AQA GCSE Geography · 3.1.1

Climate change

50 revision questions with answers for 3.1.1 Climate change in AQA GCSE Geography (spec 8035). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below. Not official AQA material.

All 50 questions and answers

Question 1 · Spec 3.1.1.4
What is climate change?
Answer:
A long-term change in the Earth's average weather patterns, such as temperature and rainfall, over decades or longer.
Question 2 · Spec 3.1.1.4
What is the Quaternary period?
Answer:
The most recent geological period, from about 2.6 million years ago to today. It has seen repeated cold glacial and warmer interglacial periods.
Question 3 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How do ice cores provide evidence of climate change?
Answer:
Layers of ice trap air bubbles and chemicals. Analysing them shows past carbon dioxide levels and temperatures going back around 800,000 years.
Question 4 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How do tree rings provide evidence of climate change?
Answer:
Trees grow a ring each year. Wide rings show warm, wet years and narrow rings show cold or dry years, giving a record of the past few thousand years.
Question 5 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How does pollen analysis show past climates?
Answer:
Pollen preserved in peat and lake mud shows which plants grew. Different plants prefer different climates, so changes in pollen show changes in temperature.
Question 6 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How do historical records help show climate change?
Answer:
Diaries, paintings, harvest and tax records and events such as the Thames frost fairs give clues about weather in the Little Ice Age and earlier.
Question 7 · Spec 3.1.1.4
What do temperature records show?
Answer:
Thermometer and satellite records show that global average temperature has risen by about 1.1 degrees C since the late 1800s, with the fastest warming in recent decades.
Question 8 · Spec 3.1.1.4
What other evidence shows that the climate is warming today?
Answer:
Retreating glaciers, shrinking Arctic sea ice, rising sea level, melting ice sheets and earlier springs.
Question 9 · Spec 3.1.1.4
Describe temperature change during the Quaternary.
Answer:
Temperature has swung between cold glacial periods (ice ages) and warmer interglacials. The last glacial peak was around 20,000 years ago and we are in an interglacial now.
Question 10 · Spec 3.1.1.4
What is the Little Ice Age?
Answer:
A cooler spell from roughly the 1300s to the 1800s, mostly in the northern hemisphere, with harsh winters and frozen rivers such as the Thames.
Question 11 · Spec 3.1.1.4
Name the three orbital changes that affect climate.
Answer:
Changes in the shape of the Earth's orbit (eccentricity), the tilt of its axis, and its wobble (precession). They work over tens of thousands of years.
Question 12 · Spec 3.1.1.4
What is eccentricity?
Answer:
The orbit changes from nearly circular to more elliptical over about 100,000 years, altering how much solar energy reaches the Earth and when.
Question 13 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How does the Earth's tilt affect climate?
Answer:
The tilt varies between about 22 and 24.5 degrees over around 41,000 years. A greater tilt gives hotter summers and colder winters.
Question 14 · Spec 3.1.1.4
What is precession (wobble)?
Answer:
The Earth's axis slowly wobbles like a spinning top over about 26,000 years. This changes which hemisphere is closest to the sun in each season.
Question 15 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How can volcanic activity cause climate change?
Answer:
Big eruptions throw ash and sulphur dioxide high into the air, which block sunlight and cool the planet for a few years (e.g. Mount Pinatubo in 1991).
Question 16 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How does solar output affect climate?
Answer:
Sunspot cycles change the energy the sun gives out. Low activity, such as the Maunder Minimum, coincided with cooler weather, but changes are small.
Question 17 · Spec 3.1.1.4
Why do natural factors not explain recent warming?
Answer:
Solar output has not risen, volcanoes have cooled rather than warmed, and orbital changes are too slow. The pace of warming since 1850 matches rising greenhouse gases.
Question 18 · Spec 3.1.1.4
What is the greenhouse effect?
Answer:
Gases in the atmosphere let sunlight in but trap some of the heat leaving Earth. The natural effect keeps the planet around 15 degrees C instead of about minus 18.
Question 19 · Spec 3.1.1.4
What is the enhanced greenhouse effect?
Answer:
Human activities add extra greenhouse gases, so more heat is trapped and the planet warms faster than it would naturally.
Question 20 · Spec 3.1.1.4
Name the main greenhouse gases.
Answer:
Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapour. Carbon dioxide has risen from about 280 ppm before industry to over 420 ppm today.
Question 21 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How do fossil fuels cause climate change?
Answer:
Burning coal, oil and gas in power stations, vehicles and industry releases carbon dioxide, the biggest human cause of the enhanced greenhouse effect.
Question 22 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How does agriculture add to climate change?
Answer:
Cattle and rice paddies release methane, fertilisers release nitrous oxide, and farming machinery and land clearance release carbon dioxide.
Question 23 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How does deforestation contribute to climate change?
Answer:
Trees absorb carbon dioxide, so fewer trees means less is taken in. Burning or rotting felled trees also releases the stored carbon.
Question 24 · Spec 3.1.1.4
Which other human activities release greenhouse gases?
Answer:
Cement making, landfill sites (methane), heating and cooling buildings, transport and flying.
Question 25 · Spec 3.1.1.4
Which sectors produce the most emissions?
Answer:
Energy supply (electricity and heat) is largest, followed by industry, transport, agriculture and land use.
Question 26 · Spec 3.1.1.4
Give an overview of the effects of climate change.
Answer:
Rising temperatures and sea level, melting ice, more extreme weather and changing rainfall. These affect people, food, water, wildlife and habitats.
Question 27 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How can climate change affect people?
Answer:
Coastal flooding forces people to move, crop yields and water supplies change, heat and disease risks rise, and extreme weather damages homes and jobs.
Question 28 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How can climate change affect the environment?
Answer:
Habitats are lost, species must move or die out, coral reefs bleach, ice melts, the oceans become more acidic and ecosystems change.
Question 29 · Spec 3.1.1.4
Why is sea level rising?
Answer:
Warming makes sea water expand (thermal expansion) and melting glaciers and ice sheets add water. Low-lying places such as Bangladesh and the Maldives are at risk.
Question 30 · Spec 3.1.1.4
What are the effects of melting ice in the Arctic?
Answer:
Polar bears and seals lose habitat, new shipping routes open, and thawing permafrost releases more methane, which speeds up warming.
Question 31 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How might rainfall change as the climate changes?
Answer:
Some regions get more intense rain and floods while others get longer droughts, so water supply and food production become less reliable.
Question 32 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How might agriculture be affected by climate change?
Answer:
Cooler regions such as northern Europe may gain longer growing seasons, but dry regions such as the Sahel may lose crops to drought and heat.
Question 33 · Spec 3.1.1.4
What is coral bleaching?
Answer:
Warmer sea water stresses corals so they expel the algae that give them colour and food. If it continues the coral dies, harming reef ecosystems.
Question 34 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How can climate change affect health?
Answer:
More heat stress and heat deaths, flood-related disease, and the spread of diseases such as malaria and dengue fever to new areas.
Question 35 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How might climate change affect the UK?
Answer:
Warmer, wetter winters and hotter, drier summers, more flooding and heatwaves, and rising sea levels that threaten low-lying coasts.
Question 36 · Spec 3.1.1.4
What is mitigation?
Answer:
Actions that reduce the causes of climate change, mainly by cutting greenhouse gas emissions or removing carbon dioxide from the air.
Question 37 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How does alternative energy production reduce climate change?
Answer:
Wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and nuclear power produce little or no carbon dioxide, so replacing fossil fuels lowers emissions.
Question 38 · Spec 3.1.1.4
What is carbon capture and storage?
Answer:
Carbon dioxide from power stations and factories is captured, piped and stored underground. It cuts emissions but is expensive and still being developed.
Question 39 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How does planting trees help to reduce climate change?
Answer:
Growing trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air and store it in wood and soil. It is cheap but takes decades and needs land.
Question 40 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How do international agreements help to reduce climate change?
Answer:
Countries agree emission targets, such as the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the Paris Agreement (2015) to keep warming well below 2 degrees C.
Question 41 · Spec 3.1.1.4
What are the limitations of international agreements?
Answer:
Targets can be hard to enforce, big emitters may withdraw or not meet them, and rich and poor countries disagree over who should pay and how fast to cut.
Question 42 · Spec 3.1.1.4
What is adaptation?
Answer:
Actions that help people and places cope with the effects of climate change that are already happening or are expected, rather than stopping the causes.
Question 43 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How can agricultural systems be adapted to climate change?
Answer:
Grow drought-resistant or heat-tolerant crops, change planting dates, improve irrigation, and use farming methods that protect soil.
Question 44 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How can water supply be managed under climate change?
Answer:
Build reservoirs, cut leaks, install water meters, recycle water, encourage conservation and use desalination where needed.
Question 45 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How can the risk from rising sea levels be reduced?
Answer:
Sea walls and flood barriers (such as the Thames Barrier), raised buildings, mangroves and wetlands, early warnings, or managed retreat from the coast.
Question 46 · Spec 3.1.1.4
Compare mitigation and adaptation.
Answer:
Mitigation tackles the causes and needs global action over a long time. Adaptation deals with the effects, can work locally and quickly, but does not stop warming.
Question 47 · Spec 3.1.1.4
Why is it hard to agree global action on climate change?
Answer:
Costs fall unevenly, countries want economic growth, rich and poor nations disagree about responsibility, and benefits of action are shared by everyone.
Question 48 · Spec 3.1.1.4
How can individuals help to reduce climate change?
Answer:
Use less energy, travel by public transport or bike, fly less, eat less meat, waste less food and recycle.
Question 49 · Spec 3.1.1.4
What is a positive feedback in climate change?
Answer:
A change that amplifies warming. Melting ice exposes darker land and sea that absorb more heat, and thawing permafrost releases methane, causing more warming.
Question 50 · Spec 3.1.1.4
Why do climate projections give a range of outcomes?
Answer:
Models depend on future emissions, feedbacks and natural variation. All show continued warming if emissions stay high, but the size of change differs.

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Climate change

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