Geography 9230 | Paper 1 Mock 01 | Written Paper 1

At a hot Mediterranean resort, planners are considering a sea wall to protect a promenade built close to a cliff. Fig. 1 shows the proposed curved wall during a high tide, with houses behind it and a narrow beach in front. Residents disagree about whether this hard engineering scheme is the best use of public money.

(a) Which group of people shown in Fig. 1 would gain most direct protection from the wall? [1]
(b) Outline one way in which a curved sea wall reduces erosion of the land behind it. [2]
(c) Draw a labelled alternative soft engineering method that could protect this section of coast. [2]

The diagram in Fig. 1 shows a desert pavement surveyed on a gravel plain in the Gobi Desert. Larger stones form a closely packed surface, while fine sediment occurs beneath them. A proposed off-road vehicle route would cross the site. The landscape manager needs to decide why tyre tracks may remain visible for many years.

(a) Which material is most likely to be removed first by wind: fine sediment, large pebbles or bedrock? [1]
(b) Outline how a desert pavement can form. [2]
(c) Draw two parallel tyre tracks on Fig. 1 to show the likely damage caused by a vehicle. [1]

Fig. 1 shows an aerial-style sketch of irrigated fields beside the Colorado River in a hot desert area. A farmer has used water from a canal for cotton production. Over several years, white salt has appeared at the edge of some fields, where drainage is poor. The farmer is considering a new drainage ditch.

(a) Which process moves water upwards through soil pores: capillary action, mass movement or saltation? [1]
(b) Outline how irrigation can lead to soil salinisation in this landscape. [2]
(c) Draw a drainage ditch on Fig. 1 in a position that could remove excess water from the fields. [2]

A conservation team is restoring a damaged dune system near a desert-edge town in Namibia. Fig. 1 shows a section across a mobile dune, a road, and a group of homes. Wind-blown sand is beginning to cover the road. The team has a limited budget and is considering planting drought-resistant shrubs, building low sand fences, moving the road, and educating visitors not to drive on dunes.

(a) Which side of the dune is likely to receive wind-blown sand first? [1]
(b) Outline how low sand fences could reduce sand movement towards the road. [2]
(c) Draw positions for three low sand fences on Fig. 1. [2]
(d) Outline two reasons why shrub planting may be more sustainable than repeatedly clearing sand from the road. [2]

The table below shows earthquake-monitoring data from a plate-boundary study in southern Chile. Fig. 1 shows the positions of an oceanic plate and a continental plate beneath the Andes. The monitoring centre issued a public bulletin after several small earthquakes were detected close to the coast. Students are using the study figure to consider why this region experiences frequent tectonic hazards.

(a) Which station recorded the greatest earthquake magnitude? [2]
(b) Outline why earthquakes occur at destructive plate margins. [2]
(c) Draw an annotated cross-section showing how Chile can reduce risk from earthquake shaking in a coastal city. [4]

At a field camp in the Sahara, Fig. 1 shows a geologist examining a mesa. The flat top is made of hard rock, but softer layers below have been worn back. A smaller flat-topped remnant stands nearby. The group is studying how differential erosion changes desert landscapes over time.

(a) Which landform is the smaller remnant most likely to be: butte, delta or ox-bow lake? [1]
(b) Outline why the hard cap rock is important in the formation of a mesa. [2]
(c) Draw a dashed line on Fig. 1 to show one possible future cliff position after erosion. [2]

Fig. 1 shows a satellite-style field sketch of mangrove woodland and a coastal village in the Philippines. A local charity compared two nearby sections of coast after Typhoon Rai. Table 1 records the width of mangroves, maximum wave run-up and the proportion of homes damaged. The study is being used to decide whether restoring ecosystems can be part of tropical-storm management.

(a) Which coastal section had less housing damage? Use a value from Table 1. [2]
(b) Outline how mangroves can reduce the impact of storm waves. [2]
(c) Explain why a hazard-management plan should use both mangrove restoration and other methods. [4]

A weather station beside a hot desert settlement in northern Kenya monitored rainfall and air temperature for one year. Fig. 1 is a line-art diagram of the station, showing the rain gauge and shaded thermometer screen. Table 1 gives selected monthly results from the study. The river near the settlement usually has no water.

(a) Which month shown has the greatest rainfall? [1]
(b) Outline one way in which the climate shown can make river flow unreliable. [2]
(c) Draw a circle around the instrument in Fig. 1 that collects rainfall. [1]

The table below shows sediment collected from three points across a beach near a river mouth after a winter storm. Fig. 1 shows the sampling transect from the cliff to the low-tide mark. The pupils used callipers to measure the longest axis of 50 pebbles at each point. Sediment size can show how wave energy varies across a beach.

(a) Which point has the smallest mean sediment size? [1]
(b) Draw a bar chart to show mean pebble length at the three points. [2]
(c) Outline one reason why the largest pebbles are found on the backshore. [2]

Fig. 1 is an aerial-style diagram of a coastal salt marsh behind a barrier beach. A narrow tidal creek carries seawater into the marsh, where cordgrass and mud flats are visible. The landowner is considering allowing the marsh to expand rather than repairing an old embankment. This is a managed realignment proposal.

(a) Which material is most likely to settle on the sheltered mud flats: coarse shingle or fine silt? [1]
(b) Outline how a salt marsh can reduce the impact of storm waves. [2]
(c) Draw a labelled cross-section showing one effect of breaching the old embankment. [2]

Table 1 shows wind-speed readings collected at five heights above a dune in the Rub' al Khali. Fig. 1 shows the anemometer mast used in the investigation. The team is studying why wind erosion is strongest near particular parts of a desert landscape.

(a) Which height shown has a wind speed of 7.1 m/s? [1]
(b) Outline why wind speed is lower close to the ground. [2]
(c) Draw a labelled scale bar of 1 m beside the mast in Fig. 1. [2]

Fig. 1 shows a student using an orange, a tray of wet sand and a watering can to model the formation of a spit. Water is poured from one end of the tray while the student adds sand at an angle to the shore. The model is not the same size as a real coast, but it can show the effect of changing wave direction.

(a) Which process is represented by moving sand along the edge of the tray? [1]
(b) Draw the shape of a spit that may develop in the tray, including a recurved end. [2]
(c) Outline one limitation of using this model to study a real coastal spit. [2]

Fig. 1 shows a cross-section through an inselberg, an isolated hill rising above a flat desert plain in central Australia. A class collected rock fragments from the base and observed that sheet-like layers had separated from the exposed granite. Their teacher asks them to relate this landscape to daily heating and cooling.

(a) Which term describes the peeling of outer rock layers caused by temperature changes: exfoliation, deposition or carbonation? [1]
(b) Outline how repeated heating and cooling can produce exfoliation. [2]
(c) Draw one curved line on Fig. 1 to show a layer that could peel away from the granite surface. [1]

Fig. 1 shows an engineering drawing for a village where a river enters the sea. The scheme includes a rock barrier built offshore, a rebuilt dune ridge and warning boards. The beach is popular with walkers, but winter waves have damaged several buildings close to the estuary. The council needs to choose methods that protect homes without stopping public access.

(a) Which structure in Fig. 1 is built parallel to the shore but offshore? [1]
(b) Outline how this structure changes incoming wave energy. [2]
(c) Draw one possible disadvantage of building the structure, using a labelled plan view. [2]

The table below shows ash measurements collected from three farms after an eruption of Sakurajima volcano, Japan. Fig. 1 is a field sketch showing the volcano, plume direction and farms at different distances. Farmers were advised to protect machinery and water supplies when ash was forecast.

(a) Which farm received the thickest ash fall? [1]
(b) Outline one way volcanic ash can affect farming. [1]

Fig. 1 shows an emergency poster designed for households on the Caribbean island of Dominica before hurricane season. It includes a house with roof straps, a battery radio, stored drinking water and an evacuation bag. Table 1 shows the number of households reached by different warning methods during a recent tropical storm.

(a) Which warning method reached the greatest proportion of households? [1]
(b) Outline one action shown in Fig. 1 that could reduce hurricane impacts. [1]

Table 1 gives wave observations made from a pier on four days at a bay on the Atlantic coast. Fig. 1 shows the bay, its sheltering headlands and the position of the observer. The class wants to decide which day was most likely to produce destructive waves and rapid beach change.

(a) Which day had the greatest wave height? [1]
(b) Draw a labelled sketch of a destructive wave approaching the beach. [2]
(c) Outline why destructive waves tend to remove sediment from a beach. [3]

The table below shows information recorded after Cyclone Idai affected settlements near Beira, Mozambique. Fig. 1 is a field sketch showing a low coastal settlement, a river channel and a raised cyclone shelter. Emergency workers used this study figure when deciding which households needed help first. Tropical storms can bring strong winds, storm surges and intense rainfall at the same time.

(a) Which zone in Table 1 should be prioritised for evacuation? Give two reasons. [3]
(b) Outline how the formation of a tropical storm depends on ocean and atmospheric conditions. [4]
(c) Explain why poorer communities can find it difficult to prepare for and recover from tropical storms such as Cyclone Idai. Use Fig. 1 and Table 1. [8]

Table 1 shows annual measurements from a monitored stretch of cliff beside a hot desert coast. Although rainfall is low, rare intense storms send water over the cliff edge. Fig. 1 shows cracks, a dry gully and a pile of fallen debris at the cliff foot. The study team is assessing whether a footpath should be moved inland.

(a) Which year had the greatest cliff-edge retreat? [1]
(b) Draw arrows on a sketch to show how water entering cracks can trigger a rockfall. [2]
(c) Outline why moving the footpath inland may be safer than leaving it beside the cliff edge. [3]