GCSE Geography

Overview

For parents: AQA writes your child's Geography course and exams. AQA writes the specifications and exams for most GCSE subjects taught in English state schools. If your school uses AQA, every topic, paper and mark scheme follows AQA's specification.

Topics

Geography key terms

Original definitions for core course vocabulary, informed by the references below. Not an official or exhaustive board-specific glossary.

40 of 40 terms

Natural hazard

A natural process or event with the potential to harm people, property or livelihoods.

Hazards and climate

Hazard risk

The likelihood of harmful consequences from a hazard, influenced by exposure and vulnerability.

Hazards and climate

Tectonic plate

A moving section of the Earth's lithosphere.

Hazards and climate

Constructive plate margin

A boundary where plates move apart and magma can rise to form new crust.

Hazards and climate

Destructive plate margin

A convergent boundary where one plate is forced beneath another and crust is recycled.

Hazards and climate

Conservative plate margin

A boundary where plates slide past each other without creating or destroying crust overall.

Hazards and climate

Earthquake

Sudden ground shaking caused by the release of energy in the Earth's crust.

Hazards and climate

Tropical cyclone

An intense low-pressure storm forming over warm tropical seas, with strong winds and heavy rainfall.

Hazards and climate

Climate change

A long-term change in average climatic conditions or their variability.

Hazards and climate

Enhanced greenhouse effect

Additional warming caused by human-driven increases in gases that absorb outgoing infrared radiation.

Hazards and climate

Drainage basin

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

Rivers and coasts

Watershed

The boundary separating neighbouring drainage basins.

Rivers and coasts

Discharge

The volume of water passing a point in a river per unit of time.

Rivers and coasts

Infiltration

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

Rivers and coasts

Surface runoff

Water flowing over the land surface towards a channel or other low-lying area.

Rivers and coasts

Hydraulic action

Erosion caused by the force of moving water, including pressure exerted in cracks.

Rivers and coasts

Abrasion

The wearing away of rock or channel surfaces by material carried in moving water.

Rivers and coasts

Longshore drift

The net movement of sediment along a coast through angled swash and downslope backwash.

Rivers and coasts

Deposition

The laying down of transported material when the transporting agent can no longer carry it.

Rivers and coasts

Hard engineering

Using built structures to control natural processes and reduce their impacts.

Rivers and coasts

Urbanisation

An increase in the proportion of a population living in urban areas.

Population and development

Rural–urban migration

The movement of people from countryside settlements to towns or cities.

Population and development

Natural increase

Population growth arising when births exceed deaths, excluding migration.

Population and development

Population density

The number of people living per unit area.

Population and development

Megacity

An urban agglomeration with at least ten million inhabitants.

Population and development

Informal settlement

A residential area developed outside formal planning or tenure arrangements, often with limited services.

Population and development

Development

Improvement in economic conditions and people's wellbeing and opportunities.

Population and development

Gross national income per capita

A country's total income received by residents from domestic and overseas sources divided by its population.

Population and development

Human Development Index

A composite measure combining indicators of health, education and income.

Population and development

Demographic transition model

A model linking changing birth and death rates to stages of population change.

Population and development

Sustainability

Meeting present needs while maintaining environmental and social conditions that future generations depend on.

Resources and geographical enquiry

Renewable resource

A resource replenished naturally on a timescale relevant to human use, if managed appropriately.

Resources and geographical enquiry

Non-renewable resource

A finite resource replenished too slowly to replace consumption on human timescales.

Resources and geographical enquiry

Water security

Reliable access to sufficient safe water for people, livelihoods and ecosystems.

Resources and geographical enquiry

Food security

Reliable access to enough safe, nutritious food for an active and healthy life.

Resources and geographical enquiry

Carbon footprint

The greenhouse gas emissions attributable to an activity, person or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents.

Resources and geographical enquiry

Ecosystem

A community of organisms interacting with one another and their physical environment.

Resources and geographical enquiry

Biodiversity

The variety of life, including diversity within species, between species and across ecosystems.

Resources and geographical enquiry

Systematic sampling

Collecting observations at regular spatial or time intervals according to a planned rule.

Resources and geographical enquiry

Stratified sampling

Dividing a population or area into relevant categories and sampling each to secure appropriate representation.

Resources and geographical enquiry

Exams

Add your exam dates in My Exams and see a countdown for every paper on your dashboard.

Revision

Tell GCSE.es which Geography topics feel weak. Your dashboard then picks a short, timed next step — learn the key idea, check yourself, review mistakes.

Practice

• ✓ Key terms you tap to reveal
• ✓ Quick multiple-choice quizzes
• ✓ 3, 6, 9 and 12-mark exam-style questions
• ✓ Marking with feedback and a model answer

Available free inside your GCSE journey. Questions are written by GCSE.es, not taken from real past papers.

Resources

Short, focused tasks for the Geography topics you find hardest — learn the key idea, check yourself, then try a marked exam-style question.