OCR GCSE Geography B key terms

The breakdown of dead organic material by organisms such as bacteria and fungi, releasing nutrients.

To break a source into its parts, such as its labels, features, wording and composition, to examine how it communicates information.

An earthquake that begins far below the Earth’s surface, associated with a tectonic plate descending at a subduction zone.

The removal of forests, which reduces the uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and can release carbon stored in vegetation.

A decline in the importance of manufacturing industry, particularly its share of employment.

A model showing how birth rates, death rates and natural population change tend to change as a country develops.

The dropping of transported sediment when water loses the energy needed to carry it.

A lack of resources and opportunities needed for a reasonable standard of living, which may involve income, employment, housing, education or health.

A map using direct lines to show connections or the direction of movement between locations, without necessarily showing the actual route travelled.

A boundary where plates move together and a denser oceanic plate sinks beneath another plate.

Improvement in people’s standard of living, including economic, social and environmental progress.

A piece of data used to measure an aspect of development, such as income, health or education.

A planned approach to improving people’s living standards and economic opportunities.

Discussion and negotiation between countries or other political groups to manage relationships and seek agreement.

The volume of water passing a point in a river each second, usually measured in cubic metres per second.

A coastline where alternating bands of more and less resistant rock meet the shoreline at roughly right angles.

Numerical data with separate possible values, such as the number of people in a household.

The spread of observations, rather than just their average value.

The geographical pattern of where something occurs.

Food produced within a country rather than imported from abroad.

The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries.

An extended period of below-average rainfall for a particular place, which can lead to water shortages.

A system that detects a developing hazard and communicates an alert so that protective action can be taken.

Shaking of the ground caused by the sudden release of stored energy when rocks move along a fault within the Earth.

A building designed to withstand earthquake shaking and reduce the likelihood of collapse; it is not guaranteed to survive every earthquake.

A numbered vertical grid line on a map. Easting values increase towards the east and are read first in a grid reference.

An increase in the real value of goods and services produced by an economy.