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    examBoard: Cambridge
    examType: IGCSE
    lessonTitle: Coastal Environment Questions
Geography - Assessment Preparation and Review - Paper 1 Preparation - Coastal Environment Questions - BrainyLemons
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Paper 1 Preparation » Coastal Environment Questions

What you'll learn this session

Study time: 30 minutes

  • How to identify and answer different types of coastal environment questions
  • Key coastal processes and landforms for Paper 1
  • Effective techniques for describing coastal features from photographs
  • How to explain the formation of coastal landforms
  • Case studies of coastal management strategies
  • Command words and how to structure your answers

Introduction to Coastal Environment Questions

Paper 1 of the Cambridge iGCSE Geography exam often includes questions about coastal environments. These questions test your understanding of coastal processes, landforms and management strategies. Being well-prepared for these questions can help you score high marks!

Key Definitions:

  • Coastal erosion: The wearing away of land by the action of the sea.
  • Coastal deposition: The laying down of material that has been eroded and transported.
  • Longshore drift: The movement of material along a beach by wave action.
  • Wave-cut platform: A flat area at the base of a cliff formed by erosion.
  • Spit: A ridge of sand or shingle projecting from the land into the sea.

🌊 Types of Coastal Questions

In Paper 1, you might encounter these question types:

  • Describe coastal features from photographs
  • Explain how coastal landforms are created
  • Outline coastal management strategies
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of coastal defences
  • Case study questions about specific coastal areas

📝 Command Words

Pay attention to these command words in coastal questions:

  • Describe: Say what you can see (4-6 marks)
  • Explain: Give reasons why (6-8 marks)
  • Suggest: Give possible reasons (4 marks)
  • To what extent: Consider different viewpoints (8 marks)
  • Evaluate: Weigh up the pros and cons (8 marks)

Coastal Processes and Landforms

Understanding coastal processes is essential for answering questions about how landforms are created. Remember the four main processes of coastal erosion:

💧 Hydraulic Action

Air in cracks is compressed by waves, creating pressure that widens cracks in the cliff.

🪨 Abrasion

Rocks and pebbles are thrown against the cliff by waves, wearing it away like sandpaper.

🔥 Attrition

Rocks and pebbles knock into each other, becoming smaller and more rounded.

🧾 Solution

Acids in seawater dissolve rocks that contain calcium carbonate, like limestone.

🌊 Weathering

Biological, chemical and physical processes that break down rocks (not strictly erosion but important for coastal landforms).

Answering Questions About Coastal Landforms

Erosional Landforms

Questions often ask you to explain how erosional landforms form. Remember to use the correct sequence and processes.

🗻 Headlands and Bays

How to answer: Explain that they form where there are alternating bands of hard rock (headlands) and soft rock (bays). The soft rock erodes faster, creating bays, while the hard rock remains as headlands.

⛰ Cliffs and Wave-Cut Platforms

How to answer: Describe how waves erode the base of the cliff through hydraulic action and abrasion, creating a notch. Eventually, the cliff collapses and the process repeats, leaving a flat wave-cut platform.

💭 Caves, Arches, Stacks and Stumps

How to answer: Explain the sequence: Waves exploit weaknesses in headlands to form caves → Caves on opposite sides join to form arches → Arch roof collapses to form a stack → Erosion continues until only a stump remains.

Depositional Landforms

For questions about depositional features, always mention longshore drift and the conditions needed for deposition.

🏖 Beaches

How to answer: Explain that beaches form when waves deposit material in sheltered areas. Describe the role of constructive waves (low energy, strong swash) in building up beaches.

👉 Spits

How to answer: Describe how longshore drift carries material along the coast. When the coastline changes direction, material continues to be deposited in the same direction, forming a finger-like projection. Mention how the end often curves due to secondary winds/waves.

🌊 Bars and Tombolos

How to answer: Explain that a bar forms when a spit grows across a bay to join another part of the coast. A tombolo forms when deposition creates a ridge connecting the mainland to an island.

Coastal Management Questions

Paper 1 often includes questions about coastal management strategies. You need to know both hard and soft engineering approaches.

🧱 Hard Engineering
  • Sea walls
  • Groynes
  • Revetments
  • Gabions
  • Offshore breakwaters
🌱 Soft Engineering
  • Beach nourishment
  • Dune regeneration
  • Marsh creation
  • Managed retreat
  • Cliff regrading
💬 Evaluation Points
  • Cost vs. benefit
  • Short-term vs. long-term
  • Environmental impact
  • Social impact
  • Sustainability

Case Study Focus: Holderness Coast, UK

The Holderness Coast in Yorkshire is Europe's fastest eroding coastline (up to 2 metres per year). The area uses various management strategies:

  • Mappleton: Two rock groynes and a rock revetment protect the village but have increased erosion further down the coast (terminal groyne syndrome).
  • Hornsea: Sea walls, groynes and rock armour protect this tourist town.
  • Spurn Head: Natural spit formed by longshore drift, now managed with a 'do nothing' approach.
  • Impacts: Farmland and properties lost, but cost of complete protection too high. Some villages like Skipsea are being left to erode.

Exam tip: Use this case study to answer questions about coastal management strategies, conflicts and the impacts of coastal erosion.

Photograph Analysis Questions

Paper 1 often includes photographs of coastal features that you need to identify and describe. Follow these steps:

📷 How to Describe Coastal Features

  1. Identify the main landform (e.g., "The photograph shows a headland with an arch")
  2. Describe its appearance using geographical terms (shape, size, colour)
  3. Mention any evidence of processes (e.g., wave action, weathering)
  4. Refer to specific parts of the photograph (foreground, background)
  5. Link to geographical concepts (e.g., "This suggests differential erosion")

💡 Top Tips for Paper 1

  • Learn the sequence of formation for key landforms
  • Practise drawing simple diagrams to support your answers
  • Use proper geographical terminology
  • Know at least one detailed coastal management case study
  • Look for clues in photographs (rock type, wave energy, human features)
  • Develop answers fully - one-word answers rarely get full marks

Exam Practice: Sample Question

Study the photograph showing a coastal area in Dorset, UK.

(a) Identify the coastal landform shown in the photograph. (1 mark)
A stack/Old Harry Rocks.

(b) Describe the formation of this coastal landform. (4 marks)
Model answer: The stack formed when waves eroded a headland. Initially, waves exploited cracks in the chalk headland, creating caves through hydraulic action and abrasion. Caves on opposite sides eventually joined to form an arch. Over time, the roof of the arch collapsed due to weathering and gravity, leaving an isolated column of rock (stack) separated from the headland. Eventually, continued erosion at the base will cause the stack to collapse, forming a stump.

Examiner's comment: This answer scores full marks because it explains the complete sequence of formation using correct geographical terminology and processes.

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