ZIMSEC · A Level
Geography
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Form 5 · Lower 6 5 topics
- Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology Inputs (precipitation), stores (interception, surface, soil moisture, groundwater, channel), flows (throughfall, stemflow, infiltration, overland flow, throughflow, percolation, groundwater flow) and outputs (evapotranspiration, runoff).
- Atmosphere, weather and climate Incoming solar radiation (insolation) is absorbed, reflected (albedo) or scattered; the Earth radiates long-wave energy. The greenhouse effect traps outgoing radiation. There is an energy surplus in the tropics and a deficit at the poles, transferred by winds and ocean currents.
- Rocks, weathering and tropical landforms Constructive, destructive and conservative margins; the East African Rift Valley shows continental rifting. The Zambezi valley lies in a rift-faulted trough.
- Ecosystems, soils and biomes Energy flows through trophic levels; nutrients cycle between biomass, litter and soil (Gersmehl's model). Net primary productivity is high in tropical rainforests and moderate in savanna.
- Population dynamics and migration Natural change = births − deaths; total change also includes net migration. Measures: crude birth and death rates, fertility rate, infant mortality, life expectancy, dependency ratio.
Form 6 · Upper 6 3 topicsExam year
- Settlement and urbanisation The increasing proportion of people living in towns. In Zimbabwe, urbanisation grew rapidly after independence; Harare and Bulawayo are the main cities.
- Agriculture, food security and rural development Commercial (large-scale, mechanised, export-oriented: tobacco, sugar, horticulture), communal (subsistence, small plots), and resettlement (A1 smallholder and A2 commercial farms since land reform in 2000).
- Industry, energy, development and globalisation Weber's least-cost model (transport, labour and agglomeration costs) and behavioural factors. Zimbabwe's industry is concentrated in Harare, Bulawayo and the Midlands; deindustrialisation has affected Bulawayo in particular.