GCSE Geography Paper 3 Vocabulary Refresher

Examination Overview and Administrative Details

• Subject and Paper: GCSE Geography Paper 3: Geographical Applications.

• Date and Time: Friday 14 June 2024, Morning session.

• Time Allowed: $1$ hour $30$ minutes.

• Total Marks Available: $76$ marks.

• Required Materials:

  • Pre-release resources booklet.

  • OS key insert.

  • Pencil, rubber, and ruler.

  • Calculator (optional but permitted).

• Core Terminology and Acronyms:

  • HIC: Higher Income Country.

  • LIC: Lower Income Country.

  • NEE: Newly Emerging Economy.

• Assessment Criteria: Spelling, punctuation, grammar, and the use of specialist terminology (SPaG) are specifically assessed in Questions $03$ and $05.4$.

Section A: Issue Evaluation - England's Housing Challenge

• Housing Demand and Supply Disparity (2018):

  • The National Housing Federation (NHF) identified a housing demand figure of $340,000$ homes.

  • Students must calculate the difference between this demand and the actual new housing supply provided in $2018$ based on Figure 1 of the resources booklet.

  • Multiple-choice options for the difference:

    • A: $100,000$

    • B: $110,000$

    • C: $120,000$

    • D: $130,000$

• Economic Relationships (2019):

  • A critical analysis of the relationship between average house prices and average household income in England for the year $2019$ is required.

• Urban Regeneration through Brownfield Development:

  • Brownfield development involves building on previously used land (often derelict or industrial) in urban areas.

  • Function in regeneration: Helping to revitalize declining urban centers, making use of existing infrastructure, and reducing the need for greenfield expansion.

• Impact of Urban Sprawl:

  • Definition: The uncontrolled expansion of urban areas into the surrounding countryside.

  • Environmental Damages:

    1. Loss of agricultural land or natural habitats.

    2. Increased air pollution due to higher dependence on commuting by car from peripheral areas.

• Scope of the Housing Challenge:

  • Hypothesis provided for discussion: "The housing challenge in England is not just about building more houses."

  • Implication: The crisis involves affordability, the location of houses (brownfield vs. greenfield), environmental sustainability, and transport infrastructure, rather than just raw volume.

Case Study: The Tudeley Village Development

• Location and Spatial Geography:

  • Relative location: Paddock Wood is situated in a specific cardinal direction from the proposed Tudeley Village (options: East, North, South, West).

  • Straight-line distance calculation: The distance between Tonbridge railway station and the proposed Tudeley Village railway station must be estimated (options: $2\,\text{km}$, $4\,\text{km}$, $6\,\text{km}$, $8\,\text{km}$).

• Physical Geography Attributes:

  • Relief: Description of the land's height and shape (e.g., flat, sloping, or hilly) north of the Tonbridge to Paddock Wood railway line.

  • Drainage: Characteristics of water movement and surface water features in the area.

• Settlement Attraction Factors:

  • Potential reasons for house hunters to choose Tudeley Village include proximity to rail links (Tonbridge/Paddock Wood), planned community amenities, or rural environment.

• Sustainability Assessment:

  • Detailed evaluation of the extent to which Tudeley Village constitutes a "sustainable settlement."

  • Factors to consider: Economic viability, social inclusivity, and environmental protection (energy efficiency, green spaces, and transport).

Section B: Fieldwork - Human Geography (Public Transport)

• Enquiry Hypothesis: "The cost of fares is the most important factor in encouraging the use of local bus services."

• Survey Methodology:

  • Sample size: $50$ people.

  • Data collection: Questionnaires/interviews assessing four categories: Cost of fares, Availability, Punctuality, and Cleanliness.

• Quantitative Results (Rating Categories):

  • Cost of fares: Very poor ($16$), Poor ($21$), Reasonable ($13$), Good ($0$), Very good ($0$).

  • Availability: Very poor ($7$), Poor ($25$), Reasonable ($13$), Good ($5$), Very good ($0$).

  • Punctuality: Very poor ($16$), Poor ($13$), Reasonable ($17$), Good ($4$), Very good ($0$).

  • Cleanliness: Very poor ($0$), Poor ($8$), Reasonable ($29$), Good ($9$), Very good ($4$).

• Factors for Increasing Usage (Raw Data):

  • Cheaper fares: $23$ respondents.

  • Increased frequency: $14$ respondents.

  • Shorter journey times: $11$ respondents.

  • Increased parking charges: $2$ respondents.

• Data Representation:

  • Standard methods include pie charts and divided bar charts.

  • Alternative appropriate formats for categorical frequency include divided bar charts (Option B in Question $04.3$).

Section B: Fieldwork - Human Geography (Business Environments)

• Comparative Study Study Question: "Do modern business parks have a higher environmental quality than older industrial estates?"

• Functional Differences Observed:

  • Old Industrial Estate: Car repairs/spraying, metal workshop, sand/gravel distribution, oil/coal distribution centre, wood workshop.

  • Business Park: Landscaped car parks, gym, computer services/repairs, business finance centre, design centre, parcel distribution center, business call centre, secure storage.

• Environmental Quality Survey (Scores 0 to 5):

  • Old Industrial Estate Scores: Attractiveness ($2$), Maintenance ($2$), Litter/waste ($2$), Vandalism/graffiti ($3$), Water/ground pollution ($2$), Landscaping ($1$). Total Score: $12$. Mean Score: $2$.

  • Business Park Scores: Attractiveness ($4$), Maintenance ($4$), Litter/waste ($4$), Vandalism/graffiti ($3$), Water/ground pollution ($4$), Landscaping ($5$).

  • Calculations for Business Park:

    • $\text{Total Score} = 4 + 4 + 4 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 24$

    • $\text{Mean Score} = \frac{24}{6} = 4$

• Presentation and Improvement:

  • Data can be presented via Land use maps (Option C in Question $04.8$).

  • Survey accuracy could be improved by increasing the number of sites surveyed or using multiple surveyors to reduce subjective bias.

Section B: Fieldwork - Physical Geography (Hydrology)

• Hypothesis: "The velocity (speed) of a river increases downstream."

• Data Collection Procedure:

  • Three sites (A, B, C) located exactly $1\,\text{km}$ apart.

  • Measurement of the time taken for a ball to travel a distance of $10\,\text{m}$.

  • Five repetitions per site to ensure reliability.

• Raw Data Table (Time in seconds for $10\,\text{m}$):

  • Site A (Upstream): $26$, $24$, $22$, $24$, $25$

  • Site B: $22$, $23$, $18$, $20$, $24$

  • Site C (Downstream): $20$, $18$, $20$, $18$, $19$

• Mathematical Formulas:

  • $\text{Average velocity (m/s)} = \frac{\text{Distance}}{\text{Average time taken}}$

• Methodological Improvements: Using a sophisticated flow meter instead of a floating object (ball) to avoid wind interference or snagging on debris.

Fieldwork Planning and Personal Enquiry Evaluation

• Risk Assessment:

  • Requirement: Outline why risk assessment is vital in the planning phase (e.g., identifying hazards like deep water, slippery banks, or road traffic to implement mitigation strategies).

• Justification of Presentation Techniques:

  • Selection of specific graphs (e.g., scattergraphs, proportional symbols, or isoline maps) must be justified based on the type of data (continuous vs. discrete) and the goal of showing relationships or spatial patterns.

• Effectiveness of Data Collection:

  • Critical assessment of physical geography methods (e.g., river pebble measuring, beach profiling). Considerations include sample size, equipment precision, and environmental conditions at the time of study.

• Conclusion Reliability:

  • Synthesize results to determine if they formally support or reject the enquiry hypothesis.

  • Evaluation of anomalies (e.g., a site where velocity decreased downstream due to local channel widening or human interference).