Geography - Year 8 Revision for Common Entrance Trial Examination in November 2014 The Year 8 Trial Examination takes place in week 11 of the Autumn Term 2014. In order to give you a realistic assessment, you will be given a full Common Entrance paper to complete. I have, however, narrowed down the amount of revision you will have to do for the Trial. This is the format of the examination:- Section A asks questions about Global Location. Section B is based on an OS map extract and can ask questions connected to any of the topics you have studied over the last year as well as topics you will be studying in Year 8. Section C covers Thematic Studies i.e. the five main Topics studied in Years 6, 7 and 8. Knowledge of case studies is required for Section C. You are required to answer all the questions within an hour. To start with you need to know where to find information on the topics we have studied as well as the topics you will continue to study in Year 8. Below is a list of sources for revision:-
Years 6, 7 and 8 Exercise books these contain class and prep work on three units of study: Volcanoes and Earthquakes, Weather and Climate and Rivers and Coasts (a full list of topics is given below). CGP Geography Revision Guide Set of A4 Case Studies - For the purposes of this Trial Examination I have given you FOUR of these to revise (you can break down the information on these further by writing key points onto cards see instruction sheet How to construct a Revision Card ). Class Folder this contains extra information sheets on each topic as well as CE questions/answers and Past Papers. Here is a breakdown of each section of the paper:- Section A of the paper You have 10 minutes to complete Section A of the paper. In this section you may be asked to locate the following on a world map - countries, cities, rivers, oceans, mountain ranges, lines of latitude (Cancer, Equator and Capricorn), the Prime Meridian (this is zero degrees longitude, passing through Greenwich in London) and time differences travelling eastwards (1 hour forward) or westwards (1 hour back). Be careful! The examination board could ask for locations on a map of the World, UK or Europe. For this Trial, I want you to revise Global places and features. Ensure that you revise the maps of the World using an Atlas (you can book one out from the Geography Department if you need to) or use an Online Atlas. Below is a list of the Global places and features you may be asked about. Section A - Global Location You have to revise continents, oceans, countries, cities, rivers, mountain ranges and deserts. This section can be based on either a map of the British Isles, a map of Europe or a map of the World. Below is a list of the Global places and features that you may be asked about. You will not be asked to locate anywhere that is not on this list!
Major global physical features Continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Oceania, Europe, North and South America. Mountain ranges: Alps, Andes, Himalayas, Pyrenees and Rockies. Desert: Sahara Oceans: Arctic, Indian, Atlantic and Pacific. Rivers: Amazon, Mississippi, Nile, Rhine and 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 and North Sea. Rivers: Severn, Thames, Trent, Clyde and Shannon. Hills: Grampians, Lake District, Pennines and Snowdonia. Major cities: Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Newcastle. Countries Europe: France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine. Africa: Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. Americas: Brazil, Canada, Mexico and USA. Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Pakistan, Russia and Saudí Arabia. Oceania: Australia and New Zealand Major cities and city states: Beijing, Berlin, Cairo, Delhi, Los Angeles, Madrid, Mexico City, Moscow, New York, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Sydney, Tokyo, Warsaw and Washington DC. Section B of the paper You have 10 minutes to complete Section B of the paper. In this section you are required to study an OS Map extract. Make sure you know your four and six figure grid references, directions (N, S, E and W and rest of the 8 point compass), distances and scale as well as contour lines. If you are unsure about any of these check out the map reading section in your Revision Guide. Also, look at the information below:- Section B - Ordnance Survey Map work You will have to know the following:- 4 and 6 figure grid references.
Map Symbols these come with the map! (the key) but it would be useful to know major symbols to speed up answers in the examination. Identify compass directions - 8 point. Identify simple relief features on a map e.g. a slope, a hill, a valley, a river etc. Work out the straight line distance between two points as well as being able to measure the distance along a winding road, river, railway etc. (use the straight edge of a piece of paper for the latter). Work out the range of height between two points on the map using contour lines or spot heights. Describe the land use of a part of the map can be a whole host of things including coniferous/non-coniferous woods, ind est indicating industrial estate, housing, roads/railways, quarry, hotel, caravan and camping etc. Identify reasons for the location of settlements along a flat part of a valley, near a river for water, near woods for fuel (early settlement factors), near roads/railway lines/ports (settlement growth!), nodal points (particularly for Market Towns), away from flooding from a large river. Identify reasons for the location of land use such as industrial estates, airports, sea ports, retail parks, business parks etc. flat land for space and expansion, near urban area for source of labour, not too
near an urban area as to cause too much disruption, near transport routes for bringing supplies/raw materials in and transporting finished products to other towns/cities, away from potential flooding of large rivers etc. Identify different types of economic activity on a map e.g. Primary (farm, Quarry, Coalmine, fishing port), Secondary (Industrial Estate, works, mill, etc.) and Tertiary (Hotels, Supermarkets/Retail Parks, Tourist facilities such as camping etc.). Describe the course of a river on a map from the source (where land is higher indicated by tighter contour lines), through the middle stage (where land becomes gentler indicated by wider contour lines) to the final mature stage (where the land is virtually flat indicated by very wide spacing in contour lines on a map). Please note that you may be asked to describe the changing shape of the channel as well as the changing shape of the valley. Identify which way a river is flowing on a map look at spot heights/contour heights along the course of the river; the river will always flow from the higher points towards the lower points. Be able to work out the area of a place/land use such as woods using the scale at the bottom of the OS map extract Each square on a 1:50,000 map = 1 square Km. Section C of the paper This is the Thematic Studies section of the paper. You are required to answer all five questions. Each question will be based on a theme or topic studied in Year 7 and Year 8. These themes or topics are listed below. The questions for each theme or topic will ask you about the key concepts. For example the question on Rivers and Coasts may start off by asking you about different types of weathering and erosion. Then you might be asked to draw a diagram explaining how a particular landform has been formed (e.g. a Meander in a river or a Stack along the coast). The question might finish by asking you about a case study on flooding (Bangladesh would be your case study).
You will have 8 minutes to answer each question. Keep it simple and answer the questions directly do not waffle! For example if the question asks for impacts and responses, do not write anything about causes. You must revise the A4 case study information sheets. There are four case studies for you to revise for the forthcoming trial in November 2014:- Flooding The 1998 Flood in Bangladesh. Earthquakes the Asian Tsunami of 2004. Economic Activity Toyota Car Plant in Burnaston, Derby. Sustainable Development Case study Sustainable Development in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Try to make revision cards based on the A4 case study sheets these will help you in the rest of your geography examinations. Be aware that there are less direct questions on your case studies compared to the old format paper. You are asked more questions on theory linked to your case studies. Below is a list of topics to revise for the Trial:- Rivers and Coasts Processes of erosion Hydraulic Action, Abrasion, Corrosion and Attrition. Processes of Transportation Solution, Suspension, traction and Saltation. River landforms and processes Waterfall, Ox-bow Lake and Meander. The causes, effects of and responses to a flood the Bangladesh flood of 1998 (A4 case study sheet) and The Lynmouth Flood of 1952 (Revision Guide). Make sure you revise the page on controlling/reducing the impacts of flooding in your Revision Guide.
Earthquakes and Volcanoes The global distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes. Make sure you know where the Pacific Ring of Fire and Mid-Atlantic Ridge are located! Destructive Plate Boundary you need to know why there are so many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions around the Pacific Ocean. Earthquakes Why are earthquakes so destructive? Why are MEDCs better prepared than LEDCs. An example of an earthquake to show the nature, causes, environmental and human effects and human responses - The Asian Tsunami of 2004 yes the Tsunami was caused by an earthquake. Information found in your exercise books and in the A4 case study sheet. Weather and Climate The difference between weather and climate. The Water Cycle make sure you know what each component (e.g. precipitation) means. Rainfall relief, convectional, frontal. How to draw or annotate a diagram and explain the formation of different types of rainfall. Economic Geography Employment structure make sure you know what Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Quaternary activities are and how to spot these on an OS map. Reasons for the location of an industry. Case Study The Toyota car plant in Derby. You need to know how and where the product cars in this case is manufactured, referring to inputs, processes and outputs(a4 case study sheet X2). You need to know why Toyota located their car plant near Derby and what impacts (good and bad) the plant has had on the local area. Environmental Issues Much of this question is data response i.e. you are given information in a picture and a written passage you respond by using the information to answer a series of questions.
Reasons why green spaces and countryside areas should be preserved. You must understand what is meant by Conserve, Manage, Sustainable Development and Stewardship. What Conflicts can arise between land users in such areas. Case study Sustainable Development in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (A4 case study sheet). Make sure you know what the conflicts are and how the park has been managed to try to minimise (reduce) the impacts of these conflicts. The list of topics above are less than what you will have to learn for the final CE examination at the end of Year 8. This should give you a fair chance of scoring a decent mark in the trial examination. We will be practicing global location and map skills in the lessons leading up to your Trial. I have given you a past paper to do over the Autumn Half Term Holiday most of the topics in this paper will appear in your trial in November. Have a go at some of the questions over the half term break and complete during your Prep session in Week 8. Hand your completed paper to me during your lesson in Week 9! A final note Examinations are important and people get nervous. The best way to approach examinations is to be well prepared. Your responses to questions will be more effective if you are relaxed and confident. GOOD LUCK!