
Social, political and environmental tensions from global change22
and 2 more subtopics in this topic

Regenerating Places17 subtopics

Covers why places change and what is done about it: how a place's economy and function shift, how deprivation is measured, why residents see the same place differently, and how regeneration is funded, delivered and judged.

Economic classification and variation from place to place18
The functions of a place and why they change14
Measuring place change and deprivation14
Past and present connections shaping economic and social characteristics21
Economic and social inequalities changing perceptions of areas19
Lived experience, attachment and conflict over place18
Evidence, representations and Spearman's rank11
Successful regions and the spiral of decline8
Perceptions of the need for regeneration16
National planning, transport and funding decisions15
Enterprise zones, housing, immigration and Levelling Up16
Local government incentives and inward investment14
What attracts investment, and the multiplier effect14
Rebranding to change public perception of places15
Economic, social and environmental measures of success9
Deprivation domains and demographic change13
How different stakeholders judge regeneration18

Diverse Places20 subtopics

Covers who lives where and how they see it: population structure and characteristics, the influences that shaped them, how urban and rural places are perceived, segregation and diversity, and how the management of diverse communities is judged.

Population structure variation from place to place and over time22
Population characteristics variation from place to place and over time19
Global, national and regional influences on place14
How places are represented in film, art, music and media18
Continuity and change in demographic and cultural character12
Urban places viewed differently by different groups20
Idyllic and negative perceptions of rural places12
How reputation, media and lived experience shape rural views11
Statistical and demographic evidence about living spaces8
Media and creative sources in evaluating a place16
Increasing cultural and social diversity in the UK18
What causes segregation14
Segregation along the rural-urban continuum, and migration10
Perceptions of segregated places, and measuring segregation12
Changes to diverse places leading to tension and conflict22
Economic and social measures of successful management14
Urban stakeholders and their criteria13
Rural stakeholders and their criteria17
and 2 more subtopics in this topic

The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity30 subtopics

Covers water as a global system and as a scarce resource: the hydrological cycle and the drainage basin, drought and flooding, how climate change is altering both, why water insecurity arises, and how supply is managed and fought over.

The processes of the hydrological cycle11
The stores of water and their relative size14
Fluxes, residence time, fossil water and the cryosphere20
The drainage basin as an open system16
What influences drainage basin processes16
Water budgets and river regimes13
What shapes a storm hydrograph13
Reading a storm hydrograph10
Meteorological and hydrological drought, and ENSO13
The impacts of drought on wetlands and forests12
The physical causes of flooding16
Human causes of flooding8
The environmental and economic impacts of flooding15
Social impacts, case studies and synoptic charts19
How climate change alters the hydrological cycle16
ENSO, uncertainty and future projections11
Water stress, scarcity and the physical causes of insecurity8
Human causes of water insecurity and rising demand17
and 12 more subtopics in this topic

The Carbon Cycle and Energy Security21 subtopics

Covers carbon as a global system and energy as a strategic resource: the slow and fast carbon cycles, what energy security depends on, the alternatives to fossil fuels, and what human activity is doing to the carbon and water cycles.

Carbon stores and fluxes10
Chemical weathering, carbonate rocks and the slow carbon cycle13
Biological processes sequestering carbon (fast carbon cycle)16
Balanced carbon cycle sustaining earth systems15
Energy security and measuring energy use13
What shapes a country's energy mix12
Contrasting energy mixes, public perception and OPEC12
The players in energy security, and energy pathways12
Energy pathways and the mismatch between supply and demand13
Unconventional fossil fuels and their environmental cost13
Renewables and nuclear: the costs and benefits14
Biofuels, carbon capture, hydrogen and the uncertainties15
Land-use change and its effect on the carbon and water cycles17
Ocean acidification and coral reefs8
Climate belts, Amazonian drought and ecosystem services19
Forest loss, the Kuznets curve and consumer attitudes9
How warming changes the hydrological cycle15
Uncertainty, ocean health and vulnerable regions14
and 3 more subtopics in this topic

Superpowers18 subtopics

Covers who holds power in the world and how they use it: what makes a superpower, how the pattern has changed, the emerging powers challenging it, the institutions through which influence is exercised, and the places where it is contested.

What makes a superpower: economy, politics and military17
Cultural, demographic and resource characteristics12
Hard power, soft power and smart power18
The Belt and Road Initiative, and power indexes11
Patterns of power change over time22
Emerging powers and how their strengths are assessed18
World systems, dependency and modernisation theory12
IGOs and how superpowers dominate them8
TNCs, cultural influence and Westernisation19
How superpowers and emerging nations act in global decisions13
Alliances, IGOs and geostrategy12
The environmental cost of superpower demand13
The rising middle class in emerging superpowers19
Contested resources and intellectual property16
Contested political spheres and open conflict10
China's ties with the developing world14
Tensions in Asia and the Middle East12
Economic restructuring challenges to existing superpowers21

Health, Human Rights and Intervention20 subtopics

Covers how development is defined beyond income, how health and rights vary between and within countries, the forms outside intervention takes, and how successfully aid and armed force have improved people's lives.

Concepts of human development17
What causes variations in health and life expectancy14
Within-country variation and the required case studies13
Governments and IGOs defining development targets and policies15
Human rights in international law and agreements14
Differences between countries in definitions and protection of human rights11
Variations in rights within countries11
Progress towards equality, and the case studies10
Forms of geopolitical intervention14
Development aid and the arguments about it12
Economic development projects and military aid12
Development focused on human rights and welfare13
What causes health and life expectancy variation14
Welfare states, neo-liberalism and IGO programmes16
The Responsibility to Protect and UN authorisation13
Military alliances, war crimes and the cost of military power13
Measuring the success of geopolitical interventions15
The mixed record of development aid13
and 2 more subtopics in this topic

Migration, Identity and Sovereignty17 subtopics

Covers movement, nationhood and the limits of state control: why migration has grown, how nation states and their borders came about, the organisations that manage global problems, and what national identity means when people move.

Globalisation and the growth of migration11
What changes migration patterns, and flow-line maps11
Varied and complex causes of migration15
Consequences of international migration18
Nation states and their varied histories17
Nationalism in the development of the modern world20
Globalisation, deregulation of capital markets and new state forms11
The UN and its interventions18
The IMF, World Bank, WTO and other IGOs16
Migration in a globalised world20
Open borders, deregulation and migrant integration15
Nation states, borders and contested territory11
Nationalism, decolonisation and low-tax regimes15
IGOs managing environmental problems14
National identity as an elusive and contested concept19
Challenges to national identity13
Consequences of disunity within nations20

Sample questions

Taken from the Edexcel A-Level Geography guide. Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

Tectonic Processes and Hazards

Where are earthquakes most concentrated globally?

Show the answer
Along plate boundaries, with the highest concentration around the Pacific Ring of Fire, along mid-ocean ridges, and through the Alpine-Himalayan belt.
Glaciated Landscapes and Change

How does the cryosphere regulate Earth's albedo?

Show the answer
Ice and snow surfaces reflect a high proportion of incoming solar radiation back into space, helping to regulate global temperatures.
Coastal Landscapes and Change

Why is the littoral zone described as a dynamic zone of rapid change?

Show the answer
It experiences constant interaction between marine, atmospheric, and terrestrial processes, leading to continuous erosion, deposition, and landform modification over short timescales.
Globalisation

Is globalisation a recent phenomenon, or does it have a longer history?

Show the answer
Globalisation is a long-standing process, not a recent phenomenon, that has accelerated due to developments in transport, communications and business practices.
Regenerating Places

What is the primary sector of economic activity?

Show the answer
The primary sector involves the extraction of raw materials directly from the earth or environment, such as agriculture, fishing, forestry and mining.
Diverse Places

Which parts of the UK have experienced the most rapid population growth over the past 50 years?

Show the answer
London and the south-east of England.
The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity

Why is the global hydrological cycle described as a closed system?

Show the answer
No water enters or leaves the Earth system; water is continuously recycled between stores.
The Carbon Cycle and Energy Security

What are terrestrial carbon stores?

Show the answer
Carbon reservoirs located on land, including vegetation, soils, and geological formations such as rocks and fossil fuels.

Questions about this guide

How do you use active recall for Edexcel A-Level Geography?

Answer up to 10 questions cold and closed book. Answer the same questions again open book, writing the correct answer down. Then answer them closed book one more time. The difference between the first and third attempt is what has moved into recall.

How is Edexcel A-Level Geography assessed?

Edexcel A-Level Geography is assessed by 4 components: Paper 1, physical geography (2 hours 15 minutes, 105 marks, 30%); Paper 2, human geography (2 hours 15 minutes, 105 marks, 30%); Paper 3, synoptic investigation (2 hours 15 minutes, 70 marks, 20%); Coursework, independent investigation (Non-examined, 70 marks, 20%).

What topics does the Edexcel A-Level Geography active recall guide cover?

It covers Tectonic Processes and Hazards, Glaciated Landscapes and Change, Coastal Landscapes and Change, Globalisation, Regenerating Places, Diverse Places, The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity, The Carbon Cycle and Energy Security, Superpowers, Health, Human Rights and Intervention and Migration, Identity and Sovereignty.

Is the Edexcel A-Level Geography guide a PDF?

Yes. It is a digital PDF sent to the email address on your order after purchase. Check the address is correct at checkout, and check junk or spam if it has not arrived.

Does the guide include the answers?

Yes. Every question has its answer in the same document, grouped by topic, so step 2 of the method is done from the guide.