Glacial landscapes
Edexcel GCSE Geography revision on Glacial landscapes. Aligned to the Pearson Edexcel GCSE Geography B 1GB0 specification. This bank has 10 practice questions on this topic.
Sample questions (3 of 10)
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Question 1
What is the term for the process where meltwater enters cracks in the bedrock, freezes, and causes the rock to shatter?
- A) Abrasion
- B) Plucking
- C) Freeze-thaw weathering
- D) Nivation
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Answer: Freeze-thaw weathering
When water enters a crack in the rock and temperatures drop below zero, the water turns into ice. This expansion increases the pressure on the surrounding rock, eventually causing it to fracture and break apart into fragments.
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Question 2
Name the steep-sided, armchair-shaped hollow found in a mountainside where a glacier begins to form.
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Answer: Corrie
Corries are formed through the processes of nivation and rotational slipping of ice. As the glacier moves, it scours out a deep, steep-backed hollow that often contains a small lake called a tarn once the ice has melted.
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Question 3
Which glacial feature is formed when a glacier erodes a V-shaped river valley into a wider, deeper shape?
- A) Truncated spur
- B) U-shaped valley
- C) Arête
- D) Pyramidal peak
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Answer: U-shaped valley
As a glacier moves down a pre-existing river valley, it uses its immense weight and trapped debris to erode the valley floor and sides. This process, known as glacial deepening and widening, transforms the narrow V-shape typical of rivers into a broad, flat-bottomed U-shape.
Want to test yourself on the remaining cards for this topic?
7 more questions on Glacial landscapes — plus mistakes tracking and spaced repetition across the whole Geography spec.