Key Words

Question 1

Abiotic factors

Answer 1

The non-living components of an ecosystem
Eg climate, soil, water

Question 2

Abrasion

Answer 2

When bits of eroded rock and water scrape against rock, eroding it

Question 3

Agribusiness

Answer 3

Large scale, industrial farming that is usually controlled by large companies

Question 4

Appropriate technology

Answer 4

Materials and methods that are cheap, sustainable and easily available to local people, enabling them to meet their basic needs

Question 5

Attrition

Answer 5

When bits of a roded rock in water collide, break into smaller pieces and become more rounded

Question 6

Beach nourishment

Answer 6

Adding sand or shingle from elsewhere to the upper part of a beach, often to prevent erosion

Question 7

Biodiversity

Answer 7

The variety of organisms, both plants and animals, living in a particular area

Question 8

Biomass

Answer 8

Natural material (wood, faeces) that can be burnt as fuel are used to make biofuels

Question 9

Biotechnology

Answer 9

Genetically engineering crops

Question 10

Biotic factors

Answer 10

The living components of an ecosystem
Eg plants, animals, people

Question 11

Brownfield site

Answer 11

Land that has previously been developed, but is no longer in use

Question 12

Carbon footprint

Answer 12

The amount of greenhouse gases produced by a particular product or an individual’s activity

Question 13

Climate change

Answer 13

Any significant change in the Earth’s climate over a long period of time

Question 14

Commercial farming

Answer 14

Farming crops or livestock to sell for a profit

Question 15

Conservative plate margin

Answer 15

A tectonic plate boundary where two plates are moving sideways past each other, or in the same direction but at different speeds
No crust is created or destroyed

Question 16

Consumer

Answer 16

An organism that gets its energy by eating other organisms

Question 17

Coriolis effect

Answer 17

The apparent curve of winds across the Earth’s surface due to the planet’s rotation

Question 18

Decomposer

Answer 18

An organism (eg fungi) that gets its energy by breaking down dead material

Question 19

Deforestation

Answer 19

The clearance of large areas of forest

Question 20

Deposition

Answer 20

The process of water dropping material as it slows down and loses energy

Question 21

Desertification

Answer 21

A decline in the quality of land as it becomes drier and less productive

Question 22

Destructive plate margin

Answer 22

A tectonic plate boundary where two plates are moving towards each other
The denser oceanic plate subducts beneath the less dense continental plate and is destroyed
If two continental plates meet, the ground is forced up, creating fold mountains

Question 23

Discharge

Answer 23

The volume of water flowing in a river, measured in cumecs (cubic metres per second)

Question 24

Drought

Answer 24

A long period of time with little to no precipitation
Can cause areas to experience water stress

Question 25

Ecosystem

Answer 25

A community of plants and animals, and the environment in which they live