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WGE02 Geographical Investigations

Edexcel IAL Geography, Unit 2 (AS unit, usually Year 12). 33 lessons so far, in the suggested order.

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Lessons in WGE02

  1. The littoral zone and classifying coasts
    Littoral zone = backshore, nearshore (foreshore), offshore; dynamic. Classify by geology, energy, sea-level change, relief and sediment.
  2. Geological structure: concordant and discordant coasts
    Discordant = bands at right angles: headlands and bays. Concordant = bands parallel: straight coast, coves where breached. Joints, faults, folds and dip control
  3. Lithology, strata and rates of coastal recession
    Igneous and metamorphic: slow recession; sedimentary: variable; unconsolidated till: fast (Holderness about 1.4 to 1.65 m/yr). Alternating permeable/impermeable
  4. Waves, beach profiles and marine erosion
    Constructive: swash > backwash, builds gentle beaches. Destructive: backwash > swash, steep profile, offshore bars. Erosion: hydraulic action, abrasion, attriti
  5. Erosional landforms, weathering and mass movement
    Notch, collapse, retreat, platform. Joint, cave, arch, stack, stump. Weathering (mechanical, chemical, biological) and mass movement (rockfall, rotational slide
  6. Longshore drift, depositional landforms and sediment cells
    Longshore drift: swash at an angle, backwash straight down. Deposition where energy falls: spits, bars, barrier beaches, tombolos, deltas (distributaries, flocc
  7. Plant succession, mangroves and coral reefs
    Succession stabilises dunes (embryo, yellow, grey, slack, climax) and salt marshes (pioneers trap mud, marsh rises). Mangroves and reefs give protection, carbon
  8. Threats to coastal ecosystems: local and global
    Local threats: development, pollution, overfishing and extraction, alien species, aquaculture. Global: warming (bleaching, 84% of reef area 2023 to 2025), acidi
  9. Coastal development, tourism and land reclamation
    Coastal urbanisation and tourism: habitat loss, pollution, loss of identity, but jobs and income. Reclamation (Hong Kong about 6,954 ha; Singapore 581.5 to 725.
  10. Hard and soft engineering
    Hard: sea walls, revetments, rip rap, groynes, offshore breakwaters; costly; alter processes; downdrift erosion (Mappleton 1991, Cowden 1 to 3 m/yr). Soft: nour
  11. Coastal management conflict, CBA and EIA
    Stakeholders: homeowners, local authorities, pressure groups, planners. SMP approaches: hold the line, no active intervention, managed realignment, advance the
  12. Sustainable coastal management
    Sustainable defences copy or work with nature (nourishment, profiling, dune stabilisation, managed realignment, ICZM). Bacton sandscaping 2019: 1.8 million m3,
  13. Housing problems in growing cities
    Demand > supply: unaffordable housing, income deprivation, homelessness, overcrowding. Developing cities: slums (about 1.1 billion people, 24.2% of urban popula
  14. Services, health and solid waste
    Lack of water, sanitation and electricity raises disease and lowers life expectancy and incomes. Waste: 2.56 billion tonnes (2022) to 3.86 billion (2050); low c
  15. Urban inequality: informal economies and gated communities
    Informal economy: about 2 billion workers (61% of employed), 93% in developing and emerging countries; low pay, no security or rights: widens inequality. Gated
  16. Urban transport and air pollution
    Development and affluence increase vehicles. Transport emits PM, NOx and (via sunlight) ozone; domestic and industrial sources add more; inversions, basins and
  17. Congestion, wellbeing and health
    Congestion: hours lost (Istanbul 105, London 101 in 2024), business costs, stress, longer working days, pollution exposure. Air pollution: 4.2 million deaths (2
  18. Solutions to urban transport problems
    Infrastructure (metro, light rail, BRT such as TransMilenio, roads) has costs and benefits; roads can induce traffic. Planning: congestion charging (London: con
  19. Public housing and the housing crisis
    Public housing began in industrial-revolution Europe. Singapore: 77.2% of resident households in HDB flats (2025). Provision varies in availability (waiting lis
  20. NGO and community action on housing
    Informal housing consolidates over time, faster with secure tenure, loans and services. Orangi Pilot Project: residents built lane sewers at about one-tenth of
  21. Planned 'ideal' cities and eco-cities
    Ideal cities: garden cities, new towns (Milton Keynes 1967, target 250,000), new capitals (Brasilia 1960, workers' squatter settlements). Eco-cities (Masdar: pl
  22. What is regeneration and who are the players?
    Regeneration renews run-down space economically, socially and environmentally. Players: planners, local and national government, businesses, residents, NGOs. Co
  23. Large-scale and small-scale regeneration
    Large-scale catalysts (Olympics, expos, tourism) bring investment, re-imaging and rebranding but may bypass locals (London 2012: cost about 11 billion pounds; 1
  24. Sustainable regeneration: costs, benefits and who gains
    Judge regeneration by who gains and who loses, economically, socially and environmentally. Sustainable regeneration: low resource use, social equality, communit
  25. Designing a geographical investigation
    Two days minimum; linked to an enquiry question; quantitative and qualitative primary data plus secondary data; data analysable statistically; individual risk a
  26. Sampling strategies and sample size
    Random (unbiased), systematic (regular intervals), stratified (sub-groups represented), opportunistic (quick but biased). Point, line (transect) and area (quadr
  27. Primary data collection methods
    Coasts: beach profiles, sediment size and roundness, quadrat transects (% cover, bare sand, species, pH), floats. Urban: EQS, counts, dB meters, air monitors, q
  28. Presenting fieldwork data and using GIS
    Line graphs for continuous data only; bar charts for discrete categories; scatter graphs for relationships; kite diagrams for transects; box plots for spread; m
  29. Descriptive statistics: averages, range, IQR and standard deviation
    Mean (all values, distorted by extremes), median (middle), mode or modal class. Range (max - min), IQR (UQ - LQ, middle 50%, box plots), standard deviation (spr
  30. Spearman's rank correlation
    rs = 1 - 6 sum d squared / (n cubed - n). Rank both variables, find d squared, calculate, compare with the critical value (n = 10: 0.648 at 0.05). Significant i
  31. The chi-squared test
    Chi-squared = sum of (O - E) squared / E, for raw counts in categories (E at least 5). df = categories - 1. Compare with the critical value (df 3: 7.82 at 0.05)
  32. Conclusions and evaluating an investigation
    Accuracy (close to true), reliability (repeatable), validity (measures what you intended). Evaluate sampling, methods, equipment, constraints, ethics and anomal
  33. WGE02 exam technique
    60 marks, 90 minutes: Section A 24 (two 8-mark questions), Section B 24 (own fieldwork, 12-mark evaluation), Section C 12 (one unfamiliar fieldwork question fro

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