Cambridge AS & A Level Geography 9696/12 is the May/June 2026 Paper 1 (Core Physical Geography), variant 2. It is an AS Level component, lasts 1 hour 30 minutes and is worth 60 marks. You answer four questions: all three 10-mark resource questions in Section A, then one 30-mark question from Section B. The biggest single parts are the 15-mark “how far do you agree” or “assess” essays that end each Section B question, which are marked in levels. This guide goes through every question and shows what the official mark scheme gave marks for. The paper, insert and mark scheme are free on the Tutopiya Learning Portal.

For an overview of all four 9696 papers from this series, see A Level Geography 9696 May/June 2026 past papers: what came up and how it was marked.

9696/12 at a glance

The rubric is: answer all questions in Section A, and one question from Section B. Four questions in total.

Question	Section	Topic	Marks
1	A (compulsory)	Hydrology: a drainage basin system diagram, flows below ground, changing overland flow	10
2	A (compulsory)	Atmosphere: map of global warming impacts in Africa, reasons, evidence for global warming	10
3	A (compulsory)	Rocks and weathering: velocity of mass movements, creep and solifluction, the role of water	10
4	B (choice)	Hydraulic action, helicoidal flow, drainage density, hard engineering, a recent river flood	30
5	B (choice)	Sensible heat transfer, albedo, urban heat island, types of precipitation, seasonal temperature	30
6	B (choice)	Afforestation and mass movement, slope sediment movement, divergent plate boundaries, rock type and weathering	30
		Total answered (Questions 1 to 3 + one from 4 to 6)	60

Every Section B question has the same shape: part (a) worth 7 marks (split into two short parts), part (b) worth 8 and part (c) worth 15.

Question-by-question walkthrough

How Paper 1 is marked

• Section A and Section B part (a) are point-marked. Most explain parts give 1 mark for a simple explanation and 2 for a developed one. Questions 1(c) and 3(c) went further: up to 3 marks for one well-developed explanation.
• Section B part (b), 8 marks, uses three levels. Level 3 (6–8) clearly explains with detailed knowledge and well-used examples; Level 2 (3–5) explains on a largely secure base; Level 1 (1–2) only describes, with examples in name only or missing.
• Section B part (c), 15 marks, uses four levels. Level 4 (12–15) thoroughly assesses the statement with integrated examples; Level 3 (8–11) assesses but may be unbalanced; Level 2 (4–7) is mainly descriptive with some concluding remarks; Level 1 (1–3) does not address the question or reach a convincing conclusion. An essay without examples cannot go above 6 marks.

Question 1: the drainage basin system (10 marks)

Figure 1.1 showed part of the drainage basin system, with stores and flows labelled.

• 1(a)(i) State flow A (1 mark): infiltration.
• 1(a)(ii) One output from the system (1 mark): evapotranspiration, evaporation or river discharge.
• 1(b) Explain two types of water flow below the ground (4 marks): the figure showed base flow, percolation and throughflow, and you could choose any two (infiltration was also accepted). For each, 1 mark explains how the water moves and the second explains why. Base flow feeds the stream from the groundwater store, even between rainfall events, because of pressure differences. Percolation moves water down from the soil into the bedrock through joints and gaps, under gravity. Throughflow moves water through the soil, parallel to the surface, through pore spaces, also under gravity.
• 1(c) Why the rate of overland flow may change over time (4 marks): 1 mark for a simple explanation, 2 for developed, 3 for well developed. Credited lines included changing weather (antecedent rainfall saturating the soil, rainfall intensity, frozen ground in winter), changing land use (forest replaced by urban surfaces, so more impermeable ground and less surface storage) and changing vegetation (seasonal leaf loss, deforestation or a change of tree type altering interception and evapotranspiration).

Question 2: global warming impacts in Africa (10 marks)

Figure 2.1 was a map of Africa marking four types of impact: heat, rain and flooding, storm and drought.

• 2(a) Describe the pattern (3 marks): 1 mark per description, and no credit for a region-by-region approach. Credited patterns: most impacts cluster around the Equator and between the tropics; there are outliers on the north and south coasts and on an island; drought is common in East Africa and the Horn of Africa and also appears around the southern tip; rain and flooding are mainly within the tropics; storms appear only on Madagascar; heat impacts are more scattered.
• 2(b) Suggest reasons for the impacts (3 marks): 1 mark per reason plus 1 for development. You could explain the type of impact or where it occurs. Credited chains: more extreme weather events, including longer droughts; climate belts shifting towards the poles, bringing prolonged drought; a warmer atmosphere holding more water, so heavier rain and flooding; sea level rise from thermal expansion and melting ice; warmer seas supplying more energy to storms; and greenhouse gas emissions from human activity adding heat and drought.
• 2(c) Explain two types of evidence for global warming (4 marks): 2 marks for each, 1 simple and 2 developed. Credited evidence: long-term temperature records for air and ocean, ice core analysis of trapped gases, tree rings (weaker but acceptable), rising sea levels, sea ice and glacier retreat, more extreme events compared with past averages, and phenology (changes in when plants flower or animals breed and migrate).

Question 3: the velocity of mass movements (10 marks)

Figure 3.1 was a chart placing six types of mass movement on a speed scale from 1 mm per year to 100 m per second.

• 3(a)(i) Movement at 1 mm/day (1 mark): solifluction.
• 3(a)(ii) Maximum velocity of mud and debris flows (1 mark): 1 km/hr. The units were required.
• 3(b) Contrast creep and solifluction (3 marks): 1 mark per contrast, with 1 mark reserved for using data from the chart. Creep is slower; the fastest rate of creep (1 cm/yr) is the slowest rate of solifluction; creep has a narrower range (1 mm/yr to 1 cm/yr) while solifluction ranges from 1 cm/yr to just under 1 cm/day.
• 3(c) The role of water in mass movement (5 marks): 1 mark simple, 2 developed, 3 well developed, and relevant examples counted as development. Water lubricates the slope and reduces friction; adds weight and so increases shear stress; raises pore water pressure; removes fine material or undercuts the base of the slope; and aids weathering such as freeze-thaw, which weakens the rock.

Question 4: hydrology and fluvial geomorphology (30 marks)

• 4(a)(i) Define hydraulic action and helicoidal flow (4 marks): 2 marks each. Hydraulic action is erosion of the bed or banks by the sheer force of the water, or by air compressed in cracks. Helicoidal flow is a corkscrew or spiral flow across the surface from the inside bank of a meander to the outside, returning along the bed as a reverse flow while moving downstream.
• 4(a)(ii) Drainage density and hydrograph shape (3 marks): a high drainage density means more streams to carry water away, so the basin responds quickly: a steep rising limb, short lag time, high peak discharge and a steep falling limb.
• 4(b) How hard engineering could prevent river flooding (8 marks, levels): each method had to be linked to how it stops flooding. Straightening raises velocity and moves water away faster; levees raise the banks and increase the channel’s capacity; dredging deepens the channel; dams and reservoirs store floodwater and release it slowly; diversion or relief channels take water away from urban areas.
• 4(c) “The impact of the flood was greater on people than on the environment.” How far do you agree? (15 marks, levels): you needed a specific, recent river flood and a comparison of the two kinds of impact. On people: lost homes, flooded farmland and crops, injuries and deaths, contaminated water and disease, lost jobs and income, and transport disruption. On the environment: sediment deposition, contaminated land, water and habitats, habitat destruction and uprooted vegetation. The mark scheme suggested weighing preparedness (warnings and evacuation) and noted that flooding is natural, so the environment usually recovers.

Question 5: atmosphere and weather (30 marks)

• 5(a)(i) Define sensible heat transfer and albedo (4 marks): 2 marks each. Sensible heat transfer is the movement of parcels of air into and out of an area, or heat moving from warm to cold, by convection or conduction. Albedo is the proportion of incoming solar radiation reflected by a surface.
• 5(a)(ii) Describe the urban heat island effect (3 marks): 1 mark per point. An urban area has its own microclimate, with higher temperatures than the surrounding countryside, and differences in wind, cloud and fog, albedo, longwave radiation and dust from human activity. The effect is strongest under high pressure with light winds.
• 5(b) Explain the different types of precipitation (8 marks, levels): fog, rain, snow (and sleet), hail and dew, each explained by how it forms. Explaining the processes that cause precipitation could earn credit but should not dominate. Explaining only one type capped the answer at 3 marks.
• 5(c) “The greatest influence on the seasonal variation of temperature is the land/sea distribution.” How far do you agree? (15 marks, levels): for the statement, land and sea heat and cool at different rates, so the sea moderates seasonal ranges. Against it, latitude (larger seasonal ranges at higher latitudes because of the Earth’s tilt), seasonal shifts in pressure and wind, ocean currents and altitude.

Question 6: rocks and weathering (30 marks)

• 6(a)(i) How afforestation may reduce mass movement (3 marks): roots bind the soil, trees intercept rain and reduce runoff, transpiration lowers soil moisture, and the cover stabilises slopes and reduces soil erosion.
• 6(a)(ii) Explain two small-scale movements of sediment on slopes (4 marks): 2 marks each, and the explanation should show how the sediment is entrained. Sheetwash (water flowing over the surface once infiltration capacity is exceeded), soil creep (particles lifted at right angles to the slope by heating or rainsplash, then falling back downslope), rainsplash (raindrops dislodging particles) and rills (runoff concentrated into small channels).
• 6(b) Processes and landforms at divergent plate boundaries (8 marks, levels): processes such as ridge push, seafloor spreading, convection and transform faulting; landforms such as mid-ocean ridges, rift valleys, magma intrusions and fissure volcanoes. Diagrams were credited where they helped the explanation.
• 6(c) Is rock type more significant than climate in affecting the type of weathering? (15 marks, levels): for rock type, mineral composition (limestone and carbonation) and porosity, structure and permeability. For climate, temperatures fluctuating around 0°C (freeze-thaw), temperature change and exfoliation, and rainfall driving chemical weathering; the Peltier diagram was acceptable. A strong conclusion could argue the two are inseparable: carbonation of limestone needs both the calcium carbonate and enough moisture.

Where the marks are on 9696/12

Split by section and marking style, for a candidate answering Section A and one Section B question:

Part of the paper	Marking	Marks
Section A, Questions 1 to 3	Point-marked (resource and short explain parts)	30
Section B part (a)	Point-marked definitions and short explanations	7
Section B part (b)	Three levels	8
Section B part (c)	Four levels	15
Total		60

• Over 60% of the marks are point-marked. Precise definitions and developed explanations in Section A and part (a) are worth 37 marks.
• The Section B essay is a quarter of the paper. A clear judgement backed by named examples is what lifts it into Level 4.
• Resource skills matter: Question 3(b) reserved a mark for data, 3(a)(ii) needed units and Question 2(a) needed a pattern, not a list.

How to self-mark 9696/12 with the mark scheme

1. Mark the one-mark answers strictly. Check the exact term (infiltration, solifluction) and the units in 3(a)(ii).
2. For “explain two” parts, score each one out of 2. One mark for a simple point, two only if you said why or how. In 1(c) and 3(c) a single well-developed explanation could earn 3.
3. Check the resource rules. Did 2(a) describe a pattern rather than go region by region? Did 3(b) quote values from the chart?
4. Level the 8-mark part (b) as a whole. Ask whether you explained or only described, and apply the one-type cap in 5(b).
5. Level the 15-mark essay. Decide whether you reached a supported judgement (Levels 3 and 4) or mostly described (Level 2). If you used no real examples, cap it at 6.
6. Log each lost mark as missing knowledge, an undeveloped point, an ignored resource rule or a missing conclusion, and practise that skill next.

Sit 9696/12 as a timed mock

The paper allows 90 minutes for 60 marks, a minute and a half per mark. A workable plan:

Block	Marks	Time
Read the insert and choose your Section B question	–	3 minutes
Question 1	10	13 minutes
Question 2	10	13 minutes
Question 3	10	13 minutes
Section B part (a)	7	9 minutes
Section B part (b)	8	13 minutes
Section B part (c), including a quick plan	15	22 minutes
Check units, resource answers and your conclusion	–	4 minutes

Choose your Section B question by part (c): it carries half of the question’s marks, so pick the essay where you have real examples ready.

Other May/June 2026 9696 papers

• 9696 Paper 22 (Core Human Geography)
• 9696 Paper 32 (Advanced Physical Geography Options)
• 9696 Paper 42 (Advanced Human Geography Options)

Practise and download

• Download 9696/12 and its mark scheme on the Learning Portal →
• All 9696 May/June 2026 papers: overview and marking patterns
• Try a free A Level Geography quiz

Need help with a 9696 topic? Book a free trial lesson with an A Level Geography tutor →

Frequently asked questions

What topics were on 9696 Paper 12 May/June 2026? +

Section A covered the drainage basin system, the impacts of global warming in Africa and the velocity of mass movements. Section B offered a choice of three 30-mark questions: river processes, hydrographs, hard engineering and a recent river flood; atmospheric terms, precipitation and seasonal temperature; or mass movement, plate boundaries and weathering.

How many marks is 9696/12 and how long is it? +

It is out of 60 marks and lasts 1 hour 30 minutes. You answer all three 10-mark questions in Section A and one 30-mark question from Section B.

What was the answer to 9696/12 Question 3(a)? +

Solifluction is the mass movement with a velocity of 1 mm per day. The maximum velocity of mud and debris flows is 1 km per hour, and the mark scheme required the units.

Why did some answers to 9696/12 Question 2(a) score nothing? +

The mark scheme gave no credit for going region by region. You had to describe the overall pattern, for example that most impacts cluster between the tropics, that drought dominates the east of Africa and that storms appear only on Madagascar.

How are the 15-mark essays on 9696/12 marked? +

With four levels: 12 to 15, 8 to 11, 4 to 7 and 1 to 3. The top level needs a thorough assessment with well-integrated examples. An answer with no examples cannot go above 6 marks, the middle of Level 2.

Where can I download 9696/12 May/June 2026 and its mark scheme? +

The question paper, insert and mark scheme are free to download and print on the Tutopiya Learning Portal, on the Cambridge AS & A Level Geography 9696 past papers page.

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