Geography

Loose material on the earth’s surface in which plants grow and

organisms live.

Soil

The breakdown of rock by climate, chemicals and plants and

animals.

Weathering

Organic materials (remains of plants and animals) needed to make

fertile soil.

Humus

Describes the quality of the soil and its ability to produce good

crops.

Fertility

Things that are useful to people. They may be natural like coal

and iron ore or of other value like money and skilled workers.

Resources

A community of plants and animals that live together in the

environment.

Ecosystem

What is soil and how is it formed?

Soil is a thin layer on the surface of the earth and is one of the most

important resources.

It forms in two stages – The first is when weathering breaks up soil, rocks

into small pieces by the action of the climate, chemicals and plants.

The second stage is when air and water is added to the loose material

which allows small plants to grow. As these die and decay they form

humus in which larger plants can grow and animals like worms can live.

Why is soil important?

Soil is an important resource because without it nothing would be able to

live and grow.

What is soil erosion?

The removal and loss of soil mainly by wind, rain and running water.

Where is soil erosion greatest and least? Why?

Soil erosion is greatest on steep slopes that have little vegetation on

them. It is least on gentle slopes where there is a thick vegetation cover.

This is because plants and trees provide shelter from the wind and their

roots whole soil particles together.

Is when people hunted animals and gathered fruits

and other things.

Hunting and gathering

Is when people clear an area of forest and grow their basic

crops of manioc and sweet potatoes.

Slash and burn

The cutting down and burning of trees to clear large areas of

forest.

Deforestation

Cutting of huge amount of trees for timber.

Logging

Is the raising of cows mainly for their beef.

Cattle ranching

Involves changes that usually bring improvement and growth – often a measure of

how rich or how poor a country is.

Development

How well off a person or a country is.

Living standards/standard of living

A measure of how contented people are with their lives with the environment in

which they live and work.

Quality of life

when there are more people living in an area than that area can support.

Overpopulated

A method used to reduce population growth by encouraging parents to limit their

family to one child.

One- child policy

Write any 4 problems/ negative effects of overpopulation in a country.

 Lack of resources to support and provide for the people living in the area.

 Less jobs and increase in unemployment opportunities.

 Housing and medical issues

List some measures that may be taken by the authorities to reduce or limit the population in overpopulated countries.

 They persuade people that small families are healthier, better f ed, wealthier and happier than

larger families

 Strict laws and birth control policies.

Primary, Secondary and Tertiary activities. Give two examples for each activity.

 Primary: Jobs that include the collecting and using of natural resources. E.g: farming and

fishing

 Secondary: Natural resources that are changed or manufactured into goods that we can use.

E.g Cars and computer manufacturing.

 Tertiary: Jobs that provide service to people. E.g Teaching and nursing.

Give the meaning of the term employment structure.

The proportion of people working in Primary, secondary and tertiary activities.

Why do countries in the early stage of development mostly have primary industries?

This is because farming is important to produce enough food for the people. They are poor and

have low living standards. There are fewer job opportunities in the other sectors so they need

to rely on primary activities in order to survive and earn money.

Why do countries in the developing stage of development mostly have secondary industries?

This is because they are much richer and can afford to have better transport, health care and

education. They are building factories to make goods, create more jobs, and grow their

economy as they move away from farming.

Why do countries that are more developed mostly have tertiary industries?

More developed countries mostly have tertiary industries because they are rich, use machines

in factories, and need more workers to provide services like healthcare, education, banking,

and shopping.

Farming or producing primary goods is important to a country which is in its early stages of

development because:

they need to produce enough food for the people.

Developed countries need few people working in the secondary industries and primary industries because:

The developed countries have few people working in the primary sector because these

countries are rich enough to buy most of the primary goods from other countries whereas they

have fewer people in the secondary industries because developed

The movement and sale of goods between countries.

Trade

Goods produced in one country and sold in another country.

Exports

Goods brought by a country that are produces in other countries.

Imports

Explain why the rich countries are becoming richer and the poor countries are becoming poorer?

This is because poor countries export mainly primary goods that have low value and earn little

money which keeps the country poor. Whereas, rich countries, export mainly manufactured goods

that have high value and earn much money which makes the country rich.

What are the problems faced by developing countries that rely on just one major export?

 If the price of that product drops, the country earns less money.

 The economy becomes weak because it depends on just one thing.

 Other industries don’t grow much.

 People may lose jobs if that one industry has problems.

 The country may not have enough money to buy things from other countries.

3. List two strategies that these countries with one export product could adopt or support to get a fairer deal.

o There have been many attempts to keep the prices of primary goods high to try to protect countries.

o Help them develop other industries to reduce dependence on one export.

Which country depends on one product for export by 99%?

Nigeria depends on one product- oil- for 99% of itsexports

Which are the two countries that rely only on oil for export?

The two countries that rely mainly on oil for export are: Nigeria and Egypt

How do you think decrease in oil prices affect these countries? Suggest some steps they could

take to avoid such situation.

If oil prices decrease:

 These countries will earn less revenue, affecting government spending and development.

 It may lead to unemployment, weaker economies, and budget deficits.

Steps to avoid this situation:

 Diversify the economy (develop agriculture, tourism, manufacturing)

 Invest in education and skills

 Promote local industries and exports

 Save surplus income during high oil prices (create reserve funds)

“If the world price for cocoa falls, why does Ghana struggle more than a country that exports many different products ”

 It depends heavily on one product (cocoa) for export.

 If cocoa prices fall, its main income source drops sharply.

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 In contrast, countries exporting many products can balance losses because they have multiple

sources of income.