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Edexcel GCSE Geography

Edexcel B papers and decision making — Edexcel GCSE Geography revision

Free revision notes, key terms, common exam traps and 5 practice questions with answers. About 7 minutes to read.

Edexcel B (1GB0) structure

  • Component 1 Global geographical issues (1 hr 30, 94 marks): Hazardous Earth, Development dynamics and Challenges of an urbanising world.
  • Component 2 UK geographical issues (1 hr 30, 94 marks): The UK's evolving physical landscape (including coastal and river landscapes), The UK's evolving human landscape (including a dynamic UK city), and Geographical investigations — one physical and one human fieldwork enquiry.
  • Component 3 People and environment issues – making geographical decisions (1 hr 30, 64 marks): People and the biosphere, Forests under threat and Consuming energy resources, ending with a 12-mark decision-making question plus 4 SPaG marks.

What makes Edexcel B different

  • Edexcel B is issue-based and synoptic: Component 3 expects you to link biosphere, forest and energy content together rather than answering them separately.
  • Fieldwork is examined inside Component 2, and questions may cover both your own enquiries and unfamiliar situations, including justifying methods and evaluating conclusions.
  • The decision-making question in Component 3 provides a resource booklet inside the paper itself (not pre-released), so resource-reading speed is a skill to practise.

Key terms

Component 1
Edexcel B Global geographical issues paper.
Component 2
Edexcel B UK geographical issues paper, including fieldwork.
Component 3
Edexcel B People and environment issues, with the decision-making question.
Synoptic
Linking knowledge from different topics into one answer.
Dynamic UK city
The named UK city case study studied in Component 2.
Geographical investigation
The physical and human fieldwork enquiries assessed in Component 2.

Common exam traps

  • Assuming Edexcel B has a pre-release booklet like AQA — the Component 3 resources appear in the exam.
  • Treating Component 3 topics as separate; the decision question rewards synoptic links.
  • Skipping fieldwork revision because you think it is coursework — it is examined in Component 2.

Practice questions with answers

  1. 1. Which Edexcel B component contains the decision-making question?

    • • Component 1
    • • Component 2
    • • Component 3
    • • Coursework

    Answer: Component 3

    The 12-mark decision question ends Component 3.

  2. 2. Fieldwork is assessed in:

    • • Component 1
    • • Component 2
    • • Component 3
    • • All three

    Answer: Component 2

    Geographical investigations sit inside the UK issues paper.

  3. 3. Name the three topics in Component 1.

    Answer: Hazardous Earth, Development dynamics, Challenges of an urbanising world

    Component 1 is the global issues paper.

  4. 4. How many marks does Component 3 carry?

    • • 44
    • • 64
    • • 88
    • • 94

    Answer: 64

    Component 3 is 64 marks including 4 SPaG.

  5. 5. Explain what 'synoptic' means in Component 3.

    Answer: Linking biosphere, forest and energy knowledge together to justify one decision

    Cross-topic linking is explicitly rewarded.

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