Mini practice paper: 8 questions
Mixed-difficulty questions from across the Geography syllabus. Tap "Show answer" after each to check yourself.
Q1 · Difficulty 1/3
Contour lines on a map that are very close together show:
- Steep ground
- Flat ground
- A river
- A road
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — Steep ground
Closely spaced contours indicate a steep gradient; widely spaced contours show gentle or flat land. Contours join points of equal height.
Q2 · Difficulty 1/3
Organisms that break down dead material and return nutrients to the soil are called:
- Decomposers
- Producers
- Herbivores
- Apex predators
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — Decomposers
Decomposers, such as fungi and bacteria, break down dead organic matter and recycle nutrients. Producers make their own food and herbivores eat plants.
Q3 · Difficulty 1/3
The calm, cloud-free centre of a tropical storm where air sinks is called the:
- Eye
- Eyewall
- Front
- Trough
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — Eye
The eye is the calm centre where air descends, giving clear skies and light winds. The eyewall surrounding it has the most intense winds and rainfall.
Q4 · Difficulty 2/3
When two corries erode back to back, the sharp ridge formed between them is called an:
- Arête
- Esker
- Estuary
- Ox-bow lake
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — Arête
An arête is a narrow, knife-edged ridge formed between two corries. Where three or more corries meet, a pyramidal peak forms.
Q5 · Difficulty 2/3
Which of these is a major CAUSE of deforestation in tropical rainforests?
- Commercial farming such as cattle ranching
- Increased rainfall
- Natural reforestation
- Falling global demand for timber
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — Commercial farming such as cattle ranching
Commercial agriculture (e.g. cattle ranching and soya/palm oil plantations), logging, mining and road building drive deforestation. The other options would not reduce forest cover.
Q6 · Difficulty 2/3
At a conservative plate margin, the plates:
- Slide past each other
- Move apart, forming new crust
- Collide, destroying crust
- Stay completely still
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — Slide past each other
At a conservative margin plates slide past one another; friction builds and releases as earthquakes, but no crust is created or destroyed and there are no volcanoes.
Q7 · Difficulty 1/3
In an ecosystem, which of the following is a BIOTIC component?
- A decomposing earthworm
- Soil pH
- Air temperature
- Rainfall
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — A decomposing earthworm
Biotic components are living (or once-living) parts of an ecosystem, such as an earthworm. Soil pH, temperature and rainfall are abiotic (non-living) factors.
Q8 · Difficulty 1/3
Which gas released by burning fossil fuels is the main human cause of the enhanced greenhouse effect?
- Carbon dioxide
- Oxygen
- Nitrogen
- Helium
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels is the principal greenhouse gas driving human-caused climate change, trapping outgoing heat in the atmosphere.
AQA GCSE Geography FAQ
What does the AQA GCSE Geography exam look like?
The AQA GCSE Geography exam is structured across 3 components. Paper 1: Approximately 1 hour 30 minutes, ~70-100 marks. Covers Topics 1-4 of the specification. Paper 2: Approximately 1 hour 30 minutes, ~70-100 marks. Covers Topics 5-8 of the specification. Paper 3: Where applicable — e.g. Combined Science, Languages. Includes synoptic and applied questions. Total exam time: ~3 hours across two or three papers.
Can I download a free AQA GCSE Geography past paper?
Real AQA past papers are published directly by AQA on their official website. Kramizo doesn't redistribute copyrighted past papers, but we do generate free AI-written practice papers in the exact same style — same command words, same difficulty tier, same mark conventions. Use this practice paper as warm-up, then time yourself on official past papers before exam day.
How is AQA GCSE Geography graded?
Grades: 9 (highest) to 1 (lowest), with U (ungraded). A grade of 4 is a standard pass; 5 is a strong pass. Kramizo's practice questions are tagged with difficulty 1-3 mapping roughly to the lower, middle, and top grade boundaries you'll encounter in the real exam.