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AQA GCSE Geography (Paper 1) Smart practice A mixed round aimed at your weak spots
Unit 1
The challenge of natural hazards
Natural hazards
Natural hazards and hazard risk
0%
Tectonic hazards
Plate tectonics and plate margins
0%
Effects of and responses to tectonic hazards
0%
Reducing the risk from tectonic hazards
0%
Weather hazards
Global atmospheric circulation
0%
Tropical storms: distribution, formation and structure
0%
Effects of and responses to tropical storms
0%
Weather hazards in the UK
0%
Climate change
Climate change: evidence, causes and effects
0%
Managing climate change
0%
Unit 2
The living world
Ecosystems
Ecosystems
0%
Tropical rainforests
Tropical rainforest ecosystems
0%
Deforestation
0%
Sustainable management of tropical rainforests
0%
Hot deserts (option)
Hot desert ecosystems
0%
Developing hot deserts: opportunities and challenges
0%
Desertification
0%
Cold environments (option)
Cold environment ecosystems
0%
Developing cold environments: opportunities and challenges
0%
Protecting cold environments
0%
Unit 3
Physical landscapes in the UK
The UK's physical landscapes
The UK's physical landscapes
0%
Coastal landscapes (option)
Coastal processes
0%
Coastal landforms
0%
Coastal management
0%
River landscapes (option)
River valleys and fluvial processes
0%
River landforms
0%
Flooding, hydrographs and flood management
0%
Glacial landscapes (option)
Glacial processes
0%
Glacial landforms
0%
Glaciated uplands: land use and tourism
0%
Unit 4
Geographical skills: OS maps
Ordnance Survey maps
OS maps: grid references, scale, distance and direction
0%
OS maps: relief, contours, gradient and landscape features
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Plate tectonics and plate margins

Practise 35 exam-style questions on Plate tectonics and plate margins for AQA GCSE Geography (Paper 1). 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.

  • 35 questions
  • 1–12 marks each
  • Instant marking
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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

Figure 1 is a cross-section through a plate margin.

Name the type of plate margin shown in Figure 1.

Cross-section through a plate margin. Two layers of rock under the sea have arrows pointing away from each other (left and right). Between them is a gap filled by molten rock, which rises in a column from a blob of molten rock in the layer below; an arrow in the gap points up. The strips of rock right next to the gap are shaded darker. The sea floor rises towards the gap from both sides. Above the gap a low, wide hill with gentle slopes rises above sea level, with a red tongue of molten rock running down its right-hand side. In the lowest layer there are two oval loops of arrows: under the gap the arrows point up, along the top of each loop they point outwards away from the gap, and they sink again at the far ends. The label "Oceanic plate" points to the left-hand layer of rock under the sea; the label "Oceanic plate" points to the right-hand layer of rock under the sea; the label "Magma rises" points to the molten rock under the gap, with an arrow pointing up through the gap; the label "Mantle" points to the layer below the plates.

Model answer

A constructive plate margin.

Explanation

The arrows show two oceanic plates moving apart, with magma rising into the gap and a gently sloping volcano above it - the features of a constructive margin. At destructive margins the plates move towards each other, and at conservative margins they slide past each other.

Mark scheme
  1. 1 mark

    Constructive (plate margin)

    accept 'divergent'; do not accept 'destructive', 'conservative' or 'mid-ocean ridge' alone

Question 2

2 marks

State two processes that cause tectonic plates to move.

Model answer

Convection currents in the mantle, and slab pull.

Explanation

Heat from the core creates convection currents in the mantle that drag the plates. Scientists now think that slab pull - the weight of the cold, dense plate sinking at a subduction zone - is also very important, helped by ridge push at mid-ocean ridges.

Mark scheme
  1. 1 mark

    Convection currents in the mantle

    max 2; 1 mark per process; accept 'heat from the core creates currents in the mantle'

  2. 1 mark

    Slab pull (the weight of a sinking plate pulls the rest of the plate)

  3. 1 mark

    Ridge push (new crust at a mid-ocean ridge pushes the plates apart / plates slide down from the raised ridge)

Question 3

4 marks

Figure 1 shows a conservative plate margin, where two plates are moving in the same direction at different speeds.

Using Figure 1, explain how earthquakes happen at this type of plate margin.

Block diagram of a conservative plate margin. A block of the Earth's crust, seen from above at an angle, is split into two plates by a jagged fault line running across the ground surface from the front to the back and straight down the front face. Arrows on the ground surface show the plate movement: both arrows point the same way along the fault, but the arrow on the left-hand plate is longer, so the two plates move in the same direction at different speeds. No crust is made or destroyed and there is no volcano. The plates catch on each other (friction) along the fault; when they slip, an earthquake happens: the focus (a star) is deep down on the fault on the front face, seismic waves spread out from it as rings, and the epicentre (a small star) is on the ground surface directly above it, where the fault meets the front edge. Horizontal rock layers on the front face line up across the fault. The label "Plate moving faster" points to the longer arrow on the left-hand plate, pointing along the line between the plates, away from the front; the label "Focus" points to the star deep down on the line between the plates, on the front face; the label "Epicentre" points to the small star on the ground surface directly above the deeper star; the label "Fault line" points to the thick jagged line across the ground surface between the two plates; the label "Friction" points to the jagged line between the plates near the back of the block; the label "Plate moving slower" points to the shorter arrow on the right-hand plate, pointing the same way as the other arrow; the label "Seismic waves" points to the rings spreading out round the deeper star.

Model answer

In Figure 1 the two plates are moving in the same direction along the fault line, but one is moving faster than the other. The edges of the plates are rough, so friction makes them stick together while the plates continue to move, and pressure builds up over many years. When the pressure becomes too great, the plates suddenly slip past each other. This releases energy as seismic waves, which spread out from the focus deep underground. The shaking is usually strongest at the epicentre, the point on the surface directly above the focus. The San Andreas Fault in California is an example.

Explanation

Earthquakes at conservative margins are caused by stick-slip movement: friction → pressure builds → sudden release → seismic waves. Level 2 answers link these steps and use the diagram's terms: fault, focus, epicentre and seismic waves.

Mark scheme
  1. 4 marks

    Levels of response (4 marks).
    Level 2 (3-4 marks): clear explanation of how friction, the build-up of pressure and its sudden release cause an earthquake, with linked points; makes use of features in Figure 1 (e.g. fault, focus, epicentre, seismic waves).
    Level 1 (1-2 marks): basic explanation with simple statements (e.g. 'the plates rub together'); little use of Figure 1.
    0 marks: nothing worthy of credit.

    Indicative content (not a checklist; credit other valid points): the two plates move past each other along a fault line, one faster than the other; the edges of the plates are rough, so friction makes them stick (lock together); the plates keep moving, so stress (pressure) builds up over many years; when the pressure becomes too great the plates suddenly slip or jerk past each other; energy is released as seismic waves that spread out from the focus underground; the epicentre is the point on the surface directly above the focus, where shaking is usually strongest; earthquakes can be shallow and very damaging; no volcanoes because no magma is formed; e.g. the San Andreas Fault in California (Pacific and North American plates).

Question 4

6 marks

Explain why some earthquakes and volcanoes occur away from plate margins.

Model answer

Although most earthquakes and volcanoes occur at plate margins, there are important exceptions. Volcanoes can form over hotspots, where a plume of very hot magma rises from deep in the mantle beneath the middle of a plate. The magma melts its way through the crust and erupts at the surface. Hawaii, in the middle of the Pacific plate, is the best-known example. The hotspot stays in the same place while the plate moves over it, so a chain of volcanic islands has formed, with the oldest islands to the north-west and active volcanoes such as Kilauea over the hotspot today. The rising magma also causes small earthquakes.

Earthquakes can also happen in the middle of plates. The stress caused by plate movement is passed through the rigid plate and can build up along old faults or weaknesses in the crust, far from any margin. When it is released, an earthquake occurs. Examples include the New Madrid area in the central USA and the small earthquakes that sometimes happen in the UK.

Finally, human activities such as mining, fracking and filling large reservoirs can change the stress on rocks and trigger small earthquakes away from plate margins.

Explanation

The two main causes are hotspots (for volcanoes) and stress released along old faults within plates (for earthquakes). A Level 3 answer explains the process for each and supports it with named examples such as Hawaii.

Mark scheme
  1. 6 marks

    Levels of response (6 marks).
    Level 3 (5-6 marks): detailed, well-developed explanation of more than one cause of earthquakes and/or volcanoes away from plate margins (e.g. hotspots and intraplate faults), with clear links between process and hazard; accurate terminology; relevant examples.
    Level 2 (3-4 marks): clear explanation of at least one cause, with some linked points; examples may be limited.
    Level 1 (1-2 marks): basic statements with little explanation; may simply name examples.
    0 marks: nothing worthy of credit.

    Indicative content (not a checklist; credit other valid points): hotspots - a plume of very hot magma rises from deep in the mantle beneath the middle of a plate; the magma melts through the crust and erupts, e.g. Hawaii in the middle of the Pacific plate, Yellowstone in the USA; the hotspot stays still while the plate moves over it, forming a chain of volcanoes (the Hawaiian islands get older to the north-west); rising magma at hotspots also causes small earthquakes; intraplate earthquakes - stress from plate movement is transmitted through the plate and released along old faults or zones of weakness far from margins, e.g. the New Madrid area in the central USA, small earthquakes in the UK; human activities can trigger small earthquakes, e.g. mining, fracking, filling large reservoirs; most earthquakes and volcanoes are still at plate margins - these are exceptions.

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