AQA GCSE Geography key terms

A shortage caused by insufficient available water to meet demand.

Preparing people, supplies and procedures so that communities can act effectively before, during and after a hazard.

The boundary where two tectonic plates meet.

The theory that Earth’s rigid outer layer is divided into plates which move relative to one another, creating and destroying crust and causing earthquakes and volcanic activity.

Glacial erosion in which ice freezes onto rock and pulls it away as the glacier moves.

A deep hollow at the foot of a waterfall, excavated by falling water and the abrasion of rock fragments.

The high-latitude circulation cell, approximately between 60° and 90° north or south, with descending air over the poles.

An environment at very high latitudes around the North or South Pole, with extreme cold and extensive permanent ice cover.

The introduction of harmful substances into the environment, damaging air, water, land or living organisms.

The average number of people per unit area, usually expressed as people per square kilometre: $\text{population density} = \frac{\text{population}}{\text{area}}$.

The way people are spread across an area.

An increase in the number of people living in an area.

A graph of a population’s age and sex structure, with horizontal bars showing the number or percentage in each age group.

The mix of age groups and sexes within a population.

An economy in which services and knowledge-based activities have become more important than traditional manufacturing.

Water falling from the atmosphere, including rain, snow and hail.

Forecasting where and when a hazard may occur and how severe it may be.

A broad zone of relatively high or low atmospheric pressure extending around the Earth.

The direction from which the wind most commonly blows in a place.

Information collected first-hand by the person or group carrying out an investigation.

A direct consequence of a hazard, such as buildings being destroyed by strong winds.

Economic activities that extract or collect natural resources, such as mining, farming and fishing.

The transfer of a business or industry from government ownership to private ownership.

An organism, usually a green plant, that makes its own food using energy from sunlight through photosynthesis.

An estimate of a future value based on existing information and assumptions.

Checking written work for errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar.

One part expressed relative to the whole, commonly as a fraction, decimal or percentage.