gcse case study list

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Geography Case Studies

The following case studies have been listed so that you can either research them yourself, or, if you have already studied them in class, you know which topic area to apply them to.

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AQA GCSE Geography Case Study/Examples Revision Guide

Subject: Geography

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Assessment and revision

Last updated

11 May 2020

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Case Study/Examples Revision Guide for AQA (9-1) GCSE Geography.

Including the following case studies/examples:

• Natural Hazards - Gorkha & L’Aquila
• Weather Hazards - Typhoon Haiyan & Storm Desmond
• Climate Change - Beast from the East
• Ecosystems - Epping Forest, Yellowstone, The Amazon Rainforest & The Western Desert
• Rivers - Bangladesh & Boscastle
• Glaciation - The Isle of Arran
• Urban Issues & Challenges - London, Crossrail, Olympic Park/East Village, Lagos
• Changing Economic World - Nigeria, Shell, Cambridge Science Park, South Cambridge, Stornoway, Jamaica
• Resource Management (Water) - China’s SNWTP & Hitosa’s Gravity Fed Water Project

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GCSE Geography

• Specification
• Planning resources
• Teaching resources
• Assessment resources
• Introduction
• Specification at a glance
• 3.1 Living with the physical environment
• 3.2 Challenges in the human environment
• 3.3 Geographical applications
• 3.4 Geographical skills
• Scheme of assessment
• General administration

Subject content

The subject content is split into four units: 3.1 Living with the physical environment, 3.2 Challenges in the human environment, 3.3 Geographical applications and 3.4 Geographical skills.

In units 3.1 and 3.2 the content is split into sections, with each section focusing on a particular geographical theme. Unit 3.3 sets out the requirements for fieldwork and issue evaluation. Unit 3.4 sets out the geographical skills that students are required to develop and demonstrate.

In the specification content, students are required to study case studies and examples. Case studies are broader in context and require greater breadth and depth of knowledge and understanding. Examples are more focused on a specific event or situation, are smaller in scale and do not cover the same degree of content.

Flooding Case studies GCSE

Cockermouth, UK – Rich Country (MEDC) Picture Causes: Rain A massive downpour of rain (31.4cm), over a 24-hour period triggered the floods that hit Cockermouth and Workington in Cumbria in November 2009

What caused all the rain? The long downpour was caused by a lengthy flow of warm, moist air that came down from the Azores in the mid-Atlantic. This kind of airflow is common in the UK during autumn and winter, and is known as a ‘warm conveyor’. The warmer the air is, the more moisture it can hold.

What else helped to cause the Cumbrian Floods? · The ground was already saturated, so the additional rain flowed as surface run-off straight into the rivers · The steep slopes of the Cumbrian Mountains helped the water to run very rapidly into the rivers · The rivers Derwent and Cocker were already swollen with previous rainfall · Cockermouth is at the confluence of the Derwent and Cocker (i.e. they meet there)

The effects of the flood · Over 1300 homes were flooded and contaminated with sewage · A number of people had to be evacuated, including 50 by helicopter, when the flooding cut off Cockermouth town centre · Many businesses were flooded causing long-term difficulties for the local economy · People were told that they were unlikely to be able to move back into flood-damaged homes for at least a year. The cost of putting right the damage was an average of £28,000 per house · Insurance companies estimated that the final cost of the flood could reach £100 million · Four bridges collapsed and 12 were closed because of flood damage. In Workington, all the bridges were destroyed or so badly damaged that they were declared unsafe – cutting the town in two. People faced a huge round trip to get from one side of the town to the other, using safe bridges · One man died– PC Bill Barker

Responses to the flood · The government provided £1 million to help with the clean-up and repairs and agreed to pay for road and bridge repairs in Cumbria · The Cumbria Flood Recovery Fund was set up to help victims of the flood. It reached £1 million after just 10 days · Network Rail opened a temporary railway station in Workington The ‘Visit Cumbria’ website provided lists of recovery services and trades, and people who could provide emergency accommodation

Management of future floods at Cockermouth £4.4 million pound management scheme New flood defence walls will halt the spread of the river Funding from Government and local contributors River dredged more regularly to deepen the channel New embankments raise the channel height to reduce the likelihood of extra floods New floodgates at the back of houses in Waterloo street

Pakistan, Asia – Poor Country Picture At the end of July 2010 usually heavy monsoon rains in northwest Pakistan caused rivers to flood and burst their banks. The map below shows the huge area of Pakistan affected by flooding. The floodwater slowly moved down the Indus River towards the sea.

Continuing heavy rain hampered the rescue efforts. After visiting Pakistan, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, said that this disaster was worse than anything he’d ever seen. He described the floods as a slow-moving tsunami.

The effect of the floods · At least 1600 people died · 20 million Pakistanis were affected (over 10% of the population), 6 million needed food aid · Whole villages were swept away, and over 700,000 homes were damaged or destroyed · Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis were displaced, and many suffered from malnutrition and a lack of clean water · 5000 miles of roads and railways were washed away, along with 1000 bridges · 160,000km2 of land were affected. That’s at least 20% of the country · About 6.5 million acres of crops were washed away in Punjab and Sindh provinces

The responses to the floods · Appeals were immediately launched by international organisation, like the UK’s Disasters Emergency Committee – and the UN – to help Pakistanis hit by the floods · Many charities and aid agencies provided help, including the Red Crescent and Medecins Sans Frontieres · Pakistan’s government also tried to raise money to help the huge number of people affected · But there were complaints that the Pakistan government was slow to respond to the crisis, and that it struggled to cope · Foreign Governments donated millions of dollars, and Saudi Arabia and the USA promised $600 million in flood aid. But many people felt that the richer foreign governments didn’t do enough to help · The UN’s World Food Programme provided crucial food aid. But, by November 2010, they were warning that they might have cut the amount of food handed out, because of a lack of donations from richer countries

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Epping Forest Case Study

A small scale ecosystem

Epping forest is an ancient, deciduous woodland to the northeast of London. It is all that remains of a more extensive forest that colonised England at the end of the last ice age . The forest is approximately 19 kilometres (12 miles) long from north to south but no more than 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from east to west at its widest point.

The forest, managed for over 1000 years, has been used for hunting and timber resources. Recreation is the leading role of the forest now.

Epping Forest

The forest is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), meaning it is a protected environment.

Due to its careful management, Epping Forest has a complex food web composed of thousands of species. The forest has:

•  a wide variety of native tree species that include beech, elm, oak and ash;
• a shrub layer consisting of hazel and holly, along with grasses, brambles, fern, bracken and flowering plants;
• 177 species of lichen and moss
• many primary consumers, including insects and small mammals, and deer, along with 38 species of birds
• secondary consumers such as owls, adders and foxes;
• 700 species of fungi, important decomposers, which are common due to a large amount of deadwood;
• over 100 lakes and ponds provide essential habitats for numerous fauna species (animals) and flora (plants).

Epping Forest food web

Epping Forest Food Web

How is the Epping Forest ecosystem interdependent?

Epping Forest Nutrient Cycle

Sustainable Management of Epping Forest

Recreation is controlled within the forest, including having designated car parking areas, a visitor centre, provision of rubbish bins and leaflets on how to use the forest to protect the environment. Paths for walking and riding are open to public use. There are currently nine Forest Keepers, three Senior Forest Keepers, and one Head Keeper employed to protect the forest environment. These strategies are sustainable because they protect the forest for future generations.

Along the roads, vegetation is cut back so that deer are aware of traffic and reduce the risk of motor vehicle collisions. Maintaining the foliage protects the native deer population from road traffic accidents. This is a form of sustainable management as it helps protect current and future deer populations.

Cattle have been reintroduced in some areas as grazing supports the growth of some flora.

Epping forest conservation volunteers undertake tasks every Sunday to support the biodiversity of the forest. Duties include cutting back vegetation, rubbish and scrub clearance, removing silt and maintaining ponds and bogs.

Ecosystems on a larger, global scale are known as biomes. Find out more here .

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Geography Revision

GCSE, AS and A Level Geography Revision

Edexcel B GCSE Geography – Revision Notes & Study Resources

Edexcel B GCSE Geography mapping file. Download our comprehensive teaching resources and revision toolkit today. Use the mapping table to align with the Edexcel B examination board. Updated and aligned to the new 2020 specification.

Look at you, you’ve almost got your GCSE Geography certificate! Well done, you’re so close. As exam season gets closer, you’re likely to be feeling a bit overwhelmed by how many exams you have to sit in such a short period of time. How are you supposed to regurgitate all that information so quickly? Worry not, help is here! Here is all you need to know about preparing for your Edexcel GCSE Geography exams and how we can help you.

You may have heard that there are many different examination boards – some of your friends might be taking the very same GCSEs but with different exams. The secret is that although there are so many exam boards, the content across them is fairly standardised. After all, a volcano is still a volcano whether you take AQA or Edexcel Geography! However, there are some small differences in the ways that exam boards assess your knowledge and knowing them can go a long way in helping you prepare. The Edexcel exam board particularly emphasises multiple-choice questions as a means of assessment. You should definitely take this into account when writing your revision plan – try and incorporate as many practice quizzes as you can!

About the Board

What does Edexcel stand for and where does it come from? Edexcel is actually a play on the beginnings of two words: education and excellence. In 2003 it became the first privately owned examination board in the UK after an agreement between the Edexcel Foundation and Pearson Plc. Both of the Edexcel GCSE Geography courses are linear subjects, so you will only acquire your grade if you take all of your examinations and pass which happens at the end of the course (not throughout it).

How long will the course take to complete?

Edexcel GCSE Geography usually takes two academic years to complete. However, some have managed to complete the course in one year and others have been known to start studying early and take three years.

Is any prior knowledge required?

Edexcel specifies that you are not required to have any prior qualifications in geography in order to take this course. However, they also do state that the subject course has been designed to follow the National Curriculum and that it does assume that basic geographical knowledge has been developed throughout earlier stages which prepares all students for the GCSE.

What will I study?

Edexcel is unique in that it offers two different types of GCSE Geography courses. There is GCSE Geography A which takes a thematic approach and breaks down concepts into human and physical geography (like most other exam boards). But there is also GCSE Geography B which takes an issues-based approach with specification content arranged around the UK vs global geography. It is up to you or your educational institution what version of Edexcel GCSE Geography you take. The subjects you will study do differ.

If you took GCSE Geography A then for physical geography you will study the changing landscapes of the UK; weather hazards and climate change; and ecosystems, biodiversity and management. Meanwhile, for human geography, you will study changing cities; global development; and, resource management. Within resource management, you’ll choose between two sub-topics: energy resource management or water resource management.

However, if you took GCSE Geography B then for global topics you will study hazardous Earth; development dynamics; and, challenges of an urbanising world. Whereas for UK topics you will cover the UK’s evolving physical landscape (inc. subtopics: coastal change and conflict, and, river processes and pressures); the UK’s evolving human landscape (including a case study on UK cities); and, geographical investigations (including one human and one physical fieldwork investigation).

What is the examination process like?

The examinations themselves will also depend on whether you elected to take GCSE Geography A or B. If you took GCSE Geography A, then you will take three exams in total. The first two (The Physical Environment and The Human Environment) will be worth 37.5% each and last 1 hour and 30 minutes each. The third assessment (Geographical Investigations: Fieldwork and UK Challenges) will also last 1 hour and 30 minutes but be worth 25% of your final grade.

If you elected to take GCSE Geography B, the structure of your exams will remain largely similar, but the content will of course differ. Similarly, the first two papers (Global Geographical Issues and UK Geographical Issues) will be worth 37.5% each and last 1 hour and 30 minutes each. The second assessment will also cover one physical and one human fieldwork investigation that you are required to complete. Meanwhile, the third assessment (People and Environment Issues – Making Geographical Decisions) will be worth 25% of your GCSE and also last 1 hour and 30 minutes.

To achieve the best possible results, you should revise for your GCSE Geography exams a few hours each day – ideally two to three. Make sure to balance your revision sessions with a healthy lifestyle. Both eating well (vegetables and fruits) and exercising regularly (get out into fresh air!) will help keep you fresh and motivated during the exam season. Meanwhile, if you want to keep revision sessions dynamic and most effective then start engaging with your content actively. Don’t just read for 2-3 hours per day. Instead, take notes, write up some flashcards and draw some mind maps. Not only will you have more fun doing this, but your brain is also more likely to retain the information that way.

As your revision progresses, start working on your time management skills by doing timed practice papers. You can usually use past exam papers for this exercise – it’ll also be useful as you’ll learn about how GCSE Geography exam questions are phrased. At GCSE Geography, we are devoted to helping you succeed in your exams. To do so we’ve got plenty of engaging resources waiting for you, so let’s begin!