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Year 10
Edexcel B

UK cities and population distribution

I can locate major cities of the UK and describe and explain the UK's uneven population distribution.

icon-background-square
New
New
Year 10
Edexcel B

UK cities and population distribution

I can locate major cities of the UK and describe and explain the UK's uneven population distribution.

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These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. There are 76 cities in the UK and the majority of these are in England.
  2. Population is unevenly distributed in the UK.
  3. Population density varies between the countries of the UK and areas within them.
  4. Human and physical factors can explain the differences in population distribution.

Keywords

  • Population distribution - the pattern of where people do and do not live

  • Population density - the average number of people that live within a square kilometre

Common misconception

Pupils can mix up population distribution and population density.

Population density is a spatial pattern of population whereas population density is the ratio of people to a defined space.


To help you plan your year 10 geography lesson on: UK cities and population distribution, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Pupils are likely to have some prior knowledge about the location of UK cities but using an atlas for Task A would scaffold it for those for needing additional support.
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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.
What is this a map of?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: United Kingdom
Great Britain
British Isles
Q2.
What type of map is this?
An image in a quiz
Political
Correct answer: Topographical
Choropleth
Q3.
Match the country of the United Kingdom to its capital.
Correct Answer:England,London
tick

London

Correct Answer:Northern Ireland,Belfast
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Belfast

Correct Answer:Scotland,Edinburgh
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Edinburgh

Correct Answer:Wales,Cardiff
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Cardiff

Q4.
In 2024, to the nearest million, what was the population of the UK?
67 million
68 million
Correct answer: 69 million
70 million
Q5.
What is the purpose of a census?
To count the number of people in a country for tax collection purposes.
Correct answer: To gather population data for government planning and resource allocation.
To track individual citizens for security and surveillance.
To determine the number of votes each person can cast in an election.
Q6.
How often is the UK census taken?
every year
every five years
Correct answer: every ten years
Q1 chrupka/Shutterstock.com

6 Questions

Q1.
How many cities are there in the UK?
Correct Answer: 76, seventy six
Q2.
Match the country of the UK to its population.
Correct Answer:England,57.1 million
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57.1 million

Correct Answer:Northern Ireland,1.91 million
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1.91 million

Correct Answer:Scotland,5.45 million
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5.45 million

Correct Answer:Wales,3.13 million
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3.13 million

Q3.
Population density is defined as the number of people that live within a square .
Correct Answer: kilometre, km
Q4.
The distribution of the UK is uneven.
Correct Answer: population
Q5.
Match the country of the UK to its population density.
Correct Answer:England,434 people per km2
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434 people per km2

Correct Answer:Northern Ireland,137 people per km2
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137 people per km2

Correct Answer:Scotland,70 people per km2
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70 people per km2

Correct Answer:Wales,153 people per km2
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153 people per km2

Q6.
Human and __________ factors help to explain the population distribution of the UK.
political
historical
Correct answer: physical
social