Measuring development - AQA GCSE Geography (Paper 2) Exam Questions

Practise 36 exam-style questions on Measuring development for AQA GCSE Geography (Paper 2). Write your answer as you would in the exam and get it marked in seconds against the mark scheme, point by point, with an AI tutor on hand if you get stuck.

36 questions
1–12 marks each
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20 questions, marked as you go

Sample questions with model answers

Here are 4 of the questions in this topic, each with a model answer, an explanation of why it earns the marks and the mark scheme an examiner would use.

Question 1

1 mark

Which one of the following countries is usually classified as a newly emerging economy (NEE)?

A Niger
B Norway
C Brazil
D Chad

Give the letter of the correct answer.

Model answer

C - Brazil.

Explanation

NEEs are countries that have begun to experience rapid economic growth, usually through industrialisation, such as Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Nigeria and South Africa. Niger and Chad are low-income countries (LICs) and Norway is a high-income country (HIC).

Mark scheme

1 mark
C (Brazil)
Accept the letter or the option written out; do not accept more than one answer.

Question 2

2 marks

Suggest one reason why the number of people per doctor may not show the quality of healthcare across a whole country.

Model answer

People per doctor is an average for the whole country, but doctors are not spread out evenly. In many LICs most doctors work in the big cities, so people in remote rural areas may have to travel for hours to see one, even if the national figure looks reasonable.

Explanation

The key idea is that a national average hides how services are distributed (or how good they are). Development comes from saying who misses out and why, such as rural people or the poor. Just saying 'it is not accurate' earns no marks.

Mark scheme

1 mark
It is an average for the whole country / doctors are not spread evenly across the country
max 2: 1 mark for the reason and 1 for its development. Alternative reason: it shows the number of doctors, not the quality of their training, equipment or medicines.
1 mark
Development, e.g. most doctors work in cities, so people in remote rural areas may be many hours from a doctor / many doctors work in private clinics that poor people cannot afford
Development of the previous point. For the alternative reason, accept e.g. a doctor without medicines, clean water or hospital equipment cannot treat patients well.

Question 3

4 marks

Explain why life expectancy is usually lower in LICs than in HICs.

Model answer

In many LICs there are few doctors and hospitals, especially in rural areas, and many people cannot afford medicines, so illnesses that could be treated easily in an HIC become fatal. Many people do not have access to safe water or sanitation, so water-borne diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea spread quickly. Poor diets mean people are weaker and less able to fight infections such as malaria. Also, many babies and young children die, which pulls down the average life expectancy for the whole population.

Explanation

Each factor needs to be linked to its effect on people's lives (for example, dirty water → diseases → early deaths). Remember that life expectancy is an average, so high infant mortality has a big effect on it. Answers that just list problems stay in Level 1.

Mark scheme

4 marks
Levels of response (4 marks).
Level 2 (3-4 marks): clear explanation of why life expectancy is lower in LICs, with linked, developed points showing how each factor shortens people's lives; accurate use of terminology; may use an example.
Level 1 (1-2 marks): basic explanation with simple, unlinked points; may list factors (e.g. 'poor healthcare', 'dirty water') without explaining their effect.
0 marks: nothing worthy of credit.
Indicative content (not a checklist; credit other valid points): fewer doctors, nurses and hospitals, especially in rural areas, so illnesses go untreated; people cannot afford medicines or treatment; lack of safe water and sanitation spreads water-borne diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea; poor diet and malnutrition weaken resistance to disease; diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS are common in some LICs; high infant and child mortality pulls down the average life expectancy; fewer vaccination programmes; dangerous jobs in farming or mining; poor housing; conflict; e.g. life expectancy is about 53 years in Nigeria compared with about 81 in the UK.

Question 4

6 marks

Explain why social measures of development, such as infant mortality and literacy rates, usually improve as a country's GNI per head rises.

Model answer

As a country's GNI per head rises, the government collects more money in taxes, so it can spend more on public services. It can build hospitals and clinics, train doctors and midwives and run vaccination programmes, which means fewer babies die and the infant mortality rate falls. It can also invest in clean water and sanitation, which reduces diseases such as cholera. More money for schools and teachers means more children are educated, so the literacy rate rises.

Families also have higher incomes, so they can afford better food, medicines and the costs of sending children to school instead of making them work. As more jobs appear in factories and offices that need educated workers, parents see education as more valuable. The social measures are linked as well: educated mothers understand nutrition and hygiene and tend to have fewer, healthier children, which lowers infant mortality further. A healthier, better-educated workforce is more productive, which raises GNI per head again. However, this only happens if the wealth is shared fairly and spent well; where corruption or inequality is high, social measures may improve slowly.

Explanation

There are two main routes: more government money for services, and more household income. Level 3 answers build chains (more tax → more clinics → fewer infant deaths) and show how measures reinforce each other, such as women's education reducing infant mortality. Noting that this is not automatic shows extra understanding.

Mark scheme

6 marks
Levels of response (6 marks).
Level 3 (5-6 marks): detailed explanation with clear, well-developed chains of reasoning linking rising GNI per head to improvements in several social measures (through government spending and household income); may recognise links between the social measures themselves or that improvement is not automatic; accurate terminology.
Level 2 (3-4 marks): clear explanation with some linked points; may focus on one route or one or two measures.
Level 1 (1-2 marks): basic explanation with simple, unlinked statements.
0 marks: nothing worthy of credit.
Indicative content (not a checklist; credit other valid points): as GNI per head rises, governments collect more tax, so they can spend more on hospitals, clinics, doctors, midwives and vaccination programmes, reducing infant mortality and raising life expectancy; investment in water supply and sanitation reduces water-borne diseases; more schools and teachers raise literacy; families have higher incomes, so they can afford better food, medicines and school costs, and children do not need to work; more jobs in industry and services need educated workers, so education becomes more valued; educated women have fewer, healthier children and better understand hygiene and nutrition, lowering infant mortality and birth rates; the measures are linked in a positive cycle: healthier, better-educated workers are more productive, increasing GNI further; however, improvement depends on how wealth is shared and spent: inequality or corruption can mean social measures lag behind (e.g. some oil-rich countries).

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