Lesson 3.1.3.4

3.1.3.4 Coastal management Quiz: AQA Geography, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

In partnership with Revision Ninja

Lesson 3.1.3.4, Coastal management: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Geography (7037), Unit 1: Physical geography, written with Revision Ninja.

Host it live on the board and students join with a game code on their own devices, or revise alone with Free Play. The answers are revealed in the game.

Host this setFree Play

The 20 questions

  1. Which coastal defence is an example of hard engineering?

    • Managed retreat with no structure built, which allows the coast to move inland naturally
    • A concrete sea wall built along the back of the beach
    • Beach nourishment with imported sand, which adds sediment to the beach to restore its width
    • Dune regeneration by planting marram grass, which stabilises the sand to build a natural barrier

  2. Which approach is an example of soft engineering in coastal management?

    • Beach nourishment that adds sand to replace material lost to erosion
    • Construction of a concrete groyne across the beach, which traps sand on the updrift side
    • A rigid sea wall built along the promenade, which reflects wave energy back to the sea
    • Rock armour placed along the cliff foot, which absorbs wave energy and resists erosion

  3. What is the main purpose of groynes?

    • To increase wave energy at the beach by reflecting it back towards the shore in the surf zone
    • To remove sand from the beach permanently, which lowers the level of the beach in front of them
    • To trap longshore drift and build up beach sediment on the updrift side
    • To cause erosion of cliffs by blocking the sea from reaching the base of the headland each tide

  4. What is a key drawback of building a sea wall?

    • It can reflect wave energy and increase scour at its base, causing beach loss in front of the wall
    • It has no effect on the beach in front of it, which remains stable regardless of the wall
    • It removes all wave energy completely, so that no further erosion can occur along the coast
    • It always adds sand to the beach by trapping sediment that would otherwise be carried offshore

  5. What does integrated coastal zone management aim to achieve?

    • Removal of all natural features to create uniform defences that are the same along the whole shore
    • Maximum development of the coast with no regard to erosion, flood risk or environmental cost
    • Leaving the coast entirely unmanaged to avoid the cost of any defences or other intervention
    • Coordinated management of the coastal zone that balances environmental, social and economic objectives

  6. What is shoreline management?

    • A method of measuring the height of waves at the shore, which uses a fixed staff in the surf
    • A plan to increase cliff erosion for tourism, which exposes fossils and attracts visitors
    • A strategy that decides how each section of coast should be defended, managed or allowed to retreat
    • A system of charging visitors for beach access, which funds the cleaning of the sand each season

  7. Which approach is an example of managed retreat?

    • Building a new sea wall around a village, which keeps the existing shoreline in its present place
    • Adding rock armour to a cliff base, which protects the cliff from further wave attack
    • Dredging the seabed to deepen harbour access, which removes sediment from the channel
    • Allowing a low-lying coastline to flood and relocating assets inland

  8. Which factor makes sustainable coastal management more difficult to achieve?

    • Lack of any coastal development, which means that the coast has no users or stakeholders
    • Conflicting interests between residents, developers and conservation groups over the same coastal land
    • Abundant funding that is always available for defences, so that costs are never a constraint
    • Stable sea levels that remove any need for management, because the coast no longer changes

  9. Which evaluation criterion is most appropriate for judging a coastal defence scheme?

    • Whether it removes all sediment from the beach, which keeps the shore clean for visitors
    • Whether it has the highest cost regardless of its outcomes, which shows the commitment of the council
    • Whether it reduces flood or erosion risk while maintaining environmental quality over the long term
    • Whether it is the largest structure built on the coast, which shows the scale of the investment

  10. Why do hard engineering schemes often lead to downdrift erosion?

    • They increase the supply of sediment to all beaches equally, which leaves no beach downdrift at risk
    • They interrupt longshore drift, so sediment supply to beaches further along the coast is reduced
    • They remove the influence of waves on the coast, so that no sediment can move in either direction
    • They change the colour of the water only, which does not affect the movement of sediment

  11. Which example illustrates sustainable management?

    • Replacing dunes with an asphalt car park, which provides parking space for visitors in summer
    • Building a large concrete wall across the entire beach, which blocks access to the sea
    • Using dune regeneration with fencing to restore a natural barrier against wave and wind action
    • Removing all vegetation to improve the view, which makes the shoreline look more open

  12. A community debates whether to build a sea wall or to pursue managed retreat. Which evaluation is most rigorous?

    • Choosing the option that the largest group of residents prefers, regardless of the long-term effects
    • Ignoring the long-term effects because the coast will change anyway, so the choice does not matter
    • Weighing the costs, benefits and environmental impacts of each option over the expected lifetime of the defence
    • Choosing whichever option is cheapest in the first year only, which keeps the initial spending low

  13. Which description best matches the term coastal flood risk?

    • The volume of sand deposited each year on the beach, which shows the rate of accumulation
    • The area of land that is always submerged by the sea, which lies below the level of high tide
    • The depth of a tidal channel at low water, which indicates how far boats can travel
    • The likelihood and consequences of flooding from storm surges and high waves on the coast

  14. What is a key advantage of beach nourishment?

    • It prevents all wave energy from reaching the cliff base permanently for many decades
    • It restores sediment and beach width while keeping natural processes operating
    • It requires no maintenance once the sand has been placed on the beach surface
    • It stops all longshore drift along the coast for many decades into the future

  15. What does no active intervention mean in shoreline management?

    • Hold the line, which means maintaining existing defences at their present position
    • Dredging, which means removing sediment from the seabed to deepen the channel
    • Advance the line, which means building new defences seaward of the existing shore
    • No defence is maintained and the shoreline is left to change naturally

  16. Which is an example of a hard engineering approach that could increase downdrift erosion?

    • Dune regeneration with planted marram grass, which stabilises the sand behind the beach
    • Beach nourishment with sand pumped onto the beach from offshore sources
    • A rock groyne built across the beach
    • Managed retreat that allows the coast to move inland naturally over time

  17. What does hold the line mean in shoreline management?

    • Maintaining existing defences to keep the shoreline in its present position
    • Moving all coastal settlements inland to new sites on higher ground away from the sea
    • Allowing the coast to retreat inland without any defence or compensation for the owners
    • Removing all sand from the beach to reduce the risk of storm surge damage to property

  18. A rock armour revetment absorbs wave energy. What is a potential drawback?

    • It can be expensive to maintain and may cause scouring at its toe
    • It always adds sediment to the beach in front of it, which increases the beach width
    • It removes all wave energy from the coast permanently, so no further maintenance is needed
    • It has no visual or environmental effect on the coastline, which remains unchanged in appearance

  19. Why is public consultation important in coastal management?

    • It is required only to choose the colour of the defence structure, which has no other effect
    • It ensures that the cheapest scheme is always selected by default, regardless of the outcomes
    • It helps identify local values and concerns so that schemes are more acceptable and effective
    • It replaces the need for any scientific or engineering assessment of the coastline

  20. Which measure is an example of sustainable flood risk management on coasts?

    • Clearing all vegetation from the saltmarsh to improve drainage for farmland
    • Extracting sand from the beach to increase the depth of the nearshore water for boats
    • Building concrete walls along every stretch of the shoreline to keep out all the sea
    • Restoring saltmarsh to absorb wave energy and provide habitat

All AQA Geography quizzes