OCR GCSE Geography A key terms

The physical breakdown of rock into smaller pieces without changing its chemical composition.

The use of machinery, such as tractors and combine harvesters, to carry out tasks previously performed by people or animals.

The middle value in an ordered dataset; with an even number of values, the average of the two middle values.

A relatively warm period, approximately AD 950–1250, particularly evident in some regions rather than equally across the whole world.

A city or continuous urban agglomeration with more than 10 million inhabitants.

Rock changed by heat and pressure without melting, such as slate or schist.

The movement of people from one place to another to live.

Long-term variations in the shape of the Earth’s orbit, its axial tilt and the direction of its axis, which change the distribution of solar energy reaching Earth.

The class interval containing the greatest frequency in a grouped frequency table.

The value occurring most frequently in a dataset.

Growing a single crop across an area, rather than maintaining a mixture of plant species.

The place where a river flows into the sea, a lake or another river.

Assistance provided through an international organisation, using contributions from several countries.

The additional economic activity created when an initial investment or increase in employment generates further spending and jobs.

A relationship between two organisms in which both benefit.

The movement of people to live in a different place within the same country.

Population growth that occurs when the number of births exceeds the number of deaths.

A material found in nature that people can use, such as timber, minerals or oil.

A relationship in which one variable generally decreases as the other increases.

A country that imports more energy than it exports.

The number of immigrants minus the number of emigrants. Positive net migration adds to a population.

An energy source whose fuel supply is finite and cannot be replaced on a human timescale, such as coal, oil, natural gas or uranium.

A warm ocean current in the North Atlantic which helps keep the UK milder than it would otherwise be at its latitude.

A numbered horizontal grid line whose value increases towards the north.

Energy released from atomic nuclei, used in power stations to generate electricity, usually with uranium as the fuel.

The movement and recycling of substances needed for growth between organisms and their non-living environment.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries: a group of oil-producing countries whose decisions can influence world oil supplies and prices.