Belmont
Mill Hill Preparatory School
Year 8 Geography Revision Summer 2017
The Exam Paper Will Consist of:
Section A:
Examination 60 minutes long
Total of 10 - 15 marks
This section will contain questions on global location. Pupils might be asked to
identify continents & oceans, countries, cities and geographical features (rivers,
deserts, mountain ranges & rainforests) as well as important lines of latitude &
longitude on given maps of the British Isles, Europe or the World.
Pupils should:
 Spend 8 - 10 minutes on this section
Section B:
Total of 10 - 15 marks
This section will compromise questions on Ordnance Survey map work. A 1:25,00
or 1:50,00 map will be provided on which the pupils might have to give 4 or 6
figure grid references, measure distances, identify symbols, work out direction,
estimate area and interpret contour lines or relief. They may need to understand
site, situation and shape of settlement. They may also be asked to annotate simple
sketch sections or describe routes.
Pupils should:
 Spend 8 - 10 minutes on this section
Section C:
Total of 50 – 60 marks
In this section the pupils will be tested on their knowledge of the thematic studies
they have covered in geography lessons including: rivers & coasts, earthquakes &
volcanoes, weather & climate, economic activity and environmental issues. Graphs,
photos, maps and diagrams may be used as stimulus material. Questions may
include a mix of data response, multiple choice, short or more extended answers.
Pupils should:
 Spend 35 - 45 minutes on this section
Fieldwork:
Total 20 marks
The pupils will have undertaken and submitted a fieldwork project on the river
study they undertook on their Year 7 fieldtrip.
Equipment you will need for the exam:
Pupils will need to bring a pen, pencil and ruler to the exam. String will be provided
for you.
Year 8 Geography Revision Guide Summer 2017
Topics you should know:
GLOBAL LOCATION
Major global physical features
Continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Oceania, Europe, North and South America
Mountain ranges: Alps, Andes, Himalayas, Pyrenees, Rockies
Desert: Sahara
Oceans: Arctic, Indian, Atlantic, Pacific, Southern Ocean, Red Sea
Rivers: Amazon, Ganges, Mississippi, Nile, Yangtze
Other global features
Arctic Circle, Antarctic Circle, Equator, International Dateline, North Pole, Prime
Meridian, South Pole, Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn
British Isles
Countries: The countries of the UK and the Republic of Ireland
Sea areas: English Channel, Irish Sea, North Sea
Rivers: Severn, Thames, Trent, Clyde, Shannon, Mersey, Tyne
Hills: Grampians, Lake District, Pennines, Snowdonia
Major cities: Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow,
Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Plymouth, Southampton
Countries
Europe: Belgium (Brussels), Denmark (Copenhagen), France (Paris), Germany
(Berlin), Greece (Athens), Iceland (Reykjavik), Italy (Rome), Netherlands
(Amsterdam), Norway (Oslo), Poland (Warsaw), Portugal(Lisbon), Russia (Moscow),
Spain (Madrid), Switzerland (Bern)
Africa: Egypt (Cairo), Ethiopia (Addis Ababa), Ghana (Accra), Kenya (Nairobi),
Nigeria (Abuja), South Africa (Pretoria)
Americas: Canada (Ottawa), Mexico (Mexico City), USA (Washington DC)
Asia: Afghanistan (Kabul), Bangladesh (Dhaka/Dacca), China (Beijing), India (New
Delhi), Indonesia (Jakarta), Iran (Tehran), Iraq (Baghdad), Israel (Jerusalem), Japan
(Tokyo), Pakistan (Islamabad), Russia, Saudi Arabia (Riyadh), South Korea (Seoul),
Thailand (Bangkok), Turkey (Ankara)
Oceania: Australia (Canberra), New Zealand (Wellington), Papua New Guinea (Port
Moresby)
Major cities and city states
Dubai, Kolkata, Los Angeles, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Sydney,
Vancouver
Please ask for blank practise maps and an atlas if you feel these will help you.
Year 8 Geography Revision Guide Summer 2017
ORDNANCE SURVEY MAPWORK

Points of the compass – direction, (read question carefully – from where to
where)

Grid square (4 figure) grid reference (6 figure) (remember along the
corridor and up the stairs) to the right of the line along the bottom and
above the line as you go up the page

Northings are the horizontal line on a map and Eastings are the vertical
lines.

How height is shown on maps (look for spot heights, Triangulation pillars &
contour lines)

How contours show relief –(the shape of the land, steep slopes have contour
lines close together and flat areas have few or widely spread contours)

Scale, distance & routes (check scale of map, for measuring use string; use
road names, physical features, direction distance to describe route)

Decision making exercises (e.g. what determines the location of factories transport, raw materials, power supply, labour, market, flat land)

Area - size of town in km2 (each grid square is 1 km2)

Identify Ordnance Survey symbols (use key)

Identify the C.B.D. (look for railway station, town hall, information centres,
cathedral)
Ask for an O.S. help guide if you are still struggling with this area of the curriculum
POPULATION & SETTLEMENT

Settlement pattern (linear, nucleated, dispersed)

Site - position of settlements (near fresh water, shelter, building materials
defensive positions, flat land, fertile soil, transport links, trade routes (cross
roads), bridging points and natural resources) (see diagram)

Land use patterns in towns (Central Business District, inner city, inner
suburb & outer suburb, Green Belt) location of different land uses and house
types (offices in centre of town, residential in the suburbs and hypermarkets
at the city outskirts) (see diagram)

Settlement & Service hierarchies – what goods and services are
available/provided in different sized settlements

Reasons for population distribution and types and reasons for migration

Population pyramids – birth rate, death rate, life expectancy
Year 8 Geography Revision Guide Summer 2017

How economic development can be sustainable – case study Queen Elizabeth
Olympic Park. The benefits & problems (including environmental) this
brought to London.
TRANSPORT & INDUSTRY

Primary industries – collection and use of raw materials + farming,
Secondary industry – manufacturing, Tertiary industry – services,
Quaternary – consultancy, research & development (be able to identify
examples of each from an OS map)

Types of transport available and how they would be used for transporting
different commodities, advantages vs. disadvantages

HS2 case study its impact on people and the environment

LEDC vs. MEDC – case study Toyota car assembly plant in the UK vs.
sweatshops in Bangladesh

Exploitation vs. sustainable development

Factors affecting location of factories (power supply – national grid,
transport – motorway / port / railway, raw materials – mine/quarry/forest,
site – cheap land, flat land, market – big + rich + nearby, skilled & cheap
local labour force) Learn a case study e.g. car assembly plant
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Benefits + problems of Renewable / Green energy sources (solar, wind,
wave, tidal, biomass, Hydroelectric power & geothermal) expensive, not
efficient but do not pollute suitable locations – windy place i.e. hills / coasts,
space, government subsidies / investment, connected to national grid

Benefits + problems of non-renewable energy (fossils fuels) pollution, will
run out but are efficient, cheap and our current technology is based on them
RIVERS & COASTS

What is the difference between weathering and erosion? (weathering is the
breakdown of rock in-situ (without movement); erosion the wearing away
and removal of rock); Types of erosion CASH - Corrosion, Attrition, Solution
Hydraulic Action

Types of weathering (freeze-thaw – scree slopes, onion-skin, biological &
chemical) be able to draw a labelled DIAGRAM, remember process is
repeated over time and the location they occur (see diagram)

Deposition landforms – where it occurs and why (floodplains - alluvium +
silt and spits)
Year 8 Geography Revision Guide Summer 2017

Erosional landform (V shaped valley formation, waterfall formation - plunge
pools, gorge) Meanders (cross-sections with labels, river cliff, river beach,
fastest + slowest flow) be able to draw a labelled DIAGRAM (see diagram)

Water cycle (evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration,
interception, transpiration, throughflow, overland flow) be able to label
diagram (see diagram)

Floods – causes & effects of natural & human (heavy rainfall, increased runoff, rock type - impermeable, saturated soil, deforestation, urbanisation, ice
melt, global warming) loss of life, damage to property; Management of
floods (dams, reforestation, flood channels)

Coastal landforms & processes – headland erosion labelled diagram, long
store drift & spit formation labelled diagram
PLATE TECTONICS

Global distribution of earthquakes + volcanoes (along plate boundaries,
zones of activity, ‘Ring of fire’)

Volcano learn a case study e.g. Soufrière Hills Volcano, Monserrat,
Caribbean 1995, destructive plate boundary, oceanic plate sinks under
continental plate as it is more dense, as in enters the Mantle it melts, uprising
of magma gives explosive volcano (see diagram)

Earthquake learn case study e.g. Port au Prince, Haiti, Caribbean 2010 –
destructive plate boundary, focus in the crust the origin of the earthquake,
shock / seismic waves spread out, epicentre is the point on the earth’s
surface that receives most energy / damage from quake) (see diagram)

Plate boundaries: Destructive margin or subduction zone – e.g. Chile, Japan,
Italy, New Zealand (violent earthquakes + volcanoes); be able to draw a
labelled DIAGRAM (see diagram)

Benefits of volcanoes (fertile soil, geothermal energy, minerals & ores, new
land and tourism)

Dangers of volcanoes / earthquakes (fire, lose of life, destructive of property,
loss of communication, disruption to transport, famine, polluted drinking
water, disease, no electricity or gas, disruption to economy + infrastructure)

Human response to natural hazards (M.E.D.C. compared to L.E.D.C.
response – emergency action plans E.A.P.s, The 3 P’s - planning, prediction,
preparation, building regulations, education, evacuation)

What dictates the number of deaths (magnitude, populated area, warning
systems, LEDC / MEDC, isolated location, season, by the coast)
Year 8 Geography Revision Guide Summer 2017
WEATHER & CLIMATE

The Difference between weather and climate (day to day conditions verse
average over a period of time)

Where to put your weather station (open space away from buildings, water,
people and trees – i.e. on the school playing fields)

Compare + contrast climates in Britain + the Tropics (interpreting graphs –
temperature – line graph; rainfall – bar graph) prevailing wind, distance
from Equator, ocean currents, relief/altitude, ocean current North Atlantic
Drift, latitude

Microclimate (climate in a small area) surface – dark absorbs heat, aspect –
south facing warmer, shelter – building / walls, urban heat island – air
conditioning + central heating systems in houses

Water cycle (evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration,
interception, transpiration, throughflow, overland flow) be able to label
diagram (see diagram)

Floods case study Bangladesh 2010 – causes & effects of natural & human
(heavy rainfall, increased run-off, rock type - impermeable, saturated soil,
deforestation, urbanisation, ice melt, global warming) loss of life, damage to
property; Management of floods (dams, reforestation, flood channels)

Types of rainfall – relief, convectional and frontal (see diagram)
EXAMINATION TECHNIQUE

Do NOT PANIC – PMA positive mental attitude

Read the question – look for key words

Do not rush

If the question is hard leave it and return to it at the end

With longer/higher mark questions plan your answer

Look how many marks the question is worth

Answer the question – check how many marks are allocated and answer
accordingly

Give examples to illustrate your point – actual locations studied

Use graphs, diagrams + information provided – it is there to help not
confuse you

Draw clear illustration and label when requested - these will get you as
many marks as written text, do not repeat in text what you have put in
diagrammatical form

Watch the time – write in note form if running out of time
Year 8 Geography Revision Guide Summer 2017

Have a go at everything you might get something a blank sheet will get
nothing

Do not write the question out again in the answer – it is a waste of space +
time

Use geographical terminology / words wherever possible

Check your work at the end if you have time

Draw simple diagrams it is the labels that get the marks

Write clearly if they cannot read it they will not mark it
REVISION TECHNIQUE

Read and understand 30%, (2) Summarise and memorise 60%, (3) test and
review 80% (get Mum or Dad to do this)

List key words, Make revision cards, practice drawing and labelling
diagrams, Create Spider diagrams, use highlighters

Create a revision timetable - Set goals for each revision session

Eat & drink properly the brain needs fuel!

Work in the morning as much as possible – your brain is more alert then

Sit upright, have good lighting, good ventilation (leave window open)

Take breaks regularly

If you listen to music make sure it is CD or MP3 not the radio

Keep each subject in a separate folder

Have your own space (a desk / table) somewhere that you will not be
disturbed continually
References:
Revision website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/
C.G.P. key stage 3 Geography study book
Exam Style Questions To Help You Revise
Practice of past papers, creation of model answers will be carried out in lessons
prior to the exam.
Year 8 Geography Revision Guide Summer 2017
General Exam Stress-Busting Tips:

Believe in yourself: You wouldn’t have been given a place on the course if
you didn’t have the ability to do it. Therefore, if you prepare for the exams
properly you should do fine, meaning that there is no need to worry
excessively.

Don’t try to be perfect: It’s great to succeed and reach for the stars. But keep
things in balance. If you think that “anything less than A* means I’ve failed”
then you are creating mountains of unnecessary stress for yourself. Aim to
do your best but recognise that none of us can be perfect all of the time.

Take steps to overcome problems: If you find that you don’t understand some
of your course material, getting stressed won’t help. Instead, take action to
address the problem directly by seeing your course tutor or getting help from
your class mates.

Don’t keep thing bottled up: Confiding in someone you trust and who will be
supportive is a great way of alleviating stress and worry

Keep thing in perspective: The exams might seem like the most crucial thing
right now, but in the grander scheme of your whole life they are only a small
part.
For the exam itself:

No need to panic. It’s natural to feel some exam nerves prior to starting the
exam, but getting excessively nervous is counterproductive as you will not
be able to think as clearly.

The quickest way to eliminating feeling of stress and panic is to close your
eyes and take long, slow deep breaths. Breathing is a way to calm your whole
nervous system. Simultaneously you can give yourself some mental pep-talk
by repeating “I am calm and relaxed” or “I know I will do well”

If your mind goes blank, don’t panic! Panicking will just make it harder for
you to recall information. Instead, focus on deep breathing for about a
minute. If you still can’t remember the information, move onto another
question and return to this question later.

After the exam don’t spend endless time criticising yourself for where you
think you went wrong. Often our self-assessment is far too harsh.
Congratulate yourself for the thing you did right, learn for the bits which
you know you could have done better, and then move on.
Year 8 Geography Revision Guide Summer 2017