What physical processes shape our landscapes?
The geomorphic processes that shape landscapes: weathering (mechanical, chemical and biological) and mass movement; and the processes of erosion, transport and deposition by rivers and the sea.
A focused answer to OCR GCSE Geography B (J384) Distinctive Landscapes on the geomorphic processes that shape landscapes, covering mechanical, chemical and biological weathering, mass movement, and erosion, transport and deposition.
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What this dot point is asking
This is OCR GCSE Geography B (J384) Component 1, Our Natural World, within Distinctive Landscapes: "What physical processes shape our landscapes?" OCR expects you to explain the geomorphic processes that wear down and reshape the land: weathering (mechanical, chemical and biological) and mass movement on slopes, and the processes of erosion, transport and deposition carried out by rivers and the sea. These processes are the toolkit you then apply to coastal and river landforms.
Weathering
Weathering matters because it produces the loose material that gravity, water and the sea then move and shape. The dominant type depends on climate and rock: freeze-thaw is common in cold uplands, carbonation on limestone in wetter areas.
Mass movement
On a coast, mass movement helps a cliff retreat: once waves undercut the base, the unsupported rock above slumps or falls.
Erosion, transport and deposition
These three processes move material and build landforms. They are carried out by both rivers and the sea, often with the same named processes.
Erosion wears material away:
- Hydraulic action: the sheer force of moving water (and, at the coast, air compressed into cracks by waves) breaks rock apart.
- Abrasion: rocks and sand carried by the water scrape and grind against the bed, banks or cliff, wearing it away like sandpaper.
- Attrition: transported rocks knock against each other, becoming smaller and rounder over time.
- Solution (corrosion): weak acids in the water dissolve soluble rock such as limestone and chalk.
Transport moves the eroded load:
- Traction: large boulders rolled along the bed.
- Saltation: smaller pebbles bounced along.
- Suspension: fine sand and silt carried within the water, making it look cloudy.
- Solution: dissolved minerals carried in the water.
Deposition drops the load where the water loses energy: in a river's lower course where the gradient eases, on the inside of meanders, in sheltered coastal bays, or where a river enters the sea or a lake.
Try this
Q1. Describe the difference between weathering and erosion. [2 marks]
- Cue. Weathering breaks rock in place; erosion wears it away and carries it off.
Q2. Explain how transport moves material of different sizes in a river. [4 marks]
- Cue. Traction rolls boulders, saltation bounces pebbles, suspension carries fine sand and silt, and solution carries dissolved minerals.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR 20194 marksExplain how mechanical and chemical weathering break down rock. (Component 1)Show worked answer →
A 4-mark "Explain" question assessing AO1 and AO2 of weathering processes. Markers reward a developed mechanism for each type.
Award credit for: mechanical (physical) weathering breaks rock without changing its chemistry, for example freeze-thaw, where water enters a crack, freezes and expands by about 9 percent, widening the crack until fragments break off. Chemical weathering changes the minerals in the rock, for example carbonation, where rainwater is a weak carbonic acid that slowly dissolves limestone and chalk. Top answers explain the mechanism (water freezing and expanding; acid dissolving rock), not just name the types.
OCR 20216 marksExplain how the processes of erosion, transport and deposition work together to shape a river or coastal landscape. (Component 1)Show worked answer →
A 6-mark "Explain" question marked by levels of response, assessing AO1 and AO2 of linked processes.
Strong answers explain erosion wearing material away (hydraulic action, abrasion, attrition, solution), transport moving it (traction, saltation, suspension and solution carry the load downstream or along the coast), and deposition dropping it where energy falls (in slow water, sheltered bays, or as a river enters the sea). They then link the three: a river erodes its bed and banks in the upper course, transports the load as the gradient eases, and deposits it in the lower course to build floodplains and deltas; a coast erodes headlands, transports sediment by longshore drift, and deposits it as beaches and spits. A good answer shows the sequence rather than defining the three in isolation. Markers reward the linked chain.
Related dot points
- What a landscape is; the characteristics and distribution of upland and lowland landscapes in the UK; and how geology, climate and human activity combine to make UK landscapes distinctive.
A focused answer to OCR GCSE Geography B (J384) Distinctive Landscapes on what a landscape is, the distribution of UK upland and lowland landscapes, and how geology, climate and human activity combine to make them distinctive.
- Wave types and the coastal processes of erosion, transport and deposition; the formation of erosional landforms (headlands and bays, caves, arches, stacks, wave-cut platforms) and depositional landforms (beaches, spits, bars); and a UK coastal landscape case study.
A focused answer to OCR GCSE Geography B (J384) Distinctive Landscapes on coastal landscapes, covering wave types, coastal processes, erosional and depositional landforms, and a distinctive UK coastal landscape case study.
- The river long profile and how processes change downstream; the formation of erosional landforms (waterfalls, gorges, interlocking spurs) and landforms of erosion and deposition (meanders, ox-bow lakes, floodplains, levees); and a UK river landscape case study.
A focused answer to OCR GCSE Geography B (J384) Distinctive Landscapes on river landscapes, covering the long profile, erosional and depositional landforms from waterfalls to floodplains, and a distinctive UK river landscape case study.
- How physical and human processes interact in coastal and river landscapes; the costs and benefits of hard and soft engineering to manage coastal erosion and river flooding; and the conflicts between stakeholders over land use and protection.
A focused answer to OCR GCSE Geography B (J384) Distinctive Landscapes on managing landscapes, covering how human and physical processes interact and the costs and benefits of hard and soft engineering for coasts and rivers.
- The structure of the Earth and the three plate boundaries; the processes of slab pull and ridge push that move plates; and the contrasting primary and secondary impacts of, and responses to, a tectonic event in an AC and an LIDC.
A focused answer to OCR GCSE Geography B (J384) Global Hazards on tectonic activity, covering the structure of the Earth, the three plate boundaries, slab pull and ridge push, and the contrasting impacts and responses in an AC and an LIDC.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR GCSE (9-1) Geography B (J384) specification — OCR (2016)