CAIE IGCSE Geography – Comprehensive Revision Flashcards

A comprehensive set of 100 question-and-answer flashcards covering the key concepts, definitions, processes and case-study examples from the CAIE IGCSE Geography (0460) syllabus, organised to aid quick revision ahead of exams.

What is meant by 'under-population'?

When a country’s population has declined so much that it can no longer fully support its economic system.

Define 'overpopulation'.

A situation where an area has too many people for the available resources, leading to problems such as overcrowding and resource depletion.

How is natural increase calculated?

Natural increase = Birth rate – Death rate.

Give two medical reasons for the recent world population explosion.

Improved medical care (vaccinations, hospitals, drugs) and improved sanitation/water supply.

State two problems caused by overpopulation.

Possible answers: unemployment, pressure on health care and education, housing shortage, traffic congestion, pollution, faster spread of disease, food and water shortages.

State two problems caused by under-population.

Possible answers: labour shortages, fewer taxpayers, service closure, high dependency ratio, need to attract migrants, difficulty defending the country.

What is a country’s carrying capacity?

The maximum number of people the environment can support without negative effects on the population.

Define 'optimum population'.

The number of people that can be supported by the available resources to achieve the highest standard of living (usually below carrying capacity).

What is population density?

The number of people living in a given area, usually expressed per km².

What is population distribution?

The way in which people are spread out over an area or a country.

Give two reasons for high death rates in LEDCs.

Any two: poor health care, poor sanitation, dirty water, malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, natural disasters, lack of vaccination, low elderly care.

Give two reasons for low birth rates in MEDCs.

Any two: widespread contraception, family-planning education, high cost of raising children, women’s careers, small family norms.

Where did HIV-1 and HIV-2 originate?

HIV-1 arose in Central Africa; HIV-2 arose in West Africa.

Name one country with an anti-natalist policy and one measure it used.

China – One Child Policy; example measure: fines up to 3000 yuan for a second child.

Name one pro-natalist policy and a measure it used.

Germany – incentives such as paid maternity/parental leave, tax reductions for larger families.

What is net migration?

Number of immigrants minus number of emigrants.

Differentiate between immigrants and emigrants.

Immigrants arrive in a country to live permanently; emigrants leave their home country to live elsewhere permanently.

State two common push factors in migration.

Examples: unemployment, war, pollution, bad climate, poor services, famine.

State two common pull factors in migration.

Examples: more jobs, higher wages, better schools/healthcare, safety, higher standard of living.

What is meant by 'brain drain'?

The emigration of skilled and educated workers from their home country, reducing innovation there.

Name one advantage of migration for the destination country.

Overcomes labour shortages / fills dirty or unskilled jobs / brings expertise / cultural diversity.

Name one disadvantage of migration for the destination country.

Greater pressure on housing, healthcare and education / job competition / congestion.

What does a population pyramid show?

The age and sex structure of a population.

List the five stages of the Demographic Transition Model in order.

Stage 1 High stationary, Stage 2 Early expanding, Stage 3 Late expanding, Stage 4 Low stationary, Stage 5 Declining.

Give one problem associated with an ageing population.

Higher pension costs / pressure on health care / labour shortages / transport demand.

Why do LEDCs tend to have more young dependents?

Limited access to contraception and family planning, children needed for labour, lower cost of child-rearing.

Define 'sparsely populated'.

An area with a low population density.

Give two physical factors that favour dense population.

Flat, fertile land; favourable climate; reliable water supply; natural resources; low natural-hazard risk.

What is meant by the 'site' of a settlement?

The physical characteristics of the exact place where a settlement is located.

What is the 'situation' of a settlement?

Its location relative to other places, routes or physical features.

Explain ‘threshold population’.

The minimum number of potential customers needed to support a service and keep it open.

What are high-order goods?

Expensive items bought infrequently, for which people are willing to travel far, e.g. cars.

State two typical functions found in the Central Business District (CBD).

Retail, entertainment, financial services, professional offices.

Give two common problems faced by CBDs.

Congestion, pollution, lack of space, high land prices.

Define urban sprawl.

The spread of an urban area into surrounding rural land.

State one environmental problem of urban growth.

Loss of vegetation, habitat destruction, water/air pollution, rivers drying up.

What is a greenbelt?

A protected zone of land around a city where development is largely restricted.

Give one advantage of using brownfield sites for development.

Reduces pressure on rural land / often cheaper to buy / close to CBD and transport routes.

List two typical characteristics of squatter settlements.

High population density, self-built housing from scrap materials, no legal land ownership, lack of services.

Define an earthquake.

A series of vibrations or movements in the Earth’s crust caused by the sudden release of built-up pressure.

What is the focus of an earthquake?

The point inside the Earth where the earthquake starts.

Name two methods of earthquake prediction or preparation.

Seismometers to measure tremors, animal behaviour monitoring, earthquake-proof buildings, emergency drills.

State two design features of an earthquake-proof building.

Rubber shock absorbers, deep foundations, interlocking steel frame, automatic window shutters, roof weights.

Define a volcano.

A vent in the Earth’s surface through which magma, gases or ash are expelled.

Differentiate between active, dormant and extinct volcanoes.

Active – erupted recently; Dormant – has not erupted recently but may erupt again; Extinct – unlikely ever to erupt.

Give two reasons why people live near volcanoes.

Fertile soil, geothermal energy, tourism jobs, mineral mining.

Name the plate boundary where the most violent volcanoes occur.

Destructive (convergent) plate boundary.

Where is the ‘Ring of Fire’?

A zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanoes encircling the Pacific Ocean.

Define a drainage basin.

The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries.

What is infiltration?

The movement of water from the ground surface into the soil.

List four processes of river erosion.

Hydraulic action, abrasion (corrasion), attrition, solution (corrosion).

Describe ‘saltation’.

Transport process in which small pebbles bounce along the river bed in a leap-frog motion.

What is a river’s long profile?

A section showing the gradient of a river from source to mouth.

Give two natural causes of river flooding.

Heavy rainfall, impermeable rock, steep slopes, snowmelt, saturated soil, lack of vegetation.

Name one hard-engineering flood control method and a disadvantage of it.

Dams – very expensive and may trap sediment / displace people.

What is afforestation and how does it reduce flooding?

Planting trees; increases interception and reduces river discharge.

Define longshore drift.

The zig-zag movement of sediment along the coast caused by waves approaching at an angle.

Contrast constructive and destructive waves by swash strength.

Constructive waves have strong swash and weak backwash; destructive waves have weak swash and strong backwash.

What coastal landform results from cliff retreat?

Wave-cut platform.

Explain how a spit forms.

Longshore drift moves material along coast; at a change in coastline direction, sediment builds out into open water, sometimes curving due to wind/wave refraction.

Give one advantage of a sea wall and one disadvantage.

Advantage: effective protection from erosion and flooding; Disadvantage: very expensive and requires maintenance.

What instrument measures wind speed?

Anemometer.

Why are Stevenson’s screens painted white?

To reflect solar radiation and reduce heat absorption.

State the unit used to measure air pressure in a barometer.

Millibars (mb).

Describe the climate characteristics of an equatorial region.

High temperatures (~25 °C all year), heavy rainfall (>200 mm/month), low annual temperature range, high humidity.

Give two plant adaptations in tropical rainforests.

Buttress roots for support/nutrient uptake; drip-tip leaves to shed excess water; tall emergents to reach light.

State two adaptations of desert vegetation.

Thick waxy leaves to reduce transpiration; long roots to reach groundwater; water-storing stems.

Name two major causes of deforestation in tropical rainforests.

Agriculture (slash-and-burn/cattle ranching), logging, mining, road building, population growth.

Define Gross National Product (GNP).

The total value of goods and services produced by a country in one year.

What is the Human Development Index (HDI)?

A composite measure of development combining life expectancy, education levels, and GNI per capita.

List the four economic sectors in order from primary to quaternary.

Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Quaternary.

Give one reason why MEDCs have a small primary sector.

Mechanisation of agriculture and exhaustion of some natural resources; resources are often imported instead.

Define ‘globalisation’.

The process by which the world becomes increasingly interconnected through trade, communication, and culture.

State one positive and one negative impact of globalisation.

Positive: job creation and wider choice of goods. Negative: local businesses may close / loss of cultural identity.

What is a Transnational Corporation (TNC)?

A company that operates in more than one country.

Give one advantage of TNCs for host countries.

Job creation, infrastructure investment, skill improvement, increased tax revenue.

Give one disadvantage of TNCs for host countries.

Environmental damage, profits repatriated, exploitation of workers, over-extraction of resources.

What is meant by ‘food shortage’?

Demand for food exceeds supply, leading to undernourishment and potential famine.

Name two human causes of food shortages.

Rapid population growth, overgrazing, overcultivation, deforestation, government corruption.

Explain one advantage of genetically modified (GM) crops.

Higher yields or drought resistance leading to more reliable food production.

State one failure of the Green Revolution.

HYV crops required expensive fertilisers and pesticides, which poorer farmers could not afford.

Differentiate between manufacturing and assembly industry.

Manufacturing converts raw materials into finished goods; assembly puts together components to form a product.

Give two physical factors influencing industrial location.

Proximity to raw materials, flat/cheap land, energy supply, natural transport routes.

State one reason for the recent growth of tourism.

Greater affluence and paid holidays; improved transport; more leisure time; online booking.

Give one environmental disadvantage of tourism.

Landscape damage, pollution, congestion, resource shortages, habitat loss.

What is ecotourism?

Sustainable tourism focused on natural environments and conservation, e.g. guided rainforest hikes.

Name two renewable energy sources.

Solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, tidal, biofuel, wave.

Give one benefit and one drawback of nuclear power.

Benefit: very low greenhouse gas emissions. Drawback: risk of accidents and radioactive waste.

State two major uses of water.

Agricultural irrigation, industrial processes (e.g. cooling/steam), domestic use, recreation.

Give two causes of global water shortages.

Population growth, pollution, over-demand, climate change, political conflict, mismanagement.

What is desalination?

The process of removing salt from seawater to make freshwater, using methods like reverse osmosis or thermal distillation.

Explain eutrophication.

Nutrient run-off (fertilisers) causes algal blooms; water loses oxygen, killing aquatic life.

Define sustainable development.

Economic development that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

List three ‘3-R’ resource-conservation strategies.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

What is desertification and give one human cause.

The degradation of land into desert, often caused by overgrazing, deforestation or poor farming practices.

Name two main greenhouse gases.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄).

State one effect of global warming on sea levels.

Melting ice caps and thermal expansion cause rising sea levels, increasing flood risk.

What pollutant causes acid rain when emitted from power stations?

Sulphur dioxide (SO₂).

Why are CFCs environmentally harmful?

They contribute to ozone layer depletion and are potent greenhouse gases.

Give two possible health impacts of water pollution.

Water-borne diseases, toxic poisoning, increased cancer risk.