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Year 10
AQA

Wave processes at the coast

I can understand how wave processes shape the coast.

icon-background-square
New
New
Year 10
AQA

Wave processes at the coast

I can understand how wave processes shape the coast.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Different wave types (constructive and destructive) affect the coast.
  2. The coast is shaped by processes of erosion (hydraulic power, abrasion and attrition).
  3. The coast is shaped by transportation (longshore drift) of sediment.
  4. The coast is shaped by deposition.

Keywords

  • Waves - ripples in the sea caused by wind blowing over the surface of the water

  • Erosion - the action of water wearing away rocks

  • Destructive waves - high, steep waves, typically formed by local storms, that remove sediment from beaches

  • Constructive waves - low waves, typically formed by distant storms, that deposit sediment onto beaches

Common misconception

Swash is when a wave moves down the beach to the sea and backwash is when a wave moves up the beach from the sea.

The swash is the movement of the wave from the sea to the beach which brings sediment with it. Whereas the backwash is the movement of the wave from the beach to sea.


To help you plan your year 10 geography lesson on: Wave processes at the coast, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

GIS could be used in this lesson to overlay different data sets, such as historical maps, on current OS maps to explore rates of coastal erosion.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the terms to the correct definition.
Correct Answer:waves,the movement of water caused by wind blowing across the sea
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the movement of water caused by wind blowing across the sea

Correct Answer:cliff,a steep rock face along the coast
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a steep rock face along the coast

Correct Answer:beach,an area of sand or pebbles along the shore
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an area of sand or pebbles along the shore

Correct Answer:headland,a part of the coastline that extends into the sea
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a part of the coastline that extends into the sea

Correct Answer:bay,a sheltered area of water, often between two headlands
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a sheltered area of water, often between two headlands

Q2.
Climate change today is caused by human activities that increase gas levels in the atmosphere.
Correct Answer: greenhouse
Q3.
What is the main factor that creates the waves we see at the seaside?
gravity pulling on Earth's water
tides moving up and down the shore
Correct answer: wind blowing over the surface of the sea
earthquakes under the sea floor
people driving boats in the sea
Q4.
Which of the following is the UK's longest river?
River Thames
Correct answer: River Severn
River Trent
River Clyde
Q5.
What process does 'the wearing away of rocks by water' describe?
weathering
mass movement
transportation
Correct answer: erosion
Q6.
In which part of the UK is Ben Nevis, the UK's highest mountain, located?
England
Northern Ireland
Wales
Correct answer: Scotland

4 Questions

Q1.
Identify the answer that correctly describes constructive waves.
Correct answer: Constructive waves have a stronger swash than backwash and build up beaches.
Constructive waves have equal swash and backwash, maintaining beach levels.
Constructive waves have a stronger backwash than swash and erode the coastline.
Constructive waves occur mostly during storms and erode the beach rapidly.
Constructive waves break frequently and move material offshore from beaches.
Q2.
Longshore is a process by which sediment is transported along coastlines.
Correct Answer: drift
Q3.
What erosion process does the statement 'rocks and sediment collide and break into smaller and smoother pieces' describe?
Hydraulic power
Abrasion
Correct answer: Attrition
Q4.
What factors will determine the strength of a wave?
Correct answer: Wind speed
Correct answer: Fetch
Water temperature
Correct answer: Wind duration