AQA GCSE Geography · 3.2.2

Economic change in the UK

50 revision questions with answers for 3.2.2 Economic change in the UK in AQA GCSE Geography (spec 8035). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below.

All 50 questions and answers

Question 1 · Spec 3.2.2
What is de-industrialisation?
Answer:
The decline in the importance of manufacturing and heavy industry in an economy, shown by falling employment and output in factories, mines and shipyards.
Question 2 · Spec 3.2.2
Why did the UK's traditional industrial base decline?
Answer:
Cheaper imports from countries with low labour costs, exhausted or uneconomic coal and ore, new technology that needed fewer workers, and falling demand for products like ships and steel.
Question 3 · Spec 3.2.2
Which UK industries declined most?
Answer:
Coal mining, steel, shipbuilding, textiles and heavy engineering, hitting places such as South Wales, Tyneside, Sheffield and Glasgow.
Question 4 · Spec 3.2.2
How much has manufacturing declined in the UK?
Answer:
From around a third of jobs in the 1950s and 1960s to under a tenth today, while the share of jobs in services has risen to about four fifths.
Question 5 · Spec 3.2.2
What is globalisation?
Answer:
The growing connection of countries through trade, finance, travel and communication, which lets companies make and sell goods anywhere in the world.
Question 6 · Spec 3.2.2
How has globalisation affected UK industry?
Answer:
Many firms moved production to countries with cheaper labour, closing UK factories. Meanwhile, the UK imports more and has expanded services like finance and design.
Question 7 · Spec 3.2.2
How have government policies caused economic change in the UK?
Answer:
Closing or privatising state-owned industries in the 1980s, deregulating finance, and supporting trade and services reduced traditional industries and favoured new sectors.
Question 8 · Spec 3.2.2
What were the consequences of de-industrialisation?
Answer:
Job losses and high unemployment, derelict factories and land, falling population in old industrial areas, and social problems such as poverty.
Question 9 · Spec 3.2.2
What is a post-industrial economy?
Answer:
One in which most employment and output comes from services and knowledge-based industries rather than manufacturing and mining.
Question 10 · Spec 3.2.2
How has information technology changed the UK economy?
Answer:
Digital, software, online retail and telecoms industries have grown, creating skilled jobs, especially in London, Cambridge and Manchester.
Question 11 · Spec 3.2.2
Why are finance and business services important to the UK?
Answer:
The City of London and other centres provide banking, insurance and legal services that earn large export income and employ many people.
Question 12 · Spec 3.2.2
What is the quaternary sector?
Answer:
Knowledge-based jobs in research, development, science and information technology, such as pharmaceutical research and software design.
Question 13 · Spec 3.2.2
What is a science park?
Answer:
A site near a university where high-tech and research firms cluster, sharing ideas, skills and facilities, often with a pleasant landscaped environment.
Question 14 · Spec 3.2.2
What is a business park?
Answer:
A landscaped area on the edge of a city with modern offices and light industry, near motorways and airports, e.g. Stockley Park near Heathrow.
Question 15 · Spec 3.2.2
Describe Cambridge Science Park.
Answer:
Founded in 1970 by Trinity College, it is one of the UK's first science parks and hosts over 100 firms in biotechnology, computing and research close to the University of Cambridge.
Question 16 · Spec 3.2.2
Why do high-tech firms locate around Cambridge?
Answer:
The University provides skilled graduates and research, there are good road, rail and air links, a pleasant environment, and a cluster of similar firms for networking and finance.
Question 17 · Spec 3.2.2
What are the benefits of science and business parks?
Answer:
They create skilled jobs, attract investment, share ideas between firms, use land efficiently and often have attractive green surroundings.
Question 18 · Spec 3.2.2
How does industry affect the physical environment?
Answer:
Quarrying scars the land, factories pollute air and water, fossil fuel use adds greenhouse gases, and waste is produced and sites are left derelict.
Question 19 · Spec 3.2.2
How do industries pollute the air and climate?
Answer:
Factories and power stations burn fossil fuels, releasing carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and particles that cause acid rain, smog and global warming.
Question 20 · Spec 3.2.2
How do industries pollute water?
Answer:
Chemicals, oil and waste can leak or be discharged into rivers and groundwater, harming wildlife and drinking supplies.
Question 21 · Spec 3.2.2
How can industrial development damage land?
Answer:
Quarries and mines remove soil and leave scars, waste tips and derelict sites, and heavy traffic and building take up countryside.
Question 22 · Spec 3.2.2
How can modern industrial development be more environmentally sustainable?
Answer:
Use brownfield sites, renewable energy, efficient heating and lighting, recycle water and waste, add green space and offer public transport links.
Question 23 · Spec 3.2.2
Give an example of more sustainable industrial development.
Answer:
For example a modern plant built on brownfield dock land with renewable energy and recycling, such as the Siemens Gamesa wind-turbine blade factory in Hull.
Question 24 · Spec 3.2.2
What changes affect rural areas in the UK?
Answer:
Some rural areas gain population from commuters, retirees and second-home owners, while remote areas lose young people and services.
Question 25 · Spec 3.2.2
Case study of rural growth: what is happening in Cambridgeshire?
Answer:
Population is rising fast because of jobs in Cambridge, with new housing estates and commuter villages, higher house prices and more traffic.
Question 26 · Spec 3.2.2
What social changes have occurred in growing rural areas?
Answer:
Younger, wealthier commuters move in, village character changes, schools and shops may grow, but local people struggle to afford housing and services are under pressure.
Question 27 · Spec 3.2.2
What economic changes have occurred in growing rural areas?
Answer:
Farmland is lost to housing, more jobs come from services and technology, house prices rise, and commuting increases traffic and demand for transport.
Question 28 · Spec 3.2.2
Case study of rural decline: why is the Outer Hebrides losing population?
Answer:
Remote location, few jobs and limited services, and young people move to the mainland for education and work, leaving an older population.
Question 29 · Spec 3.2.2
What social changes have occurred in declining rural areas?
Answer:
An ageing population, closing schools, shops and clinics, loss of Gaelic speakers and young people, and fewer community activities.
Question 30 · Spec 3.2.2
What economic changes have occurred in declining rural areas?
Answer:
Falling farming, fishing and crofting jobs, low wages and few opportunities, though tourism and renewable energy provide some new income.
Question 31 · Spec 3.2.2
How have UK roads been improved?
Answer:
Motorways have been widened, smart motorways added, bypasses and new links built, but congestion remains and new roads can damage the environment.
Question 32 · Spec 3.2.2
What is HS2?
Answer:
A high-speed rail project to connect London and Birmingham and improve capacity. Northern extensions were cancelled in 2023, and the scheme has faced rising costs and delays.
Question 33 · Spec 3.2.2
What rail developments have improved capacity in the south?
Answer:
The Elizabeth line (Crossrail) across London, which opened in 2022, and the Thameslink upgrade, which have increased capacity and reduced journey times.
Question 34 · Spec 3.2.2
How has port capacity in the UK increased?
Answer:
Deep-water container terminals such as London Gateway and an expanded Felixstowe, Southampton and Liverpool2 handle larger ships and more trade.
Question 35 · Spec 3.2.2
How has airport capacity been debated in the UK?
Answer:
Heathrow expansion with a third runway has been discussed for years because of the need for capacity versus noise, air pollution and climate concerns.
Question 36 · Spec 3.2.2
What are the benefits and problems of new infrastructure?
Answer:
It reduces journey times, boosts trade and jobs and helps regions, but is costly, causes environmental damage and displaces people.
Question 37 · Spec 3.2.2
What is the north-south divide?
Answer:
The economic and social gap between the more prosperous south of England, especially London and the South East, and the north of England and other peripheral regions.
Question 38 · Spec 3.2.2
What evidence shows the north-south divide?
Answer:
Higher incomes, house prices and life expectancy and lower unemployment in the south, compared with the north, which has lower wages and more deprivation.
Question 39 · Spec 3.2.2
What causes the north-south divide?
Answer:
The decline of northern heavy industries, concentration of finance, services and government in London, and investment and skilled workers flowing south.
Question 40 · Spec 3.2.2
How has regeneration tried to reduce regional differences?
Answer:
Redevelopment of old industrial areas, for example Salford Quays and MediaCity (home to the BBC), created jobs in media, offices and leisure.
Question 41 · Spec 3.2.2
How do government schemes try to reduce regional differences?
Answer:
Enterprise zones, the Northern Powerhouse, devolution to city regions, better transport and investment funds aim to bring jobs to the north.
Question 42 · Spec 3.2.2
How successful have strategies been to resolve regional differences?
Answer:
Some areas have been regenerated, but London and the South East still dominate, and gaps in wages and opportunities persist.
Question 43 · Spec 3.2.2
How is the UK linked to the wider world through trade?
Answer:
It is a major trading nation, exporting services such as finance and goods like cars and medicines, and importing food, fuel and manufactured products.
Question 44 · Spec 3.2.2
How is the UK linked through culture and transport?
Answer:
English language, the BBC, universities, music and sport spread British culture, and Heathrow, the Channel Tunnel and major ports link it to the world.
Question 45 · Spec 3.2.2
How is the UK linked through electronic communications?
Answer:
Subsea cables and internet exchanges carry global data and finance, and London's time zone makes it a hub linking Asian and American markets.
Question 46 · Spec 3.2.2
How are the UK and the European Union linked?
Answer:
The UK was an EU member until it left on 31 January 2020. The EU remains its largest trading partner under a trade agreement.
Question 47 · Spec 3.2.2
What is the Commonwealth and why is it important to the UK?
Answer:
A group of 56 countries, mostly former British territories, linked by history, language and institutions. It gives trade, cultural and political ties.
Question 48 · Spec 3.2.2
What political links does the UK have with the wider world?
Answer:
It is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a member of NATO, the G7, the G20 and the World Trade Organization.
Question 49 · Spec 3.2.2
How has the UK economy become more reliant on services?
Answer:
Services such as finance, retail, health, education and tourism now employ about four fifths of workers and produce most economic output.
Question 50 · Spec 3.2.2
Why is it difficult to bring new industries to northern England?
Answer:
Skilled workers and investment gravitate to the south, northern transport links are poorer and firms prefer clusters near London and universities.

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