GCSE geography mock key terms

What is swash?

The movement of water up the beach after a wave breaks.

What is backwash?

The movement of water back down the beach under gravity.

What is fetch?

The distance of open water over which the wind blows to form waves.

What is wave frequency?

The number of waves breaking on the shore per minute.

What are constructive waves?

Waves with strong swash, weak backwash and low frequency that build up beaches through deposition.

What are destructive waves?

Waves with weak swash, strong backwash and high frequency that erode beaches.

What is hydraulic action?

Erosion caused when waves force air into cracks in rock, increasing pressure and causing rock to break.

What is abrasion (corrasion)?

Erosion caused when rocks and sand carried by waves scrape and wear away the coastline.

What is attrition?

When rocks carried by waves collide, breaking into smaller and smoother pieces.

What is solution (corrosion)?

Chemical erosion where acidic seawater dissolves soluble rock such as limestone.

What is longshore drift?

The movement of sediment along a coastline caused by waves approaching the shore at an angle.

What is traction?

The rolling of large sediment along the seabed.

What is saltation?

The bouncing movement of smaller sediment along the seabed.

What is suspension?

Fine sediment carried within the water.

What is deposition?

The dropping of sediment when the sea loses energy.

What is mechanical weathering?

The breakdown of rock without chemical change.

What is freeze-thaw weathering?

When water freezes in cracks, expands and breaks rock apart.

What is chemical weathering?

The breakdown of rock through chemical reactions.

What is carbonation?

A type of chemical weathering where carbonic acid dissolves limestone.

What is biological weathering?

The breakdown of rock caused by plants or animals.

What is mass movement?

The movement of material downslope under gravity.

What is sliding?

Mass movement where rock moves downslope along a straight slip plane.

What is slumping?

Mass movement where saturated material rotates and slides downslope.

What is a concordant coastline?

A coastline where bands of rock run parallel to the shore.

What is a discordant coastline?

A coastline where bands of rock run at right angles to the shore.

What is a headland?

A section of resistant rock that sticks out into the sea.

What is a bay?

An inlet formed where softer rock is eroded more quickly.

What is a cliff?

A steep rock face formed by erosion at the coast.

What is a wave-cut notch?

A recess eroded at the base of a cliff by wave action.

What is a wave-cut platform?

A flat rocky surface left behind as a cliff retreats.

What is a cave?

A hollow formed in a cliff by erosion.

What is an arch?

A landform formed when erosion creates a hole through a headland.

What is a stack?

An isolated pillar of rock formed when an arch collapses.

What is a stump?

A low remnant of a stack eroded close to sea level.

What is a beach?

An area of sand or shingle deposited by waves.

What is a spit?

A ridge of sand or shingle deposited by longshore drift.

What is a recurved spit?

A spit with a curved end caused by changes in wind direction.

What is a bar?

A ridge of sand deposited across a bay.

What is a tombolo?

A bar that links an island to the mainland.

What is a coral polyp?

A small marine organism that builds coral reefs from calcium carbonate.

What are zooxanthellae?

Algae living inside coral polyps that provide energy through photosynthesis.

What is biodiversity?

The variety of plant and animal life in an ecosystem.

What is industrialisation?

The growth of industry and manufacturing.

What is agricultural runoff?

Fertilisers and chemicals washed from farmland into water systems.

What is eutrophication?

Excess nutrients in water causing algal blooms and oxygen loss.

What is tourism pressure?

Environmental stress caused by large numbers of tourists.

What is deforestation?

The removal of trees and forests.

What is a storm surge?

A rise in sea level caused by low pressure and strong winds.

What is a tsunami?

A large wave caused by underwater earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.

What is sea-level rise?

An increase in global sea level caused by climate change.

What is hard engineering?

The use of man-made structures to control coastal processes.

What is a sea wall?

A concrete barrier that reflects wave energy.

What is a groyne?

A structure built at right angles to the coast to trap sediment.

What is a revetment?

A sloping structure that absorbs wave energy.

What are gabions?

Wire cages filled with rocks used to reduce erosion.

What is riprap?

Large boulders placed at the base of cliffs to absorb wave energy.

What is terminal groyne syndrome?

Increased erosion beyond the last groyne.

What is soft engineering?

Coastal management that works with natural processes.

What is beach replenishment?

Adding sand or shingle to a beach.

What is cliff regrading?

Reducing the angle of a cliff to make it more stable.

What is managed retreat?

Allowing controlled flooding of low-value land.

What is a Shoreline Management Plan?

A long-term plan for managing coastal erosion and flooding.

What does hold the line mean?

Maintaining the current coastline position.

What does do nothing mean?

Allowing natural processes to occur without intervention.

What is bias?

When results are influenced by personal opinion or unfair sampling.

What is accuracy?

How close data is to the true value.

What is reliability?

The consistency of results when repeated.

What is validity?

How well a method measures what it is supposed to measure.

What is a tenuous conclusion?

A weak conclusion not strongly supported by evidence.

What is sample size?

The number of data points collected.

What is random sampling?

Sampling where every location has an equal chance of selection.

What is systematic sampling?

A method of sampling where data points are selected at regular intervals.

What is stratified sampling?

Sampling proportional to different groups or areas.

What is GIS?

Geographical Information Systems used to analyse spatial data.

What is urbanisation?

An increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas.

What is suburbanisation?

Movement from inner cities to suburbs.

What is counter-urbanisation?

Movement from cities to rural areas.

What is a megacity?

A city with a population over 10 million.

What is the Central Business District (CBD)?

The commercial and business centre of a city.

What is accessibility?

How easy it is to reach a location.

What is land value?

The cost of land based on location and demand.

What is a squatter settlement?

Informal housing built illegally, often without services.

What is the informal economy?

Jobs not officially registered or taxed.

What is quality of life?

Overall well-being including income, health and environment.

What is sustainability?

Meeting current needs without harming future generations.

What is a greenfield site?

Land not previously built on.

What is a brownfield site?

Land that has been previously developed.

What is development?

The process of improving quality of life and human welfare.

What is the development gap?

The difference in development levels between countries.

What is inequality?

Unequal access to resources or opportunities.

What is GDP per capita?

Average income per person in a country.

What is the Human Development Index (HDI)?

A measure of development combining income, education and life expectancy.

What is the GINI Index?

A measure of income inequality.

What is the Corruption Perceptions Index?

A measure of perceived corruption in the public sector.

What is fertility rate?

The average number of children per woman.

What is birth rate?

The number of births per 1,000 people per year.

What is death rate?

The number of deaths per 1,000 people per year.

What is natural increase?

Birth rate minus death rate.

What is infant mortality rate?

Deaths of infants under one year per 1,000 live births.

What is maternal mortality rate?

Deaths of mothers per 100,000 live births.