Geography Paper 13 IGCSE

What is population growth / What is population growth rate?

An increase in the number of people living in an area.; Percentage change in population over a period, including migration.

What is natural increase / What is natural decrease?

Birth rate minus death rate, excluding migration.; When the death rate exceeds the birth rate.

What is birth rate / What is death rate?

Live births per 1,000 people per year.; Deaths per 1,000 people per year.

Why may birth rates be high / Why may birth rates fall?

Limited contraception, cultural expectations, need for farm labour and limited education.; Contraception, women's education, urbanisation and higher costs of raising children.

Why may death rates fall?

Better healthcare, sanitation, clean water, food supplies and vaccination.

What is life expectancy / What is infant mortality rate?

Average number of years a newborn is expected to live.; Deaths of infants under age one per 1,000 live births.

What is the demographic transition model?

A model of changing birth and death rates as a country develops.

DTM stage 1 characteristics?

High fluctuating birth and death rates; little population growth.

DTM stage 2 characteristics?

High birth rate, rapidly falling death rate and fast population growth.

DTM stage 3 characteristics?

Falling birth rate, low death rate and slowing population growth.

DTM stage 4 characteristics?

Low birth and death rates; stable or slowly growing population.

DTM stage 5 characteristics?

Birth rate below death rate, potentially causing natural decrease.

What is overpopulation / Effects of overpopulation?

Population exceeds resources available to support an acceptable living standard.; Housing shortages, pressure on services, congestion, unemployment and pollution.

What is underpopulation / Effects of underpopulation?

Too few people to use available resources fully.; Labour shortages, small markets and high costs of infrastructure per person.

What is a pro-natalist policy?

Government measures encouraging people to have more children.

What is an anti-natalist policy?

Government measures encouraging smaller families.

Why may governments encourage births?

To counter ageing populations and future labour shortages.

Why may governments discourage births?

To reduce pressure on housing, resources, schools and healthcare.

What is migration / What is internal migration / What is international migration?

Movement of people to live in a different place.; Migration within one country.; Migration across a national border.

What is emigration / What is immigration / What is net migration?

Leaving a country to live elsewhere.; Entering a country to live there.; Number of immigrants minus number of emigrants.

What is rural-to-urban migration?

Movement from countryside to towns or cities.

What is a push factor / Examples of migration push factors?

A disadvantage encouraging people to leave an area.; Unemployment, conflict, drought, poor services and low wages.

What is a pull factor / Examples of migration pull factors?

An attraction encouraging people to move to an area.; Jobs, safety, education, healthcare and higher wages.

What is a refugee?

A person forced to flee their country because of persecution, war or violence.

Benefits of migration to destination / Problems of migration for destination?

Larger workforce, tax revenue, cultural diversity and filling skills shortages.; Pressure on housing, schools, healthcare and transport.

Benefits of migration to origin / Problems of migration for origin?

Remittances and reduced pressure on jobs and services.; Loss of skilled workers, younger adults and taxpayers.

What is a remittance / What is brain drain?

Money sent home by migrants working elsewhere.; Loss of skilled or educated people through emigration.

What is a population pyramid?

Graph showing population by age and sex.

What does a wide pyramid base indicate?

High proportion of children, often linked to high birth rates.

What does a narrow pyramid base indicate?

Low birth rates and fewer young children.

What does a broad pyramid top indicate?

Many older people and relatively long life expectancy.

What is a dependent population / What is the dependency ratio?

Usually people aged 0–14 and 65+, relative to working-age adults.; Dependants divided by working-age population, multiplied by 100.

Challenges of youthful populations?

High demand for schools, vaccinations, childcare and future jobs.

Challenges of ageing populations?

Higher pension and healthcare costs and possible worker shortages.

How may governments respond to ageing?

Raise retirement age, encourage immigration or support families.

Why may a pyramid have a sex imbalance?

Migration, conflict or differences in male and female life expectancy.

How identify rapid growth on a pyramid?

Very wide base and steeply narrowing sides.

What is population density / What is population distribution?

Number of people per square kilometre.; The pattern of where people live.

Physical reasons for high density / Human reasons for high density?

Flat land, fertile soil, water supply, favourable climate and resources.; Jobs, transport links, services, industry and historical settlement.

Physical reasons for low density / Human reasons for low density?

Steep slopes, deserts, extreme cold, poor soils and dense forests.; Few jobs, poor transport, remoteness and limited infrastructure.

Why are coastal areas often densely populated?

Ports, trade, fishing, transport and employment opportunities.

How do climate and relief affect population distribution?

Mild climates and flat land encourage settlement; extreme climates and steep land discourage it.

What is a settlement?

A place where people live.

What is a settlement hierarchy / Typical settlement hierarchy order?

Ranking settlements by population, size and range of services.; Hamlet, village, town, city, conurbation.

What is a service?

An activity or facility meeting people's needs.

What is a low-order service / What is a high-order service?

Frequently used service with a small threshold, e.g. convenience shop.; Specialised service used less often, e.g. major hospital.

What is threshold population / What is the range of a service?

Minimum customers needed for a service to survive.; Maximum distance customers will travel to use it.

What is a settlement's site / What is a settlement's situation?

Physical characteristics of the actual location.; Location relative to other places and transport routes.

What is a linear settlement / What is a nucleated settlement / What is a dispersed settlement?

Buildings arranged along a road, river or valley.; Buildings clustered around a central point.; Buildings spread far apart.

How does accessibility affect settlement growth?

Good roads, railways and ports attract businesses, services and residents.

What is the CBD / Typical CBD characteristics?

Central business district: concentrated shops, offices and services.; High land values, accessibility, tall buildings and heavy pedestrian flows.

What is a land-use zone?

Area dominated by a particular activity, e.g. housing or industry.

What is urban sprawl?

Outward spread of built-up areas into surrounding countryside.

Causes of urban sprawl?

Population growth, car ownership and demand for larger suburban homes.

Problems caused by urban sprawl?

Loss of farmland, habitat destruction, traffic and expensive infrastructure.

What is a brownfield site?

Previously developed land available for reuse.

What is a greenfield site?

Previously undeveloped land, often countryside.

Benefits of brownfield redevelopment?

Uses existing infrastructure and reduces pressure on countryside.

Drawbacks of brownfield redevelopment?

Contamination, demolition costs and difficult site clearance.

What is urban renewal?

Improving older or run-down parts of a city.

What is an informal settlement / Problems in informal settlements?

Housing built without formal planning approval, often with poor services.; Unsafe housing, overcrowding, poor sanitation and insecure tenure.

What is urbanisation / What causes urbanisation?

Increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas.; Rural-to-urban migration and natural increase in towns and cities.

What is a megacity / Why do cities grow rapidly in lower-income countries?

An urban area with at least 10 million people.; Rural push factors, urban jobs and high natural increase.

What is rural depopulation / Problems caused by rural depopulation?

A decrease in people living in rural areas.; School closures, ageing populations and loss of local services.

What is counter-urbanisation / Why does counter-urbanisation occur?

Movement from urban areas to smaller settlements or countryside.; Desire for space, quieter environments and remote-working options.

What is an urban land-use model?

A simplified pattern of city land uses, such as CBD, residential and industrial zones.

How can traffic congestion be reduced?

Public transport, bus lanes, park-and-ride, cycle routes and congestion charges.

How can urban housing shortages be tackled?

Build affordable housing, upgrade informal settlements and improve basic services.

What are tectonic plates / What causes plate movement?

Large sections of Earth's lithosphere that move slowly.; Processes including slab pull, ridge push and mantle convection.

What is a constructive plate boundary?

Plates move apart; magma may rise and form new crust.

What is a destructive plate boundary?

Plates converge and one may subduct beneath another.

What is a conservative plate boundary?

Plates slide past each other without creating or destroying crust.

What is a collision boundary?

Two continental plates converge, folding and uplifting rocks.

What causes earthquakes / What is the epicentre?

Sudden release of energy as rocks slip along faults.; Point on Earth's surface directly above the focus.

What is earthquake magnitude / Why do earthquakes occur at conservative boundaries?

Measure of energy released by an earthquake.; Friction locks plates until stress is suddenly released.

What is subduction / Why are volcanoes common at subduction zones?

One tectonic plate sinking beneath another.; Water from subducting material promotes melting in the mantle.

Why do volcanoes form at constructive boundaries / What is a shield volcano?

Decompression melting allows magma to rise through cracks.; Broad volcano with gentle slopes, usually formed by runny lava.

What is a composite volcano / What is a volcanic hazard?

Steep-sided volcano with alternating lava and ash layers.; Danger from eruptions, such as ash, lava, gases or pyroclastic flows.

Primary earthquake hazards / Secondary earthquake hazards?

Ground shaking and surface rupture.; Landslides, tsunamis, fires and damaged water supplies.

Factors affecting earthquake damage / How can earthquake risk be reduced?

Magnitude, depth, building quality, population density and preparedness.; Building codes, drills, emergency plans and hazard mapping.

How can volcanic risk be reduced / Benefits of living near volcanoes?

Monitoring seismic activity, gas emissions and ground deformation; evacuation plans.; Fertile soils, tourism, geothermal energy and minerals.

What is a tsunami / Why are some countries more vulnerable to hazards?

Series of large sea waves often triggered by undersea earthquakes.; Poverty, weaker buildings, limited emergency services and dense settlement.

What is the focus of an earthquake?

The point underground where the earthquake starts; the epicentre is directly above it.

How do responses to earthquakes differ?

Immediate rescue, shelter and medical aid; long-term rebuilding and safer construction.

What is a drainage basin / What is a watershed?

Area drained by a river and its tributaries.; Boundary separating neighbouring drainage basins.

What is a tributary / What is a confluence?

Smaller stream or river joining a larger river.; Point where two streams or rivers meet.

What is discharge / Discharge formula?

Volume of water passing a point per second, usually m³/s.; Cross-sectional area multiplied by mean velocity.

What is hydraulic action / What is abrasion?

Force of water dislodging material from banks and bed.; River-carried sediment wearing away the channel.

What is attrition / What is solution in river erosion?

Rocks collide, becoming smaller and rounder.; Dissolving soluble minerals from rocks.

What is suspension / What is river solution transport?

Fine particles carried within the water.; Dissolved minerals carried in water.

Why does river deposition happen / Upper-course river features?

Velocity or energy decreases, so sediment is dropped.; Steep gradient, V-shaped valleys, interlocking spurs and waterfalls.

Middle-course river features / Lower-course river features?

Wider valley, meanders and increasing lateral erosion.; Floodplains, levees, wide channels and sometimes deltas.

How does a waterfall form / How does a gorge form?

Hard rock overlies softer rock; softer rock erodes, creating a step and plunge pool.; Repeated waterfall retreat leaves a narrow steep-sided valley.

How do levees form / How does a floodplain form?

Floodwater loses energy and deposits coarser sediment beside the channel.; Repeated flooding deposits alluvium over a broad valley floor.

What is lag time / What causes a short hydrograph lag time?

Time between peak rainfall and peak river discharge.; Steep slopes, impermeable rock, saturated soil or urban surfaces.

What is hard-engineering flood management / What is soft-engineering flood management?

Physical structures such as dams, levees and channel straightening.; Floodplain zoning, afforestation, warnings and river restoration.

Benefits of river management / Drawbacks of dams?

Reduced flood damage, safer settlements and protection of farmland.; High cost, habitat loss, displaced communities and trapped sediment.

How does a meander form?

Faster flow erodes the outer bend; slower flow deposits material on the inner bend.

How does an oxbow lake form?

Erosion cuts through a meander neck; deposition seals the abandoned loop.

How does a delta form?

A river deposits sediment at its mouth when it loses energy, building land outward.