Try the eight questions in order. The scenarios are invented, and the difficulty rises as you go.
Add a clock with the timed original practice session builder for the last four.
Questions
Question 1
A cliff has cracks from repeated heating and cooling, and flakes of rock lie at its base. Name the process.
Answer
Weathering, specifically exfoliation. The rock is breaking where it stands, and nothing has carried the material away.
Question 2
A river carries gravel and cuts into its bank. Is this weathering, erosion or mass movement? Give the clue.
Answer
Erosion. The clue is that water moves the gravel and wears the bank, so a carrying agent is involved.
Question 3
After days of heavy rain, part of a steep bare slope slides onto a road. Name the process and two conditions that helped it.
Answer
Mass movement. Saturated soil became heavy and slippery, and the steep, bare slope had no roots to hold it.
Question 4
Explain why chemical weathering is strong in a warm, wet region.
Answer
Warmth speeds up chemical reactions, and heavy rain supplies the water that reacts with minerals. Together they decay rock quickly, forming deep weathered material.
Question 5
Explain how tree roots help to weather a rock and how they help a slope.
Answer
Roots grow into cracks and widen them, which breaks the rock (biological weathering). On a slope they bind soil and take up water, so they protect it against mass movement. The two effects act on different materials.
Question 6
A slope is 40 degrees, bare, and sits on a clay layer, with heavy rain falling. List the factors that raise the risk and say which overlap most.
Answer
Steep angle, bare soil, clay layer and heavy rain all raise the risk. Bare soil, clay and rain overlap most: rain soaks into the unprotected soil, and the clay stops it draining, so the soil above becomes saturated and slides.
Question 7
Drains cost a moderate amount and work quickly. Planting costs little but takes years. A road near the slope must stay open this season. Which do you choose first, and why?
Answer
Drains first. They act within the season and remove water, the main trigger. Planting is cheap but too slow to protect the road now, so add it afterwards for long-term strength.
Question 8
A village wants one measure only. A retaining wall costs the most and is quick. Drains cost less and are quick. Compare them and give a judgement.
Answer
Both are quick, but the wall costs more and does not remove water from the slope, whereas drains cost less and deal with rainfall directly. Judgement: drains suit a limited budget. The wall is worth its cost only if a nearby building needs immediate physical support.
If you got these wrong
- Questions 1 to 3: revisit telling weathering, erosion and mass movement apart.
- Questions 4 to 5: read explaining physical and chemical weathering under stated conditions.
- Question 6: study reading a slope diagram for mass movement.
- Questions 7 to 8: use comparing slope-management measures in context.
Keep your slips in the mistake log and paper-error review. If you want a teacher to mark your answers, see online one-to-one Geography tuition.