Edexcel A-Level Geography sample questions and answers (9GE0)
Guide overview All 11 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
55 sample questions and answers
Taken from every topic of Edexcel A-Level Geography, specification 9GE0. The full guide has 3,433.
Paper 1, Paper 3
Tectonic Processes and Hazards
345 questions in the guide, across 24 subtopics. More from this topic
-
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. -
Destructive and constructive plate margins
What volcanic and mountain features form at oceanic-continental destructive margins?
Show the answer
Explosive volcanic arcs and fold mountains. -
The Benioff zone and earthquake magnitude
How does accumulated stress affect earthquake magnitude?
Show the answer
Greater accumulated stress results in more energy released during rupture, producing larger magnitude earthquakes. -
Hazard, vulnerability, resilience and the risk equation
What is resilience in relation to hazard events?
Show the answer
The ability of a community to absorb, recover from, and adapt to the effects of a hazard event. -
Measuring hazards, and the hazard profile
What three criteria does the Volcanic Explosivity Index use to measure eruption magnitude?
Show the answer
Volume of ejected material, eruption cloud height and qualitative observations.
Paper 1, Paper 3
Glaciated Landscapes and Change
330 questions in the guide, across 24 subtopics. More from this topic
-
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. -
Relict glacial landscapes, and polar against temperate glaciers
What do hanging valleys reveal about relict glacial landscapes?
Show the answer
These tributary valleys with floors elevated above the main valley indicate differential erosion by glaciers of different sizes during the Pleistocene. -
Glacial mass balance and the ice-albedo feedback
What is a positive mass balance and what effect does it have on a glacier?
Show the answer
A positive mass balance occurs when accumulation exceeds ablation, causing the glacier to advance. -
What controls the rate of glacial movement
Why do larger glaciers with greater ice thickness tend to move faster?
Show the answer
Increased pressure at the base promotes pressure melting and basal slip, and greater weight drives internal deformation. -
Debris entrainment, transport and the scale of glacial landforms
What is subglacial load, and why is it important for erosion?
Show the answer
Debris carried at the base of the glacier; dragged over the bed, it acts as the tools of abrasion and is itself ground down, producing fine rock flour.
Paper 1, Paper 3
Coastal Landscapes and Change
326 questions in the guide, across 24 subtopics. More from this topic
-
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). -
Faulting, folding and geological weaknesses
What processes and geological weaknesses lead to cave formation at the coast?
Show the answer
Caves form when waves exploit weaknesses such as joints, faults or bedding planes through hydraulic action and abrasion. -
Halosere succession and rates of recession
How does the upper marsh differ from lower zones in halosere succession?
Show the answer
The upper marsh is only flooded by the highest tides, allowing less salt-tolerant species to colonise as salinity decreases. -
Caves, arches, stacks and stumps
Define a cave in the context of coastal erosion.
Show the answer
A cave is a hollow eroded into a cliff face where waves exploit a line of weakness such as a joint, fault or softer rock. -
Sediment cells: sources, transfers and sinks
Give four examples of sediment sources in a coastal system.
Show the answer
Cliff erosion, river input, offshore sediment, and biological material.
Paper 2, Paper 3
Globalisation
273 questions in the guide, across 20 subtopics. More from this topic
-
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. -
Transport, ICT and the shrinking world
If fibre optic cable networks were damaged, what impact would this have on globalisation?
Show the answer
The speed and capacity of data transmission would be severely reduced, slowing information flows and disrupting global communication and commerce. -
TNCs, glocalisation, outsourcing and switched-off places
Define offshoring.
Show the answer
Offshoring involves relocating business operations or production facilities to another country to reduce costs. -
The social and environmental costs of the global shift
Why does the global shift lead to over-exploitation of resources in developing countries?
Show the answer
High demand for raw materials drives excessive extraction of minerals, timber and water beyond sustainable levels. -
Global hub cities and international migration
Name an example of a global hub city in Southeast Asia that attracts high-wage economic migration.
Show the answer
Singapore.
Paper 2, Paper 3
Regenerating Places
392 questions in the guide, across 24 subtopics. More from this topic
-
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. -
Past and present connections shaping economic and social characteristics
Why might informal and qualitative representations of a place give a contrasting image to formal statistics?
Show the answer
Informal representations capture subjective experiences, emotions, and lived realities that statistics cannot measure, potentially revealing hidden deprivation, community spirit, or cultural vibrancy not shown in official data. -
Evidence, representations, Spearman's rank and significance testing
What does a Spearman's rank correlation coefficient of +1 indicate?
Show the answer
A perfect positive correlation - as one variable increases, the other also increases in a perfectly consistent manner. -
Perceptions of the need for regeneration
How do levels of deprivation affect lived experience of place?
Show the answer
People experiencing different levels of deprivation will have varying lived experiences of the same place -
Local government incentives and inward investment
What are enterprise zones in the context of local government regeneration policy?
Show the answer
Enterprise zones are designated areas where businesses receive special incentives such as tax breaks and simplified planning to encourage economic activity and attract investment.
Paper 2, Paper 3
Diverse Places
286 questions in the guide, across 17 subtopics. More from this topic
-
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. -
Global, national and regional influences on place
How do international trade links influence local economies and place characteristics?
Show the answer
International trade links can create employment in export industries, attract foreign investment, and expose local populations to global goods and cultural influences. -
Continuity and change in demographic and cultural character
What is meant by change in cultural characteristics of a place?
Show the answer
Change refers to shifts in cultural diversity, practices or identity over time, such as the introduction of new religions, languages or lifestyles to an area. -
Idyllic and negative perceptions of rural places
What is Thomas Hardy's 'Wessex' and why is it significant for understanding perceptions of rural places?
Show the answer
Wessex is the fictional rural region in southwest England created by Thomas Hardy in his novels. It demonstrates how literary associations can shape perceptions of rural places as idyllic, romantic, and timeless. -
Evidence about living spaces, and research ethics
How can interviews be used as a qualitative method to evaluate how people view their living spaces?
Show the answer
Interviews allow researchers to gather in-depth personal perspectives, opinions, and feelings about a place directly from residents, capturing nuanced views that statistics cannot reveal.
Paper 1, Paper 3
The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity
396 questions in the guide, across 30 subtopics. More from this topic
-
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. -
The drainage basin as an open system
Why does groundwater flow move more slowly than throughflow?
Show the answer
Because groundwater flow moves through permeable rock, which offers greater resistance than soil, causing slower lateral movement. -
Reading a storm hydrograph
What does the falling limb (recession limb) of a storm hydrograph show?
Show the answer
The decrease in discharge as the river returns to base flow. -
The physical causes of flooding
What happens when river discharge exceeds bankfull capacity during monsoons?
Show the answer
Rivers overflow their banks, causing widespread flooding across floodplains and low-lying areas. -
How climate change alters the hydrological cycle
What would occur if evaporation rates from a lake increased significantly due to climate warming?
Show the answer
The lake's water level would decline, reducing the volume of water stored and potentially affecting downstream water availability.
Paper 1, Paper 3
The Carbon Cycle and Energy Security
273 questions in the guide, across 21 subtopics. More from this topic
-
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). -
Biological processes sequestering carbon (fast carbon cycle)
In what form can biological carbon be stored in soils?
Show the answer
In soils, as the dead plant and animal matter that has not yet decomposed. -
What shapes a country's energy mix
In what ways does technology affect energy access?
Show the answer
Technology determines the ability to extract resources, develop alternative energy sources, and improve energy efficiency. -
The players in energy security, and energy pathways
Why do energy players often have conflicting interests?
Show the answer
TNCs seek profit, OPEC manages supply for producer benefit, consumers want low prices, and governments must balance multiple objectives including economic growth, affordability, and environmental protection. -
Renewables and nuclear: the costs and benefits
What are the main economic costs associated with nuclear power, and what benefit does it provide in return?
Show the answer
Economic costs include high construction and decommissioning expenses; the benefit is reliable baseload electricity generation.
Paper 2, Paper 3
Superpowers
267 questions in the guide, across 18 subtopics. More from this topic
-
What makes a superpower: economy, politics and military
Why is control of financial institutions an economic characteristic of power?
Show the answer
Control of global financial institutions such as the IMF or World Bank allows states to influence lending conditions, economic policies, and development priorities of other nations. -
Hard power, soft power and smart power
How do economic sanctions function as hard power?
Show the answer
Sanctions restrict trade, financial transactions, or access to resources, imposing economic costs to coerce target states into changing their behaviour. -
Patterns of power change over time
What type of power structure characterised the period 1919-1939?
Show the answer
A multipolar world with multiple competing imperial powers -
World systems, dependency and modernisation theory
How does World Systems Theory explain changing patterns of global power?
Show the answer
It shows how countries can move between core, semi-periphery, and periphery positions over time as their economic roles change -
TNCs, cultural influence and Westernisation
Explain how TNCs maintain superpower wealth through their financial practices.
Show the answer
By repatriating profits to headquarters countries and using transfer pricing to minimise tax obligations.
Paper 2, Paper 3
Health, Human Rights and Intervention
269 questions in the guide, across 20 subtopics. More from this topic
-
Concepts of human development
What development priorities did Bolivia under Evo Morales emphasise as an alternative to western models?
Show the answer
Indigenous rights and environmental protection over conventional economic growth. -
Health variations within countries
If a country transitions from developing to developed status, how might the main causes of health variation change?
Show the answer
The main causes would shift from access to basic needs towards lifestyle factors, levels of deprivation, and the quality and accessibility of healthcare systems. -
Differences between countries in definitions and protection of human rights
How does the degree of democratic freedom vary among superpowers and emerging powers?
Show the answer
It varies significantly, ranging from authoritarian to democratic systems. -
Progress towards equality, and the case studies
Why is Afghanistan a relevant example for studying demands for equality?
Show the answer
Afghanistan has experienced significant struggles over women's rights and ethnic group representation, with varying levels of progress and setbacks depending on political circumstances. -
Economic development projects and military aid
Which proposed pipeline project crossing from Canada into the USA faced opposition for disregarding minority groups' human rights?
Show the answer
The Keystone XL pipeline
Paper 2, Paper 3
Migration, Identity and Sovereignty
276 questions in the guide, across 17 subtopics. More from this topic
-
Globalisation and the growth of migration
Why is China used as a case study for internal migration linked to globalisation?
Show the answer
China demonstrates large-scale rural-urban migration as workers have moved to coastal cities and special economic zones where globalisation has created manufacturing employment opportunities. -
Varied and complex causes of migration
What role do deregulated financial markets play in maximising economic efficiency according to economic theory?
Show the answer
Deregulated financial markets allow capital to move freely across international borders, enabling investment to flow to where it generates the highest returns. -
Nation states and their varied histories
What role does migration play in creating variation in the unity of nation states?
Show the answer
Migration introduces new ethnic groups, cultures and languages to a country, increasing diversity; states with high immigration tend to be more heterogeneous than those with limited migration. -
Tax havens, new state forms and alternatives to capitalism
What effect has capital market deregulation had on restrictions governing international money flows?
Show the answer
Capital market deregulation has removed restrictions on international money flows, allowing capital to move freely across borders. -
The IMF, World Bank, WTO and other IGOs
Which regional bloc has moved beyond trade coordination towards closer political unity?
Show the answer
The European Union.
Edexcel A-Level Geography Active Recall Guide
The other 3,378 questions, with the answers printed after each section.