Pearson Edexcel GCSE Geography A (1GA0) · Spec 1.3, 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6
Coastal landscapes and processes
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, attrition and solution. Rock type, wave strength and fetch change how fast this happens.
- Sediment is transported by traction (rolled along the bed), saltation (bounced), suspension (carried in the water) and solution (dissolved). Longshore drift moves material along the coast in a zigzag.
- Erosion forms headlands and bays, cliffs and wave-cut platforms. A crack in a headland becomes a cave, then an arch, then a stack, then a stump.
- Deposition forms beaches, spits and bars. A bar can grow right across a bay and trap a lagoon behind it.
- Hard engineering includes sea walls, groynes and rip rap. Soft engineering includes beach nourishment and managed retreat.
Key terms
- Hydraulic action
- Waves force air and water into cracks, which weakens and breaks the rock.
- Abrasion
- Waves throw sand and pebbles at a cliff and wear it away.
- Traction
- Heavy material rolled or dragged along the sea bed.
- Longshore drift
- The movement of sediment along a coast by waves that arrive at an angle.
- Spit
- A ridge of sand or shingle joined to the land at one end.
- Managed retreat
- Letting the sea flood land that was once defended.
Common mistakes
- Calling any narrow strip into the sea a spit. A spit is built by longshore drift and is joined to land at one end. A harbour wall is man-made.
- Saying 'the weather' or 'the sea' to explain why erosion varies. Name the factor: rock type, fetch, wind direction, wave strength or defences.
- Mixing up traction, saltation and suspension. Traction rolls, saltation bounces, suspension carries.
Exam tip
The Paper 1 Examine 8-marker is worth 4 marks for AO3 and 4 for AO4. Explain how the processes work in order, and quote evidence from both figures, such as grid references and what the photograph shows.
Free practice questions
6 questions, 10 marks. Answer, then press Check. The marking guide explains how the marks are worked out. Nothing is saved.
- Question 1 · Fill the gaps[2 marks]
A ___ forms when a spit grows right across a bay. It encloses a ___. Slapton Sands in Devon is an example.
Word bank: bar · lagoon · stack
- Question 2 · Multiple choice[1 mark]
Which statement correctly defines traction?
- Question 3 · Choose more than one[2 marks]
Which **two** of these are soft coastal defences?
Choose 2.
- Question 4 · True or false[3 marks]
Decide whether each statement about coasts is true or false.
1. On a discordant coast, bands of different rock run at right angles to the coast.
2. Constructive waves have a strong backwash that removes sediment from the beach.
3. Hard rock tends to be left as headlands while soft rock is eroded into bays.
- Question 5 · Put in order[1 mark]
Put these landforms in the order they form from a crack in a headland.
Use the arrows to put these in the right order, first at the top.
- 1Stack
- 2Arch
- 3Cave
- 4Stump
- Question 6 · Multiple choice[1 mark]
Which landform is Old Harry Rocks, near Swanage?