Year 8
Geography Revision
You will need to revise the following topics:
1. Mapwork skills
2. Coasts
3. Weather and climate
4. Transport and industry
5. Global locations
*Please use you Year 7 books for all topics covered last year with Mr Borrows.*
Mapwork skills
· Understand 4 and 6 figure grid refs
· Describe the position of places using eight points of a compass
· Measure distance and areas using the scale of a map
· Understand and use contour lines and spot heights
· Annotate simple sketch sections
Coasts
· Know and understand the processes of weathering, including physical, chemical and biological
· Know and understand the processes of weathering, erosion, transportation and deposition in the development of the following landforms: waterfall, meander, caves, arches, stacks, stumps, spits
· Draw and annotate a diagram to show the formation of the above landforms
Weather and climate
· Know and understand the difference between weather and climate
· Know and understand the influence of aspect, shelter, buildings, surface and natural features on microclimates
· Know and understand the following terms in relation to the water cycle: evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, interception, surface run-off, infiltration and throughflow
· Draw and annotate a diagram and explain the formation of relief, convectional and frontal rainfall
· Know and understand the causes of temperature and rainfall variation in the British Isles, including the influence of latitude, altitude, relief, prevailing winds, distance from coast, and the impact of the Gulf Stream
Water cycle
Relief rainfall
Frontal rainfall
Convectional rainfall
The jet stream
The jet stream is a narrow band of predominantly westerly winds found 9-16 km above the surface of the Earth and reaching speeds of 200 mph. The jet stream has a big impact on the UK’s weather.
The position of a jet stream varies within the natural fluctuations of the environment. In the summer months, the jet stream generally sits to the north of the UK, bringing warm settled weather. During the winter, the jet stream is often closer to the UK bringing stormier conditions or, if it is south of the UK, colder spells are likely to occur.
The jet stream flows from west to east around the northern hemisphere and is driven by the temperature difference between intensely cold Arctic air and relatively warmer air at lower latitudes. But when this temperature difference is less marked, the jet stream becomes slower and tends to wander off course.
The Gulf Stream
TheGulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, theNorth Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swiftAtlanticocean currentthat originates in the gulf of Mexico and follows the eastern coastline of the United Statesbefore crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
The Gulf Stream influences the climate of the east coast of North America and the west coast of Europe. Although there has been recent debate, there is consensus that the climate of Western Europe and Northern Europe is warmer than it would otherwise be due to theNorth Atlantic drift which is the north-eastern section of the Gulf Stream.
The Gulf Stream is typically 100 kilometres wide and 800 metres to 1,200 metres deep. The current velocity is fastest near the surface, with the maximum speed typically about 2.5 metres per second (5.6mph).
Transport and industry
Different sectors of economic activity / Primary – extracting raw materials from the earth, e.g. farming, mining, fishing, forestry.Secondary – a manufacturing industry where raw materials are made into goods, e.g. baker, car-factory worker.
Tertiary- a service industry selling goods or providing a service, e.g. doctor, lawyer, banker, teacher.
Quaternary- a knowledge based industry such as research and development into high-tech goods, e.g. research scientist, web design.
Generally, the poorer the country is (LEDC) the higher the percentage of people working in primary activities (mainly farming and fishing). The richer a country becomes (MEDC), the higher the percentage of people working in tertiary activities (shops, museums, schools, hospitals, councils etc.). Some Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs), like Brazil, lie somewhere in the middle with growing secondary and tertiary sectors.
How economic activities operate in contrasting locations / A Transnational Company (TNC) or Multi-National Company (MNC) is a global company that operates across national boundaries. They are attracted to LEDCs because there is a large labour pool, there are lower wages and lower taxes and there are fewer restrictions.
Case study: Apple
Apple’s headquarters are in the USA, where the iPhone is designed and developed. The raw materials needed to make iPhones come from all over the world, however (copper from Chile, Coltan from the DRC, Aluminium from Australia, Oil from Saudi Arabia, steel from China – these are the INPUTS, along with labour). The iPhone itself is made in China (assembly of iPhone = PROCESSES), where there are longer working hours, lower wages and fewer regulations.
Impact on China
Negative: low pay; poor/hazardous working conditions (high likelihood of accidents); poor living conditions (cramped dormitories).
Positive: people receive more money they would farming; might receive training to improve skills; provision of leisure facilities and healthcare; standards are improving as people in West become more aware of working conditions; many factory workers are women – an income gives a woman higher status.
Impact on USA
Negative: loss of jobs (higher unemployment); possible impact on local economy.
Positive: cheaper products for consumers; higher profits for TNCs; greater variety of products available.
Case Study: British Sugar factory, Bury St Edmunds
Inputs, processes and outputs
Inputs: sugar beet, limestone, fuel, water.
Processes: extraction (cleaning and slicing the sugar beet and mixing it with hot water), purification, crystallisation.
Outputs: sugar, topsoil, animal feed, fertiliser, electricity.
Location factors
- The factory is next to the A14, which provides direct access to the centre of the UK from where the sugar can be distributed to the rest of the country.
- The factory is on the outskirts of Bury St Edmunds, which means there is a nearby labour force to work in the factory.
- The factory is close to the farms growing sugar beet (the average distance to the factory from the growers is 28 miles). This reduces the cost of transporting the raw sugar beet, which is both heavy and bulky, to the factory.
- The land on which the factory is built is flat and is next to the River Lark (water used in the process of producing sugar is treated and then put into the river).
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Sustainability / Sustainable development is defined as ‘Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’
Key terms:
Living standard: Standard of living refers to the level of wealth, comfort and material goods available to certain groups in a particular area.
Exploit: Exploitation is defined as the act of using resources unfairly or the act of treating people unfairly.
Protect: Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment for the benefit of both the natural environment and people.
Stewardship: Stewardship means looking after resources in a sustainable way so that they will exist for future generations.
Conservation: The act of preserving and protecting something e.g. the Rainforests, National Parks.
Manage: Environmental resource management is the management of the impact people have on the environment e.g. managing tourism in the Peak District National Park.
The impact different modes of transport (road, rail, sea, air) have on the environment
HS2 / Benefits
- economic benefits of jobs and regenration to the Midlands and north of England
- reduce journey times between London and other cities
- take pressure off exsiting rail network by reducing passenger numbers
- reduce traffic congestion by encouraging more people to travel by rail rather than road
Objections
- huge environmental impact: loss of nature reserves and ancient woodlands
- demoshlishment of homes, plus many more will fall in value
- noise pollution affecting over 20,000 homes within 300 metres of the route
- other solutions exist, including increasing the length of trains on existing network
- cost (over £40 billion): money could be spent elswhere (NHS)
- only a small percentage of the population will benefit
Global locations
LOCATION KNOWLEDGE
Questions will be set only on locations shown in this Appendix. It is expected that those in bold italics will be known at age 11+.
THE UNITED KINGDOM AND EUROPE
Europe
Mountain ranges
Alps, Pyrenees
Oceans
Atlantic, Arctic
Seas
Mediterranean
Rivers
Rhine
Other features
Arctic Circle, North Pole, Prime Meridian
British Isles
Countries
England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Rep. of Ireland
Sea areas
English Channel, Irish Sea, North Sea
Rivers
Severn, Thames, Trent, Clyde, Shannon, Mersey, Tyne
Upland areas
Grampians, Lake District, Pennines, Snowdonia
Islands
Anglesey, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Orkneys, Shetlands, Isle of Wight
Major cities
Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Plymouth, Southampton
Countries and their capitals
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)
THE REST OF THE WORLD
Continents
Africa, Asia, North America,
South America , Oceania, Antarctica
Mountain ranges
Andes, Himalayas, Rockies
Deserts
Sahara
Oceans/seas
Atlantic, Arctic, Indian, Pacific, Southern Oceans,
Red Sea
Rivers
Amazon, Mississippi, Nile, Yangtze (Chang Jiang), Ganges
Other features
Arctic Circle, Antarctic Circle, Equator, International Dateline, North Pole, South Pole, Prime Meridian, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn
Countries and their capitals
Africa
Egypt (Cairo), Ethiopia (Addis Ababa), Ghana (Accra), Kenya (Nairobi), Nigeria (Abuja), South Africa (Pretoria)
North America
Canada (Ottawa), Mexico (Mexico City), USA (Washington DC)
South America
Argentina (Buenos Aires), Brazil (Brazilia), Chile (Santiago), Colombia (Bogota), Peru (Lima)
Asia
Afghanistan (Kabul), Bangladesh (Dhaka/Dacca), China (Beijing), India (New Delhi), Indonesia (Jakarta), Iran (Tehran), Iraq (Baghdad), Israel (Jerusalem), Japan (Tokyo), Pakistan (Islamabad), Russia (see Europe), Saudi Arabia (Riyadh), South Korea (Seoul), Thailand (Bangkok), Turkey (Ankara) (also in Europe)
Oceania
Australia (Canberra), New Zealand (Wellington) , Papua New Guinea (Port Moresby)
Other major cities and city states
Dubai, Kolkata, Los Angeles, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Sydney, Vancouver