Students who lived on a Mediterranean island carried out fieldwork at two local beaches. Cala Blanca is a pebble beach in a bay surrounded by cliffs and Cala Bassa is a long, straight sandy beach. In studying the two different beaches the students tested the following hypotheses: Hypothesis 1: The pebble beach has a steeper profile than the sandy beach. Hypothesis 2: The size of beach material gets bigger away from the sea.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2013). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [3] (a) Keep away from base of cliff/overhang; Don't stand on edge of cliff; Check tide times before setting off/watch for incoming tide/do fieldwork at low tide; Avoid slippery rocks/sharp rocks; Measure waves from safe position/don't go into sea; Take mobile/cell phone/whistle; Work in groups/pairs/not alone; Tell teacher/adult where you are going; Suitable clothes/protective clothes/footwear/sunblock
2. [4] (b) (i) Place marker poles along rope/transect line; Put poles at each break of slope; Ensure they are vertical; Same length of pole above surface at each point; Use a clinometer to measure angle/read angle; Hold clinometer next to top/at agreed height on marker pole/eye level; Sight other marker pole at top/agreed height; Repeat along transect/different places up beach; Measure distance between marker poles
3. [1] (ii) Cala Bassa (sandy) is wider or longer or larger/Cala Blanca (pebbles) is narrower or shorter or smaller; Cala Bassa is 35 m and Cala Blanca is 17 m
4. [4] (iii) Hypothesis is true/pebble beach (Cala Blanca) has steeper profile; 1 mark reserve; Cala Blanca is narrower beach than Cala Bassa but both go to same height (elevation)/Blanca goes to greater height (elevation); Cala Blanca increases 5-5.5m in 16.9-17m and Cala Bassa increases 5 m in 34.5-35m; 1 mark for paired gradient measurements (Blanca 1 in 3, Bassa 1 in 7); 1 mark for paired angle measurements, these could be at individual points or average for the beach; Hypothesis conclusion is false no credit
5. [3] (c) (i) Put quadrat on ground/beach/throw quadrat; Count the number of squares with different types of beach material; Do more than one measurement and calculate average; Do task in each section of beach profile
6. [1] (ii) Classification as sand, shingle, pebbles or cobble is subjective/may be classified differently at different sites; Some types of material look similar; Estimating the percentages may lead to inaccuracy/inconsistency; Measuring individual beach material would take a lot of time; May be boulder/bare rock/seaweed/driftwood/litter in quadrat
7. [3] (iii) Completion of divided bar graph: shingle – 48, pebble – 40, cobble – 12; 2 marks for dividing lines; 1 mark for shading - must be in correct order
8. [4] (iv) Hypothesis is true for Cala Blanca beach/larger beach material away from sea – 1 mark reserve; 1 mark for data which refers to pebbles or cobbles or compares two profiles – need two percentages and locations; e.g. cobble increases from A – B 0% to H – I 20% OR across whole beach; Hypothesis conclusion is false/partially true no credit; Hypothesis is not true for Cala Bassa beach – 1 mark reserve; 1 mark for data which refers to sand or shingle or compares two profiles need percentages and locations; e.g. over 80% sand in all sections; only sand/100% sand in A-B and E-F; Hypothesis conclusion is true/partially true no credit
9. [2] (v) Powerful swash throws all material up the beach/material thrown up beach during storms; Less powerful backwash can only carry the smaller material down the beach; Material from cliff at back of beach is larger
10. [1] (d) (i) Possible hypothesis: Lighter beach material is moved more quickly by longshore drift; Groynes on the beach interrupt the movement of longshore drift; Rate of longshore drift is affected by wave height/wave frequency; More longshore drift on a sandy beach/Cala Bassa than a pebble beach/Cala Blanca or vice versa; Where more longshore drift takes place there is smaller material; Longshore drift occurs in direction of prevailing wind; Must include 'longshore drift'; Can be evidence that longshore drift has taken place
11. [4] (ii) Description must link to chosen hypothesis. If chosen hypothesis is not credited in (b)(i) go to 2 marks max if linked to longshore drift; Possible method first hypothesis: Paint 50 pebbles of varying sizes; Group them in the wave swash/backwash zone; Leave them for period of time; Find the pebbles and measure distance from starting point; Measure long axis of pebble; Credit other ways to measure longshore drift, if appropriate.