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Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Geography B (1GB0) · Spec 9.5 and 9.6

Consuming energy resources: reducing reliance and changing attitudes

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

  • Ways to reduce reliance on fossil fuels either increase supply from other sources or reduce demand, for example by insulating homes.
  • Wind power helps slow climate change because it replaces fossil-fuel burning, so less carbon dioxide is released.
  • Switching from petrol to electric cars mainly cuts direct fossil-fuel use and emissions. It does not stop transport using energy.
  • A carbon footprint is the carbon dioxide released by a person, group or activity. Footprints are low where industry and energy access are limited, and they rise in fast-growing economies.
  • Views on energy differ between places and between groups. A plan that works in one country cannot always be copied elsewhere because climate, land, wealth and technology differ.

Key terms

Carbon footprint
The amount of carbon dioxide released by a person, group or activity.
Demand reduction
Using less energy, for example by insulating a home.
Energy mix
The share of energy that comes from each source.
Sustainable energy
Energy use that meets today's needs without harming future generations.
Transferability
Whether a plan that works in one place could work in another.

Common mistakes

  • Saying solar power cannot work in a cold country because of low temperatures. Output depends on sunshine hours and the Sun's angle.
  • Saying a country's share of past emissions shows how much each person is to blame. Shares ignore population size.
  • Copying a national plan to another country unchanged.

Exam tip

In the Section C Assess questions, weigh up different actions, such as a local scheme and a global agreement, and say which is most effective and why. Think about scale (local to global) and time (short to long term). Show how the figure supports each point.

Free practice questions

7 questions, 17 marks. Answer, then press Check. The marking guide explains how the marks are worked out. Nothing is saved.

  1. Question 1 · Multiple choice[1 mark]

    Why does wind power help to slow climate change?

  2. Question 2 · Choose more than one[2 marks]

    Which TWO statements about renewable energy are correct?

    Choose 2.

  3. Question 3 · True or false[3 marks]

    Decide whether each statement about sustainable energy use is true or false.

    1. Loft insulation increases the energy needed to heat a home.

    2. A large hydroelectric dam is a good example of a local renewable scheme.

    3. Demand reduction is one way to conserve energy.

  4. Question 4 · Sort into groups[6 marks]

    Sort each action by whether it increases energy supply or reduces energy demand.

    Fitting loft insulation

    Switching to LED bulbs

    Building a new wind farm

    Drilling for shale gas

    Cycling to work

    Opening a new gas field

  5. Question 5 · Multiple choice[1 mark]

    What is true of switching from petrol cars to electric cars?

  6. Question 6 · Fill the gaps[2 marks]

    Nuclear power gives steady ___ electricity, but a station such as Hinkley Point C costs billions and takes many ___ to build.

    Word bank: years · high-carbon · low-carbon

  7. Question 7 · Choose more than one[2 marks]

    Which TWO actions would reduce the carbon footprint of the food a household buys?

    Choose 2.