Eduqas GCSE (9-1) Geology (C700): complete guide to minerals and rocks, Earth history, planetary geology, geohazards, resources and the two exams

WJEC Eduqas GCSE (9-1) Geology is a single untiered linear course for England, assessed by two onscreen examinations at the end of the course. There is no coursework grade and there are no tiers, so every candidate sits the same two papers across the full 9 to 1 grade range. This page is the index: below is a map of the four content areas plus the investigative and fieldwork skills, the component structure, the assessment objectives, the fieldwork requirement, and how to study each module, with a direct link to every dot point.

How the content is organised

The specification builds the subject from four content areas, then assesses the practical and map skills that tie them together. We organise the site into six modules so that every specification statement has a focused answer page.

Rocks and minerals

The foundations: identifying minerals from their physical properties (colour, crystal size, hardness, cleavage, lustre and streak, plus the acid test for calcite), and the three rock families - igneous rocks and the processes that form them, sedimentary rocks and their fossil content, and metamorphic rocks and processes. Start here, because everything later assumes the named minerals and rocks.

Geological structures and deformation

How rocks record past Earth movements: folds (anticlines and synclines), faults (normal and reverse), joints and unconformities, the meaning of dip and strike, and how these structures appear on simplified geological maps and cross-sections. This is the structural reading skill that Component 2 examines directly.

The Earth and its history

The big framework: the rock cycle that links the three rock families, plate tectonics and the evidence for it, geochronological principles (relative dating, the law of superposition and the idea of half-life), global climate and sea-level change recorded in the rocks, and the origin and development of life on Earth shown by the fossil record.

Planetary geology

Comparing the Earth with its planetary neighbours (rocks, landscapes, atmosphere, temperature, pressure and gravity), the evidence meteorites give for the composition of the Earth, and the use of uniformitarianism and space imagery to interpret landforms on the Moon and Mars and to infer geological processes on other planetary bodies.

Human interaction with the Earth

The applied area: earthquake, volcanic and mass-movement hazards and how they are predicted and mitigated, the mineral and energy resources we extract (ores, hydrocarbons and groundwater), and the engineering geology of building safely on and in the ground.

Investigative and fieldwork geology

The practical backbone of Component 2: recording field observations and field sketches, identifying specimens, reading and constructing simplified geological maps and cross-sections, working with scale and grid references, and carrying out a directed field investigation. A minimum of two days of fieldwork is required.

Component structure

Eduqas GCSE Geology is assessed by two onscreen components, both sat at the end of the course. Each is 1 hour 15 minutes, worth 80 marks and 50 percent of the qualification, for a total of 160 marks.

• Component 1 Geological Principles is the more theoretical paper. It assesses knowledge and understanding from across the whole specification (minerals and rocks, structures, the rock cycle, plate tectonics, geological time, planetary geology, hazards and resources). 80 marks, 50 percent.
• Component 2 Investigative Geology is built around the geology of an area shown on a simplified geological map, together with hand specimens, photographs and data. It tests interpretation, the reading of maps and cross-sections, and fieldwork skills, drawing on understanding from across the specification. 80 marks, 50 percent.

Either component can assess content from anywhere in the specification, so you cannot revise paper by paper. A calculator is allowed.

Assessment objectives and fieldwork

Three assessment objectives run across the whole qualification:

• AO1 - demonstrate knowledge and understanding of geological ideas, processes, techniques and procedures.
• AO2 - apply that knowledge and understanding, including to unfamiliar specimens, maps, graphs and field situations.
• AO3 - analyse, interpret and evaluate geological information, make judgements and draw conclusions, including from practical and fieldwork data.

Application and analysis (AO2 and AO3) together carry a large share of the marks, so interpretation of maps, logs, graphs and specimens is rewarded as much as recall. To complete the course you must undertake a minimum of two days of fieldwork, with at least one opportunity to carry out a directed investigation to answer a geological problem. Unlike GCSE science, there is no separately graded practical endorsement; the field and practical skills are examined within the two components.

How to study Eduqas GCSE Geology

Geology rewards precise factual mastery plus the ability to apply it to unfamiliar maps, logs, graphs and specimens.

1. Work from the specification's statements. Each is a checklist, and questions are written from them. Turn each statement into a flashcard.
2. Learn the named minerals and rocks exactly. Identifying minerals by physical properties (hardness, cleavage, lustre, streak, the acid test) and rocks by texture and grain size underpins Component 2, so memorise the diagnostic features of quartz, feldspar, mica, calcite, galena and haematite, and of granite, basalt, sandstone, limestone, shale, schist, marble and metaquartzite.
3. Learn definitions precisely. Mark schemes reward exact wording (for example "anticline", "unconformity", "dip", "half-life", "ore", "aquifer").
4. Master the maps and cross-sections. Dip and strike, the order of events from a cross-section, and identifying minerals and rocks in hand specimen appear repeatedly, especially in Component 2.
5. Drill the quantitative skills. Practise rate calculations, the P-wave and S-wave epicentre method, and relative-dating reasoning until they are automatic.
6. Practise interpretation and extended response. AO2 and AO3 reward inferring a sequence of events from a cross-section, reconstructing an environment from rock and fossil evidence, and evaluating hazard or resource data. Drill these weekly.

Module dot points

For specification-level coverage, each topic has its own focused answer page with worked exam questions and cross-links. Browse the full set at /gcse-eduqas/geology/syllabus. The six modules are:

• Minerals and rocks - identifying minerals by physical properties, igneous rocks and processes, sedimentary rocks and fossils, and metamorphic rocks and processes.
• Geological structures and deformation - folds, faults, joints and unconformities, dip and strike, and reading geological maps and cross-sections.
• The Earth and its history - the rock cycle, plate tectonics and its evidence, geochronological principles, global climate and sea-level change, and the origin and development of life.
• Planetary geology - comparing Earth with its neighbours, meteorites as evidence, and uniformitarianism applied to the Moon and Mars.
• Human interaction with the Earth - earthquake, volcanic and mass-movement hazards and mitigation, mineral and energy resources, and engineering geology.
• Investigative and fieldwork geology - field observation and sketching, specimen identification, geological maps and cross-sections, and the directed field investigation.

For the official specification

Eduqas publishes the full specification, past papers and mark schemes at eduqas.co.uk. Always revise from the current specification and Eduqas's own past papers, because the question style and the mark schemes are board-specific.