AQA GCSE Geography (8035) · Spec 3.1.3.2
Coastal landscapes in the UK
Read the notes, then try the questions. Each one is marked the moment you press Check, and shows the right answer and why.
Key ideas
- Waves erode the coast by hydraulic action, abrasion and attrition. Weathering and mass movement also wear it down. Material is transported along the coast by longshore drift, a transport process, not erosion.
- Where waves cut into cliffs, a wave-cut platform forms. A crack can become a cave, then an arch, then a stack when the arch roof collapses. Stacks, arches and platforms are erosional landforms.
- Where waves lose energy, sediment is deposited. Spits and bars are depositional landforms. A spit grows where the coast changes direction.
- Hard engineering uses structures such as sea walls and groynes. Soft engineering works with nature, such as beach nourishment. Managed retreat lets low-value land flood in a controlled way.
- Learn one named stretch of UK coast, and what has been done to manage it.
Key terms
- Hydraulic action
- The force of water and compressed air in cracks breaking up rock.
- Abrasion
- Stones thrown against the cliff by waves wearing it away.
- Attrition
- Stones knocking together and becoming smaller and rounder.
- Longshore drift
- The movement of sediment along the coast in a zigzag by the waves.
- Groyne
- A wall built out into the sea to trap sediment and build up a beach.
- Managed retreat
- Letting the sea flood or erode low-value land in a controlled way.
Common mistakes
- Calling longshore drift a type of erosion. It is a transport process.
- Saying a stack is a pile of rocks. A stack is a pillar of rock left when an arch roof collapses.
- Saying groynes stop longshore drift completely. They trap sediment, so beaches further along are starved and erosion can increase there.
Exam tip
Each Section C option is worth 15 marks and includes a 4-mark and a 6-mark question. Explain the formation of is the usual 4-mark stem, so write the stages in order with a reason at each step. A fully annotated diagram sequence can earn full marks.
Free practice questions
6 questions, 13 marks. Answer, then press Check. The marking guide explains how the marks are worked out. Nothing is saved.
- Question 1 · Multiple choice[1 mark]
Which statement about longshore drift is correct?
- Question 2 · Multiple choice[1 mark]
Which statement about a stack is correct?
- Question 3 · Fill the gaps[2 marks]
Destructive waves have a strong ___, while constructive waves have a strong ___.
Word bank: backwash · swash · fetch
- Question 4 · Matching[3 marks]
Match each coastal erosion process to what it does.
- Question 5 · Sort into groups[5 marks]
Sort each coastal landform into the correct group.
Arch
Wave-cut platform
Stack
Spit
Bar
- Question 6 · Multiple choice[1 mark]
Why can groynes lead to more erosion further along the coast?