Practice Paper: Edexcel A Level Geography
9GE0/03 (Paper 3)
Synoptic investigation: lithium, the energy transition and the Altamar
salt flat
Question paper
Written by AcePapers
Independent practice paper written for revision. Not an official Pearson paper and
not affiliated with or endorsed by Pearson.
Time allowed: 2 hours 15 minutes Total: 70 marks
You will need
• The Resource Booklet, printed at the back of this file. Keep it beside you while
you answer.
• A calculator and a ruler.
Instructions
• Answer every question.
• Read the whole Resource Booklet before you start. The questions draw on the
booklet and on what you have learned across the whole course.
• Answer in the lined spaces. You may not need all of the lines.
• Show your working in calculations.
• Each question’s mark is printed in brackets. Plan your time with it.
• All places, people and data in this paper are fictional and were written for
practice.
Name: ______________________________________ Date: ________________
Practice Paper 9GE0/03 (Paper 3) – Question paper and resources Written by AcePapers | Page 1
, Use the Resource Booklet and what you have learned across the whole course to
answer every question.
1 Question 1
Explain how pumping water from an aquifer can change the flows in a drainage
basin.
(4)
[Question 1 total: 4 marks]
2 Students tested whether the fall in the water table at ten monitoring wells on the
Altamar salt flat (Figure 7 in the Resource Booklet) was related to the distance of
each well from the evaporation ponds of Mine 1. They used Spearman’s rank
correlation coefficient. Their part-finished working is shown in Table 1.
Distance
Fall in water table
Well from ponds Rank Rank d d²
2015–2025 (m)
(km)
A 1.2 1 6.8 10 −9 81
B 2.5 2 5.9 8 −6 36
C 3.1 3 6.1 9 −6 36
D 4.8 4 4.2 6 −2 4
E 5.5 5 4.6 7 −2 4
F 7.0 6 3.1 5 1 1
G 8.4 7 2.4 3 4 16
H 9.9 2.9
I 12.3 9 1.2 2 7 49
J 15.0 10 0.8 1 9 81
Table 1 Spearman’s rank working (fictional data; rank 1 = smallest value)
(a)(i) Complete Table 1 for Well H.
(2)
Practice Paper 9GE0/03 (Paper 3) – Question paper and resources Written by AcePapers | Page 2
, (ii) Calculate Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (Rs) using the formula below.
Give your answer to 2 decimal places and show your working.
Rs = 1 − (6Σd²) ÷ (n³ − n)
(2)
Answer: ______________________
(b) For ten pairs of values the critical value of R is 0.648 at the 0.05 significance
s
level and 0.794 at the 0.01 level. Explain what the result shows, and why the
students should be careful about concluding that Mine 1 caused the fall in the
water table.
(4)
[Question 2 total: 8 marks]
3 Use Figures 1 to 3 (Resource Booklet, Section A).
Analyse the changing global pattern of demand for, and supply of, lithium.
(8)
Practice Paper 9GE0/03 (Paper 3) – Question paper and resources Written by AcePapers | Page 3
9GE0/03 (Paper 3)
Synoptic investigation: lithium, the energy transition and the Altamar
salt flat
Question paper
Written by AcePapers
Independent practice paper written for revision. Not an official Pearson paper and
not affiliated with or endorsed by Pearson.
Time allowed: 2 hours 15 minutes Total: 70 marks
You will need
• The Resource Booklet, printed at the back of this file. Keep it beside you while
you answer.
• A calculator and a ruler.
Instructions
• Answer every question.
• Read the whole Resource Booklet before you start. The questions draw on the
booklet and on what you have learned across the whole course.
• Answer in the lined spaces. You may not need all of the lines.
• Show your working in calculations.
• Each question’s mark is printed in brackets. Plan your time with it.
• All places, people and data in this paper are fictional and were written for
practice.
Name: ______________________________________ Date: ________________
Practice Paper 9GE0/03 (Paper 3) – Question paper and resources Written by AcePapers | Page 1
, Use the Resource Booklet and what you have learned across the whole course to
answer every question.
1 Question 1
Explain how pumping water from an aquifer can change the flows in a drainage
basin.
(4)
[Question 1 total: 4 marks]
2 Students tested whether the fall in the water table at ten monitoring wells on the
Altamar salt flat (Figure 7 in the Resource Booklet) was related to the distance of
each well from the evaporation ponds of Mine 1. They used Spearman’s rank
correlation coefficient. Their part-finished working is shown in Table 1.
Distance
Fall in water table
Well from ponds Rank Rank d d²
2015–2025 (m)
(km)
A 1.2 1 6.8 10 −9 81
B 2.5 2 5.9 8 −6 36
C 3.1 3 6.1 9 −6 36
D 4.8 4 4.2 6 −2 4
E 5.5 5 4.6 7 −2 4
F 7.0 6 3.1 5 1 1
G 8.4 7 2.4 3 4 16
H 9.9 2.9
I 12.3 9 1.2 2 7 49
J 15.0 10 0.8 1 9 81
Table 1 Spearman’s rank working (fictional data; rank 1 = smallest value)
(a)(i) Complete Table 1 for Well H.
(2)
Practice Paper 9GE0/03 (Paper 3) – Question paper and resources Written by AcePapers | Page 2
, (ii) Calculate Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (Rs) using the formula below.
Give your answer to 2 decimal places and show your working.
Rs = 1 − (6Σd²) ÷ (n³ − n)
(2)
Answer: ______________________
(b) For ten pairs of values the critical value of R is 0.648 at the 0.05 significance
s
level and 0.794 at the 0.01 level. Explain what the result shows, and why the
students should be careful about concluding that Mine 1 caused the fall in the
water table.
(4)
[Question 2 total: 8 marks]
3 Use Figures 1 to 3 (Resource Booklet, Section A).
Analyse the changing global pattern of demand for, and supply of, lithium.
(8)
Practice Paper 9GE0/03 (Paper 3) – Question paper and resources Written by AcePapers | Page 3
