Paper 1

• Sedimentary rocks

  • Formed of small particles that have been deposited in layers
• Igneous rocks

  • Created by volcanic activity, when magma or lava cools
• Metamorphic rocks

  • Formed from other rocks that have been changed by extreme pressure or heat
• Upland

  High above sea level
• Lowland

  Low above sea level
• Erosion

  The wearing away and removal of material by a moving force
• Deposition

  The dropping of material by a moving force
• Weathering

  The breakdown and decay of rocks by natural processes
• Permeable


  Water can pass through
• Impermeable


  Water can't pass through
• Hydraulic action

  The sheer force of water crashing against the coastline causing material to be dislodged and carried away by the sea
• Abrasion

  Fragments of a rock, pebbles and sand are picked up by the waves and thrown against the cliff face, causing pieces of rock to break off
• Solution

  The chemical action on rocks by seawater, most effective on limestone rocks, in which calcium is dissolved and carried away
• Attrition

  Rock fragments and pebbles carried by the waves are reduced in size as they collide against each other and the cliff face, eventually broken down into sand-sized particles
• Biological weathering

  Roots of growing plants can widen cracks in the rocks, burrowing animals can also cause the rock to weaken and decay
• Mechanical weathering

  Freeze thaw weathering weakens rocks, caused by repeated freezing and thawing of water in cracks or holes in the rock
• Chemical weathering

  Rain water is a weak carbonic acid that slowly dissolves alkaline rocks like chalk due to a chemical reaction
• Concordant coasts


  Have different rock bands that run parallel to the coast
• Discordant coasts


  Have different rock angles that run at right angles to the coast
• Joints

  Cracks that divide a rock into blocks
• Faults

  A large break in a rock
• Fetch

  The distance over which the wind blows over the open water
• Stock


  An isolated pillar of rock left after the top of an arch collapses
• Arch


  Formed when two caves on either side of a headland join up to a single cave eroded through the headland
• Spits


  A long and narrow ridge of sand or pebble, one end of which is attached to the land
• Bars


  Formed when a spit reaches the other headland, only when nearby river and sea currents are gentle
• Hard engineering


  Involves building structures along a coast, usually at the base of a cliff or on the beach
• Soft engineering


  Designed to work with natural processes in the coastal system, in order to manage erosion
• Discharge


  Rate of river flow measured in cumecs
• Interlocking spurs

  Near their source, rivers flow around valley side slopes, called spurs, rather than being able to erode them
• Waterfalls and gorges

  1. Hard rock cuts across the softer rock

  2. The softer rock downstream is eroded more quickly to form a waterfall

  3. The softer rock is eroded more quickly to leave an overhang, which then collapses so the waterfall moves upstream
• Infiltration

  When water sinks downwards into the soil
• Hard engineering (rivers)


  Involves building structures along a river
• Soft engineering (rivers)


  Designed to work with natural processes in the river system in order to manage erosion
• Distributions and characteristics of the world's large-scale ecosystems

  • Tropical rainforest
  • Temperate forest
  • Boreal forest
  • Tropical grasslands
  • Temperate grasslands
  • Deserts
  • Tundra
• Tropical Rainforest


  • Hot all year (27-30 degrees)
  • Wet all year
  • Variety of broadleaf plants
  • Trees dominate with other plants competing for light
• Tropical Grasslands


  • Hot all year
  • 500-1000mm rainfall a year, always with a dry season
  • Tall grasses with scattered drought adapted trees and shrubs
• Deserts


  • Very hot all year
  • Very low rainfall
  • Plants have water storing features, spines instead of leaves and extensive root systems
• Temperate Grasslands


  • Hot in the summer
  • Very cold in the winter
  • Most of the rainfall in the year occurs in late spring or summer
  • Grasslands with very few trees or shrubs
• Temperate Forest


  • Warm summers
  • Cool winters
  • Precipitation all year
  • Deciduous trees with drop their leaves in autumn