A QA G C S E G E O G R AP H Y
PA P ER 2 (80 35/2) MA RK SC HEME
Challenges in the
Human Environment
A comprehensive mark scheme examination of 100 questions
covering urban issues, the changing economic world, resource
management, fieldwork and geographical skills, with AQA
examiner-style rationales and marking points for every question.
Qualification GCSE Geography (8035)
Component Paper 2 - 8035/2
Series 2026/2027
Questions 100 (Sections A - D)
Format Multiple choice with rationales
2026/2027 EDITION
ALIGNED WITH SPECIFICATION 8035 - DFE NATIONAL CURRICULUM -
OFQUAL STANDARDS
,AQA GCSE Geography 8035/2 - Paper 2 Mark Scheme 2026/2027
AQA GCSE GEOGRAPHY 8035/2 PAPER 2 CHALLENGES
IN THE HUMAN ENVIRONMENT MARK SCHEME
2026/2027
Total: 100 questions | Multiple choice, one correct answer per question | Format: question, options A-D, correct answer
and AQA-style mark scheme rationale with marking points
Cognitive mix: 20% recall, 45% application, 35% analysis | Includes 20 case study questions, 17 data and graphical skills
questions and 10 fieldwork methodology questions
SECTION A: URBAN ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
Questions 1-30 | Urbanisation, megacities, Lagos case study, UK urban change, regeneration, sustainable urban living and
transport strategies
Q1: A revision card lists four statements about global population. Which statement correctly
defines urbanisation?
A. The increase in the number of cities with a population over 10 million.
B. The rising proportion of a country's population living in urban areas. [CORRECT]
C. The spread of a city into the surrounding countryside.
D. The movement of people from urban areas back to rural areas.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Urbanisation is defined as the increasing percentage (proportion) of a population living in towns
and cities, so option B earns the mark for a correct definition. Option A describes the growth of megacities,
which is a consequence of urbanisation rather than its definition, while option C defines urban sprawl. Option
D describes counter-urbanisation, the reverse process common in HICs. Examiners report that candidates
frequently confuse urbanisation with urban sprawl, so the mark is awarded only for the precise
proportion-based definition.
Q2: Which statement best describes the global pattern of urbanisation rates today?
A. Urbanisation is now fastest in HICs such as the UK because cities are expanding there.
B. Urbanisation has stopped in NEEs because their cities have reached capacity.
C. Urbanisation is fastest in LICs and NEEs, where most of the world's urban growth is occurring.
[CORRECT]
D. Urban growth rates are equal across HICs, NEEs and LICs because migration is global.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The mark is awarded for recognising that the fastest rates of urbanisation are in LICs and NEEs,
where rural-urban migration and high natural increase drive rapid urban growth. Option A is incorrect
because HICs such as the UK are already heavily urbanised, so their percentage change is now slow or even
negative in some cities. Option B is wrong because NEE cities continue to grow rapidly despite pressures on
capacity. Examiners note that the mark scheme requires a comparative statement, and simply naming where
growth happens without the rate context scores zero.
100 questions - Sections A to D 1
,AQA GCSE Geography 8035/2 - Paper 2 Mark Scheme 2026/2027
Q3: A line graph shows that the world's urban population rose from about 34 percent in 1960 to
about 56 percent in 2020. Which conclusion is best supported by this data?
A. More than half of humanity now lives in urban areas, with the steepest growth after 1970.
[CORRECT]
B. Global urban growth has been falling steadily every decade since 1960.
C. The rural population of the world must have fallen to zero by 2020.
D. Urban population growth was fastest before 1960, when cities were smaller.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Credit is given for the accurate interpretation that over half the world is now urban and that the
curve steepened after 1970 as LICs and NEEs industrialised. Option B misreads the graph, because a rising
line shows accelerating, not falling, growth. Option C is a data misinterpretation trap: 56 percent urban still
means 44 percent rural, a very large absolute population. Examiners award the interpretation mark only when
the candidate uses the actual figures from the resource rather than vague phrases such as 'a lot of people'.
Q4: Tunde moved from a rural village in northern Nigeria to Lagos. Which pull factor most
directly explains why he moved to the city rather than another rural area?
A. Drought and desertification reducing the village harvest.
B. The closure of the village clinic, leaving no local healthcare.
C. Conflict with neighbouring farming communities over land.
D. Better paid formal and informal jobs available in Lagos. [CORRECT]
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Pull factors attract migrants to a destination, and the prospect of better paid work in Lagos, both
formal jobs and informal street work, is the classic economic pull factor that earns the mark. Options A, B
and C are all push factors because they describe pressures driving Tunde away from the village, not attractions
of the city. Examiners frequently report that the most common error is confusing push with pull factors, so
the mark scheme insists the factor must be located at the destination to score.
Q5: Which combination best explains why Lagos offers significant economic opportunities to new
migrants?
A. Free housing for all newcomers and guaranteed government pensions.
B. A thriving port economy, Nollywood's film industry and a fast-growing technology sector.
[CORRECT]
C. Extensive free healthcare funded entirely by oil revenues.
D. Large areas of cheap, legally protected farmland inside the city.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The mark requires two developed opportunities, and option B correctly identifies Lagos's port and
trade economy, the Nollywood film industry and the Yaba technology cluster as genuine employment
generators. Option A is wrong because housing in Lagos is scarce and largely informal, with no guaranteed
pensions for migrants. Options C and D describe provisions that do not exist at scale in Lagos. Examiner
commentary highlights that candidates who write only 'there are jobs' without a specific industry example
limit themselves to the low-level band, since the second marking point demands named evidence.
100 questions - Sections A to D 2
, AQA GCSE Geography 8035/2 - Paper 2 Mark Scheme 2026/2027
Q6: Makoko, a floating informal settlement in Lagos Lagoon, is home to over 100,000 people.
Why is bulldozing such settlements widely considered a poor management strategy?
A. It destroys valuable waterfront land that could be sold to investors.
B. It is illegal under Nigerian law to demolish any informal housing.
C. It destroys homes and livelihoods without providing affordable alternatives, so residents simply
rebuild elsewhere. [CORRECT]
D. It reduces the government's ability to collect taxes from residents.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Analysis marks are awarded for the chained consequence: clearance without rehousing removes
shelter and informal livelihoods, and because the underlying need for proximity to work persists, evicted
residents rebuild informal housing on new sites. Option A inverts the real concern, since cleared waterfront
land usually attracts investors. Option B is factually incorrect because Nigerian authorities have carried out
demolitions. Examiners note that top-band answers must develop the consequence, whereas the bare
statement 'bulldozing is unfair' remains an unsupported assertion worth only the identification mark.
Q7: What population threshold must a city exceed to be classified as a megacity?
A. 10 million people [CORRECT]
B. 5 million people
C. 20 million people
D. 1 million people
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: A megacity is defined as an urban area with a population of more than 10 million people, and the
single mark is awarded for this threshold. The 5 million and 20 million figures are invented distractors that
correspond to no recognised classification, while 1 million describes a large city in general. Examiners
comment that this recall mark is lost by candidates writing 'a very big city', because the specification requires
the numerical definition.
Q8: Which statement about the global distribution of megacities is correct?
A. Most megacities are located in North America and western Europe.
B. The majority of megacities are in Asia, with rapid growth also in Africa and Latin America.
[CORRECT]
C. Megacities are found only in HICs because only rich countries can support such large
populations.
D. Megacities occur almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The mark is for the accurate pattern: Asia contains the majority of the world's megacities,
including Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai and Mumbai, with further rapid megacity growth in Africa and Latin
America. Option A is wrong because HIC regions contain relatively few megacities and their growth is slow.
Option C inverts reality, since most megacities are in LICs and NEEs, and option D is disproved by Northern
Hemisphere examples such as Tokyo and Delhi. Examiner commentary stresses that the mark scheme credits
the pattern plus at least one located example.
100 questions - Sections A to D 3
PA P ER 2 (80 35/2) MA RK SC HEME
Challenges in the
Human Environment
A comprehensive mark scheme examination of 100 questions
covering urban issues, the changing economic world, resource
management, fieldwork and geographical skills, with AQA
examiner-style rationales and marking points for every question.
Qualification GCSE Geography (8035)
Component Paper 2 - 8035/2
Series 2026/2027
Questions 100 (Sections A - D)
Format Multiple choice with rationales
2026/2027 EDITION
ALIGNED WITH SPECIFICATION 8035 - DFE NATIONAL CURRICULUM -
OFQUAL STANDARDS
,AQA GCSE Geography 8035/2 - Paper 2 Mark Scheme 2026/2027
AQA GCSE GEOGRAPHY 8035/2 PAPER 2 CHALLENGES
IN THE HUMAN ENVIRONMENT MARK SCHEME
2026/2027
Total: 100 questions | Multiple choice, one correct answer per question | Format: question, options A-D, correct answer
and AQA-style mark scheme rationale with marking points
Cognitive mix: 20% recall, 45% application, 35% analysis | Includes 20 case study questions, 17 data and graphical skills
questions and 10 fieldwork methodology questions
SECTION A: URBAN ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
Questions 1-30 | Urbanisation, megacities, Lagos case study, UK urban change, regeneration, sustainable urban living and
transport strategies
Q1: A revision card lists four statements about global population. Which statement correctly
defines urbanisation?
A. The increase in the number of cities with a population over 10 million.
B. The rising proportion of a country's population living in urban areas. [CORRECT]
C. The spread of a city into the surrounding countryside.
D. The movement of people from urban areas back to rural areas.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Urbanisation is defined as the increasing percentage (proportion) of a population living in towns
and cities, so option B earns the mark for a correct definition. Option A describes the growth of megacities,
which is a consequence of urbanisation rather than its definition, while option C defines urban sprawl. Option
D describes counter-urbanisation, the reverse process common in HICs. Examiners report that candidates
frequently confuse urbanisation with urban sprawl, so the mark is awarded only for the precise
proportion-based definition.
Q2: Which statement best describes the global pattern of urbanisation rates today?
A. Urbanisation is now fastest in HICs such as the UK because cities are expanding there.
B. Urbanisation has stopped in NEEs because their cities have reached capacity.
C. Urbanisation is fastest in LICs and NEEs, where most of the world's urban growth is occurring.
[CORRECT]
D. Urban growth rates are equal across HICs, NEEs and LICs because migration is global.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The mark is awarded for recognising that the fastest rates of urbanisation are in LICs and NEEs,
where rural-urban migration and high natural increase drive rapid urban growth. Option A is incorrect
because HICs such as the UK are already heavily urbanised, so their percentage change is now slow or even
negative in some cities. Option B is wrong because NEE cities continue to grow rapidly despite pressures on
capacity. Examiners note that the mark scheme requires a comparative statement, and simply naming where
growth happens without the rate context scores zero.
100 questions - Sections A to D 1
,AQA GCSE Geography 8035/2 - Paper 2 Mark Scheme 2026/2027
Q3: A line graph shows that the world's urban population rose from about 34 percent in 1960 to
about 56 percent in 2020. Which conclusion is best supported by this data?
A. More than half of humanity now lives in urban areas, with the steepest growth after 1970.
[CORRECT]
B. Global urban growth has been falling steadily every decade since 1960.
C. The rural population of the world must have fallen to zero by 2020.
D. Urban population growth was fastest before 1960, when cities were smaller.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Credit is given for the accurate interpretation that over half the world is now urban and that the
curve steepened after 1970 as LICs and NEEs industrialised. Option B misreads the graph, because a rising
line shows accelerating, not falling, growth. Option C is a data misinterpretation trap: 56 percent urban still
means 44 percent rural, a very large absolute population. Examiners award the interpretation mark only when
the candidate uses the actual figures from the resource rather than vague phrases such as 'a lot of people'.
Q4: Tunde moved from a rural village in northern Nigeria to Lagos. Which pull factor most
directly explains why he moved to the city rather than another rural area?
A. Drought and desertification reducing the village harvest.
B. The closure of the village clinic, leaving no local healthcare.
C. Conflict with neighbouring farming communities over land.
D. Better paid formal and informal jobs available in Lagos. [CORRECT]
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Pull factors attract migrants to a destination, and the prospect of better paid work in Lagos, both
formal jobs and informal street work, is the classic economic pull factor that earns the mark. Options A, B
and C are all push factors because they describe pressures driving Tunde away from the village, not attractions
of the city. Examiners frequently report that the most common error is confusing push with pull factors, so
the mark scheme insists the factor must be located at the destination to score.
Q5: Which combination best explains why Lagos offers significant economic opportunities to new
migrants?
A. Free housing for all newcomers and guaranteed government pensions.
B. A thriving port economy, Nollywood's film industry and a fast-growing technology sector.
[CORRECT]
C. Extensive free healthcare funded entirely by oil revenues.
D. Large areas of cheap, legally protected farmland inside the city.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The mark requires two developed opportunities, and option B correctly identifies Lagos's port and
trade economy, the Nollywood film industry and the Yaba technology cluster as genuine employment
generators. Option A is wrong because housing in Lagos is scarce and largely informal, with no guaranteed
pensions for migrants. Options C and D describe provisions that do not exist at scale in Lagos. Examiner
commentary highlights that candidates who write only 'there are jobs' without a specific industry example
limit themselves to the low-level band, since the second marking point demands named evidence.
100 questions - Sections A to D 2
, AQA GCSE Geography 8035/2 - Paper 2 Mark Scheme 2026/2027
Q6: Makoko, a floating informal settlement in Lagos Lagoon, is home to over 100,000 people.
Why is bulldozing such settlements widely considered a poor management strategy?
A. It destroys valuable waterfront land that could be sold to investors.
B. It is illegal under Nigerian law to demolish any informal housing.
C. It destroys homes and livelihoods without providing affordable alternatives, so residents simply
rebuild elsewhere. [CORRECT]
D. It reduces the government's ability to collect taxes from residents.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Analysis marks are awarded for the chained consequence: clearance without rehousing removes
shelter and informal livelihoods, and because the underlying need for proximity to work persists, evicted
residents rebuild informal housing on new sites. Option A inverts the real concern, since cleared waterfront
land usually attracts investors. Option B is factually incorrect because Nigerian authorities have carried out
demolitions. Examiners note that top-band answers must develop the consequence, whereas the bare
statement 'bulldozing is unfair' remains an unsupported assertion worth only the identification mark.
Q7: What population threshold must a city exceed to be classified as a megacity?
A. 10 million people [CORRECT]
B. 5 million people
C. 20 million people
D. 1 million people
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: A megacity is defined as an urban area with a population of more than 10 million people, and the
single mark is awarded for this threshold. The 5 million and 20 million figures are invented distractors that
correspond to no recognised classification, while 1 million describes a large city in general. Examiners
comment that this recall mark is lost by candidates writing 'a very big city', because the specification requires
the numerical definition.
Q8: Which statement about the global distribution of megacities is correct?
A. Most megacities are located in North America and western Europe.
B. The majority of megacities are in Asia, with rapid growth also in Africa and Latin America.
[CORRECT]
C. Megacities are found only in HICs because only rich countries can support such large
populations.
D. Megacities occur almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The mark is for the accurate pattern: Asia contains the majority of the world's megacities,
including Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai and Mumbai, with further rapid megacity growth in Africa and Latin
America. Option A is wrong because HIC regions contain relatively few megacities and their growth is slow.
Option C inverts reality, since most megacities are in LICs and NEEs, and option D is disproved by Northern
Hemisphere examples such as Tokyo and Delhi. Examiner commentary stresses that the mark scheme credits
the pattern plus at least one located example.
100 questions - Sections A to D 3
