Rocks, minerals and the lithosphere — IGCSE Environmental Management (0680) questions by topic
Matching water-cycle process names to their descriptions, labelling stages of the rock cycle, ranking the largest copper-producing countries from a data table, and stating the type of mining shown in a photograph of an open pit are the core demands in this topic, worth 4 to 30 marks across 22 real questions from 2023 to 2025 papers.
State, suggest, describe, complete and explain top the command words, and complete on a labelled diagram means matching every process to its correct description, not just the most familiar pairs. Examiners report a specific rounding slip on data-table answers, so working through a calculation and checking it against instant marking is a quick way to confirm decimal places match the rest of the table.
What examiners look for
- A recurring criticism is repeating terracing when the question specifically asked for other strategies beyond the one already given.
- Examiners note evaporation given as an incorrect answer for one rock-cycle process, and 'rain' used instead of the required term precipitation.
- Reports flag a data-table answer of 1.76 marked wrong for not matching the number of decimal places used elsewhere in the table.
- A common error was believing the question was about deforestation, or claiming that reducing carbon dioxide would also reduce ozone depletion.
- Strong answers correctly linked each named process to its description, identified the control group correctly, and described repeating an investigation with a different tree species or at different locations for reliability.
May–June 2025, Paper 11
The Earth's structure has three main layers. Use the words from the list to complete the sentences about the Earth's structure. The words may be used once, more than once, or not…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 12
Earthquakes are one cause of a tsunami. State what is meant by a tsunami.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 13
The Earth's structure has three main layers. Use the words from the list to complete the sentences about the Earth's structure. The words may be used once, more than once, or not…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 22
Mount Epomeo is an extinct volcano. The volcano last erupted in 1302. Igneous rock is found in many parts of Ischia. Describe how igneous rock forms.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 11
Igneous and sedimentary are types of rock. Complete the sentences about rocks: 'An example of an igneous rock is ……' and 'An example of a sedimentary rock is ……'.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 13
Igneous and sedimentary are types of rock. Complete the sentences about rocks: 'An example of an igneous rock is ……' and 'An example of a sedimentary rock is ……'.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 21
The photograph shows a gold and silver mine on North Island, expected to close in 2030 (a large open pit). State the type of mining shown in the photograph.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 23
The photograph shows a gold and silver mine on North Island, expected to close in 2030 (a large open pit). State the type of mining shown in the photograph.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 11
Poor agricultural practices can cause soil erosion. Contour ploughing is a strategy used to reduce soil erosion. Describe the process of contour ploughing on a slope.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 12
The diagram shows the rock cycle. Boxes for rock type A, rock type B and rock type C are linked by arrows labelled with processes: 'heat and pressure' (from C to A), 'weathering…
Answer this question and get it marked →The diagram shows the movement of two tectonic plates. A block cross-section shows two plates either side of a labelled 'plate boundary', with arrows indicating the plates sliding…
Answer this question and get it marked →The photograph shows a large, ploughed field (with curved furrows). Growing crops on this field reduces soil erosion. State two other ways soil erosion can be reduced in this…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 23
The table shows the largest producers of copper in 2022: country copper / million tonnes --- --- Chile 5.8 Peru 2.4 China 1.6 Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) 1.2 United States…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 11
Some of the processes in the water cycle are shown. Draw one straight line from each name of the process to the correct description of the process. Names of process (left column):…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 12
Many modern buildings are made of concrete (made from cement, sand, gravel and water). The graph shows cement production between 1990 and 2020, with two lines (key: production in…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 13
Some of the processes in the water cycle are shown. Draw one straight line from each name of the process to the correct description of the process. Names of process (left column):…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 21
The photograph shows a field in Denmark planted with apple trees. This field has a soil containing three particle sizes. Circle the smallest particle size: sand / clay / silt.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 22
The photograph shows a farmer preparing some fields for rice production. State the name of the strategy used to reduce soil erosion which is shown in the photograph.
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 23
The photograph shows a field in Denmark planted with apple trees. This field has a soil containing three particle sizes. Circle the smallest particle size: sand / clay / silt.
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 11
Cement is a building material. The table shows the percentage of different resources used to make cement: resource percentage --- --- lime 65.0 silica ……… aluminium oxide 4.5…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 12
The table shows data for the extraction of mining products from eight countries in one year: country mass of mining product extracted / million tonnes --- --- Australia 1196…
Answer this question and get it marked →