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AQA GCE Geography Unit 3- 7th June 2013

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Original post by Gary
For the ecosystems section, I think they might ask about human activity/ sustainable management of a biome you have studied as neither of thoughs has came up yet


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Me too, I wouldn't like this question though...
Original post by Gary
For the ecosystems section, I think they might ask about human activity/ sustainable management of a biome you have studied as neither of thoughs has came up yet


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What would that be about? Sustainable tourism in the rainforest?
Original post by ArsenalBen
What would that be about? Sustainable tourism in the rainforest?


I would give around three factors: eco tourism and stuff like protection of the orangutans in bornea, "zoning" in the jau region, management schemes of soya plantations I think?

how these factors are sustainable etc
Original post by SamEastie
can someone please briefly and simply explain how ocean currents/circulation address global heat transfers?
also in my notes it says; the North Atlantic is warmer than the North Pacific, leading to higher rates of evap. and higher salinity and therefore denisty. Sinking of saltier, denser water drives the conveyor belt and cold currents feed into the Pacific where it mixes with warmer less dense water.
Whaaaaaat? it said the N Atlantic was warmer right before that! |:


Hi I can help,

Ocean currents help to drive our climatic conditions. You need to remember that warmer ocean currents move from the equator towards the poles where they cool. The colder currents move from the poles towards the equator. Think of hot to cold cold to hot. These currents move in a motion called a "gyre". The ocean currents travel clockwise in northern hemisphere and anti clockwise in southern. Regarding salinity it is not covered in the spec so u don't really need to know it. Basically as the currents that travel from the equator towards the poles and artic, they sink as the water has a higher salinity therefore it causes them to become more dense creating colder waters. As water travels to warmer regions salinity decreases and waters become less dense causing the warm currents to rise creating warmer oceans. That's why we experience the Gulf Stream.

This helps to explain the differences I hope :smile:


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Original post by jacktomos95
Hi I can help,

Ocean currents help to drive our climatic conditions. You need to remember that warmer ocean currents move from the equator towards the poles where they cool. The colder currents move from the poles towards the equator. Think of hot to cold cold to hot. These currents move in a motion called a "gyre". The ocean currents travel clockwise in northern hemisphere and anti clockwise in southern. Regarding salinity it is not covered in the spec so u don't really need to know it. Basically as the currents that travel from the equator towards the poles and artic, they sink as the water has a higher salinity therefore it causes them to become more dense creating colder waters. As water travels to warmer regions salinity decreases and waters become less dense causing the warm currents to rise creating warmer oceans. That's why we experience the Gulf Stream.

This helps to explain the differences I hope :smile:


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top lad! yeah thats kinda what i thought happened, just needed it clarifying!
thanks alot!
Original post by SamEastie
top lad! yeah thats kinda what i thought happened, just needed it clarifying!
thanks alot!


No worries, good luck


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I did Unit 3 last summer and got full UMS; It is possible! You just have to put in a lot of revision. To be honest, I didn't really bother doing past papers in full as it's too much effort. A good thing to do might be to plan how you would answer past essay questions in your head during revision, it saves time and is helpful in linking between concepts across the course as you can flick back through your notes.

Have a read of the attachments I made from the core textbooks. They explain how to go about answering each of the questions. All the papers have a similar format from year to year.

A few more tips for the essay in particular:

Be synoptic. The concept looks hard at the outset but in reality it isn't and is not something to be afraid of. All it means is that you need to link in concepts from across the course into the essay, which is based under the heading of one topic. For example, say if you were discussing ecosystem productivity in an ecosystems essay, you could bring in climatic factors that affect productivity temporally or spatially, such as the quantity of insolation reaching the surface, which varies to the latitude, time of day or season at any given place. Alternatively in a world cities essay you could bring in knowledge of globalisation into a question about city growth and expansion.

Comparing concepts across different scales of analysis also gets you lots of marks; for example you might do a paragraph on how productivity might vary locally, then a paragraph about how it might vary globally.

Write with flair, and do not be afraid that you won't get the right answer; the examiners like it when candidates make insightful, interesting comments and back up their own opinions with evidence.

Good luck for the exam, and keep colouring!
Reply 387
Original post by DavidCrow

Be synoptic.


I also got 120/120 (76/90), but it did take me 2 goes to do it though :biggrin:. Would agree with everything written above, but this is the most critical thing you need to learn.

Included my predictions and some example questions in this thread:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2356234

I personally didn't do too many practice questions, I pretty much only learnt plans / perfect answers.
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by DavidCrow
I did Unit 3 last summer and got full UMS; It is possible! You just have to put in a lot of revision. To be honest, I didn't really bother doing past papers in full as it's too much effort. A good thing to do might be to plan how you would answer past essay questions in your head during revision, it saves time and is helpful in linking between concepts across the course as you can flick back through your notes.

Have a read of the attachments I made from the core textbooks. They explain how to go about answering each of the questions. All the papers have a similar format from year to year.

A few more tips for the essay in particular:

Be synoptic. The concept looks hard at the outset but in reality it isn't and is not something to be afraid of. All it means is that you need to link in concepts from across the course into the essay, which is based under the heading of one topic. For example, say if you were discussing ecosystem productivity in an ecosystems essay, you could bring in climatic factors that affect productivity temporally or spatially, such as the quantity of insolation reaching the surface, which varies to the latitude, time of day or season at any given place. Alternatively in a world cities essay you could bring in knowledge of globalisation into a question about city growth and expansion.

Comparing concepts across different scales of analysis also gets you lots of marks; for example you might do a paragraph on how productivity might vary locally, then a paragraph about how it might vary globally.

Write with flair, and do not be afraid that you won't get the right answer; the examiners like it when candidates make insightful, interesting comments and back up their own opinions with evidence.

Good luck for the exam, and keep colouring!


Thanks very much for the advice, it has been taken aboard! Currently sitting on 3 A's with one of the them (Geog4b) at 100% UMS. Hoping for a high A and maybe even an A* overall, so i'll make sure to include the synoptic links in the exam. I just feel slightly intimidated by answering a 40 mark essay in an exam, have not had to do such a long essay question in an exam before- but i'm sure, with a bit of planning, it'll be fine. :biggrin:
Original post by A Wise Ninja
Thanks very much for the advice, it has been taken aboard! Currently sitting on 3 A's with one of the them (Geog4b) at 100% UMS. Hoping for a high A and maybe even an A* overall, so i'll make sure to include the synoptic links in the exam. I just feel slightly intimidated by answering a 40 mark essay in an exam, have not had to do such a long essay question in an exam before- but i'm sure, with a bit of planning, it'll be fine. :biggrin:


You'll be fine, geog 4B is a much more demanding paper than geog 3, which is pretty much a case of thorough revision. If you have the staying power to sit there and learn everything thoroughly you'll get 100/120 no problem


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Reply 390
What synoptic things can I consider in a 40 marker tectonic essay??


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Reply 391
I'm scared, I really need this A* and the thought of writing a 40marker off the top of my head is worrying
Reply 392
worst bullet point for world cities: no idea what it means

- Economic development and change related to urbanisation
Reply 393
Original post by DavidCrow
I did Unit 3 last summer and got full UMS; It is possible! You just have to put in a lot of revision. To be honest, I didn't really bother doing past papers in full as it's too much effort. A good thing to do might be to plan how you would answer past essay questions in your head during revision, it saves time and is helpful in linking between concepts across the course as you can flick back through your notes.

Have a read of the attachments I made from the core textbooks. They explain how to go about answering each of the questions. All the papers have a similar format from year to year.

A few more tips for the essay in particular:

Be synoptic. The concept looks hard at the outset but in reality it isn't and is not something to be afraid of. All it means is that you need to link in concepts from across the course into the essay, which is based under the heading of one topic. For example, say if you were discussing ecosystem productivity in an ecosystems essay, you could bring in climatic factors that affect productivity temporally or spatially, such as the quantity of insolation reaching the surface, which varies to the latitude, time of day or season at any given place. Alternatively in a world cities essay you could bring in knowledge of globalisation into a question about city growth and expansion.

Comparing concepts across different scales of analysis also gets you lots of marks; for example you might do a paragraph on how productivity might vary locally, then a paragraph about how it might vary globally.

Write with flair, and do not be afraid that you won't get the right answer; the examiners like it when candidates make insightful, interesting comments and back up their own opinions with evidence.

Good luck for the exam, and keep colouring!


thank you for the advice! i was wondering how long you spent on revision for each topic and how you revised?

would really help me as you got full ums :smile:
Reply 394
Further to my last post, does anyone know what it is actually referring to in the spec when it says

- Economic development and change related to urbanisation

Course textbook doesnt say.
Reply 395
Original post by Axion
worst bullet point for world cities: no idea what it means

- Economic development and change related to urbanisation


Thats all about as economies develop, there's a sectoral shift from land intensive industries ie agriculture to the service and manufacturing industries which are less land intensive so can concentrate in a smaller area and benefit from being close together as they can share knowledge easier. etc

Has anyone got an example of somewhere that has undergone urban decline? could I use the london docklands for this?
Original post by Axion
Further to my last post, does anyone know what it is actually referring to in the spec when it says

- Economic development and change related to urbanisation

Course textbook doesnt say.


I was confused when I read it as well when I revised. It literally just means how have cities developed economically..so some have been identified for finance (New York), trade, fashion (Milan) ext.

It also means sequences that have happened...so we have got the development of squatter settlements as a result in these changes


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I invested in a white board! it is the best thing for revising geography :biggrin:!
Original post by JenniS
Thats all about as economies develop, there's a sectoral shift from land intensive industries ie agriculture to the service and manufacturing industries which are less land intensive so can concentrate in a smaller area and benefit from being close together as they can share knowledge easier. etc

Has anyone got an example of somewhere that has undergone urban decline? could I use the london docklands for this?


Yeah you can use this, I am going to in addition to Hulme in Manchester. You could also talk about inner city areas and say how they have suffered decline


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Reply 399
'Evaluate how plate tectonics theory helps our understanding of the distraction of seismic and volcanic events' 40 marker for tectonics on the June 2012 paper

I know you talk about constructive, destructive, and conservative margins but do you need to describe the process on how they are formed and will you need to walk about like rift valleys and how they are formed aswell??


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