AQA GCSE Geography · 3.2.3

Resource management

50 revision questions with answers for 3.2.3 Resource management 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 3.2.3.1
What is a resource?
Answer:
Anything from the environment that people use to meet their needs. Food, water and energy are the three key resources, and they are either renewable or non-renewable.
Question 2 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Why is food significant to economic and social well-being?
Answer:
Enough nutritious food keeps people healthy and able to work and learn. Food security supports economic growth, while shortages cause hunger, poor health and unrest.
Question 3 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Why is water significant to economic and social well-being?
Answer:
Clean water is needed for drinking, hygiene, farming and industry. Safe water improves health and productivity, while shortage causes disease, conflict and lost income.
Question 4 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Why is energy significant to economic and social well-being?
Answer:
Energy powers homes, transport, industry and technology. Reliable energy supports health care, education and jobs, and lack of it limits development.
Question 5 · Spec 3.2.3.1
How are food, water and energy linked?
Answer:
Growing food needs water and energy, water supply and treatment need energy, and producing energy often uses water. A shortage of one affects the others.
Question 6 · Spec 3.2.3.1
What are the global inequalities in food supply and consumption?
Answer:
People in HICs eat over 3,000 calories a day on average and often waste food, while in many LICs average intake is lower and millions are undernourished.
Question 7 · Spec 3.2.3.1
What are the global inequalities in water supply?
Answer:
About 2 billion people lack safely managed drinking water, mostly in LICs in Africa and Asia, while HICs use large volumes per person.
Question 8 · Spec 3.2.3.1
What are the global inequalities in energy supply and consumption?
Answer:
HICs and NEEs use most energy per person, whereas hundreds of millions of people in LICs, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, have no electricity.
Question 9 · Spec 3.2.3.1
What causes global inequalities in resources?
Answer:
Differences in climate, geology, wealth, technology, population size, politics and trade determine how much is produced, who can afford it and how fairly it is shared.
Question 10 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Why do a few countries use a large share of world resources?
Answer:
Wealthy countries have high incomes, more technology and consumption, so a small share of the world's people use a disproportionately large share of food, water and energy.
Question 11 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Give an overview of food resources in the UK.
Answer:
The UK produces roughly 60% of the food it eats and imports the rest, such as fruit and vegetables, so it depends on trade and global supply chains.
Question 12 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Give an overview of water resources in the UK.
Answer:
The UK is wet overall, but rainfall is highest in the north and west while most people live in the drier south and east, so supply and demand are mismatched.
Question 13 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Give an overview of energy resources in the UK.
Answer:
The UK once relied on coal and then North Sea oil and gas. It now imports more fossil fuels and has growing renewable energy, especially offshore wind.
Question 14 · Spec 3.2.3.1
How are UK resource demands changing?
Answer:
Population growth, rising living standards and changing diets increase demand, while efficiency, recycling and climate policies aim to reduce consumption.
Question 15 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Why is there growing demand for high-value food exports from LICs?
Answer:
UK consumers want fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers such as green beans, mangetout and avocados from Kenya and Peru, which are flown or shipped in and earn LICs income.
Question 16 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Why is there all-year demand for seasonal food?
Answer:
Supermarkets stock strawberries, asparagus and other foods all year round, so seasonal produce is imported from countries with a different growing season.
Question 17 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Why has demand for organic produce grown?
Answer:
Consumers are concerned about health and the environment, and want food grown without artificial fertilisers and pesticides, although organic food is more expensive.
Question 18 · Spec 3.2.3.1
What are food miles?
Answer:
The distance food travels from where it is produced to where it is eaten. Longer distances usually mean more transport emissions.
Question 19 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Why do food miles increase the carbon footprint of food?
Answer:
Transport by plane, ship and lorry burns fossil fuels, releasing carbon dioxide. Air-freighted produce has an especially large footprint.
Question 20 · Spec 3.2.3.1
What is a carbon footprint?
Answer:
The total amount of greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide, produced by a person, product, activity or organisation.
Question 21 · Spec 3.2.3.1
What is local sourcing of food?
Answer:
Buying food grown near where it is eaten, through farmers' markets, farm shops and veg boxes, to cut food miles and support local farmers.
Question 22 · Spec 3.2.3.1
What are the benefits of local sourcing?
Answer:
Fresher food, fewer transport emissions, support for local farmers and the local economy, and less packaging, although choice is more limited and costs may be higher.
Question 23 · Spec 3.2.3.1
What is agribusiness?
Answer:
Large-scale, commercial farming run like an industry, using machinery, chemicals and technology, often controlled by big companies that supply supermarkets.
Question 24 · Spec 3.2.3.1
What are the effects of agribusiness in the UK?
Answer:
Greater output and lower prices through economies of scale, but fewer small farms, larger fields, loss of hedgerows and habitats, and heavy use of chemicals and water.
Question 25 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Why does the UK waste so much food?
Answer:
Food is wasted at home through over-buying and strict date labels, and in supply chains because of cosmetic standards. This wastes the water and energy used to make it.
Question 26 · Spec 3.2.3.1
How has demand for water changed in the UK?
Answer:
Demand has grown with population, more homes and appliances. Average use is about 140-150 litres per person per day, although industry and farming also need large amounts.
Question 27 · Spec 3.2.3.1
What is the pattern of water demand in the UK?
Answer:
It is highest in the densely populated south-east, where rainfall is lower. Demand peaks in hot dry summers because of gardens and tourism.
Question 28 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Why is water quality a concern in the UK?
Answer:
Pollution from farming, sewage overflows, industry and road run-off can reduce water quality and harm rivers, wildlife and drinking supplies.
Question 29 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Which sources pollute UK water?
Answer:
Fertiliser and manure from farms (nitrates and phosphates), sewage discharges, industrial waste and chemicals running off roads.
Question 30 · Spec 3.2.3.1
How is water pollution managed?
Answer:
Treatment works, regulation and monitoring by the Environment Agency, limits on discharges, buffer strips of vegetation beside rivers and better farming practices.
Question 31 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Where are the UK's areas of water surplus and deficit?
Answer:
Surplus: the wetter north and west (Scotland, Wales, the Lake District). Deficit: the drier south and east, including London, Anglia and the South East.
Question 32 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Why is the south-east of England a water-deficit area?
Answer:
It has lower rainfall and the highest population, many homes and businesses, and high evaporation in summer, so demand is greater than local supply.
Question 33 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Why is water transfer needed in the UK?
Answer:
To move water from surplus areas to deficit areas through pipelines, canals and rivers, maintaining supplies for people and industry.
Question 34 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Give examples of UK water transfers.
Answer:
The Elan Valley aqueduct in Wales supplies Birmingham, and the Kielder Water scheme in Northumberland transfers water between rivers to supply the north-east.
Question 35 · Spec 3.2.3.1
What problems do reservoirs and transfers cause?
Answer:
They are expensive, flood valleys and farmland, disturb habitats and use energy to pump, and local people may object.
Question 36 · Spec 3.2.3.1
How has the UK energy mix changed?
Answer:
Coal once supplied most electricity, but is now gone, with the last coal power station closing in 2024. Gas, nuclear and renewables, especially wind, now dominate.
Question 37 · Spec 3.2.3.1
How reliant is the UK on fossil fuels?
Answer:
Oil, gas and some coal still supply most transport and heating, and gas is used for much of the electricity, although the share is falling.
Question 38 · Spec 3.2.3.1
What is the growing significance of renewables in the UK?
Answer:
Offshore and onshore wind, solar, biomass and hydro now generate a large share of electricity, helped by falling costs and climate targets.
Question 39 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Why have domestic supplies of oil, gas and coal fallen?
Answer:
Coal seams became uneconomic and mines closed, and North Sea oil and gas production passed its peak around 2000 as fields are depleted.
Question 40 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Why does the UK import energy?
Answer:
Falling North Sea production means the UK imports gas (e.g. from Norway and as liquefied natural gas) and oil to meet demand.
Question 41 · Spec 3.2.3.1
What economic issues are linked to exploiting energy sources?
Answer:
Costs of exploration and extraction, jobs created or lost, fluctuating world prices, energy security and the high cost of new infrastructure.
Question 42 · Spec 3.2.3.1
What environmental issues are linked to exploiting energy sources?
Answer:
Fossil fuels release greenhouse gases and pollute air and water, wind turbines affect landscapes and wildlife, and extraction like fracking raises concerns about earthquakes and groundwater.
Question 43 · Spec 3.2.3.1
What is the role of nuclear power in the UK?
Answer:
Nuclear power provides low-carbon electricity from a small number of ageing reactors, but it is expensive to build, produces radioactive waste and has safety concerns.
Question 44 · Spec 3.2.3.1
What is energy security?
Answer:
Having a reliable, affordable energy supply that does not depend too much on a few countries or sources. Importing energy reduces security.
Question 45 · Spec 3.2.3.1
What is the UK's target for greenhouse gas emissions?
Answer:
A legal target of net zero emissions by 2050, which requires a large shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy and greater efficiency.
Question 46 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Why has renewable energy grown so quickly in the UK?
Answer:
Costs have fallen, there are good wind resources and coastlines, government support and climate targets encourage it, and there is public pressure to cut emissions.
Question 47 · Spec 3.2.3.1
What are the challenges of renewable energy?
Answer:
Wind and solar are intermittent, so storage and backup are needed, grids need upgrading, and local people may object to turbines and solar farms.
Question 48 · Spec 3.2.3.1
How can the UK reduce its reliance on imported food?
Answer:
Grow more at home, cut food waste, support local and seasonal produce and develop more efficient farming, although climate limits some crops.
Question 49 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Why do changing diets affect resource demand?
Answer:
More meat and dairy need far more land, water and energy than plant foods, and eating different foods changes imports, so diets affect resource use.
Question 50 · Spec 3.2.3.1
Why is it important to manage resources sustainably in the UK?
Answer:
Resources are limited and demand is growing. Sustainable management protects supplies for future generations and reduces damage to the environment.

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