Cambridge AS & A Level Geography 9696/42 is the May/June 2026 Paper 4 (Advanced Human Geography Options), variant 2. It is an A Level component, lasts 1 hour 30 minutes and is worth 60 marks. You answer four questions from two different options: in each option, a compulsory 10-mark data question and one 20-mark essay from a choice of two. The two essays carry 40 of the 60 marks and are marked in levels. This guide covers every question on all four options 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.

9696/42 at a glance

The rubric is: answer questions from two different options. In each option, answer the data question and one of the two essays. Each data question has a 4-mark part (a) and a 6-mark part (b).

Question	Option	Topic	Marks
1	Production, location and change (compulsory in option)	Sources of change in crop production by world region, 2013–2022; two practices that raise crop yield	10
2	Production, location and change (choice)	For one country, how far physical factors caused the need for agricultural change	20
3	Production, location and change (choice)	How far government policies influence where manufacturing and related services locate	20
4	Environmental management (compulsory in option)	Renewable electricity in Japan by month, 2022; two ways climate affects monthly output	10
5	Environmental management (choice)	Whether rising energy demand leads to more pollution	20
6	Environmental management (choice)	For one degraded environment, how far management overcame the problems	20
7	Global interdependence (compulsory in option)	Map of primary product export dependent countries, 2021; how free trade increases trade flows	10
8	Global interdependence (choice)	Whether local communities must be involved for aid projects to succeed	20
9	Global interdependence (choice)	For one tourist area or resort, how sustainability issues changed as it developed	20
10	Economic transition (compulsory in option)	Well-being indicators for UK regions and Greater London, 2020; cumulative causation	10
11	Economic transition (choice)	How far the nature and role of the primary sector change as economies develop	20
12	Economic transition (choice)	How far the growth of NICs has influenced the globalisation of economic activity	20
		Total answered (two options × [data question + one essay])	60

Question-by-question walkthrough

How every option is marked

• Part (a), 4 marks, is point-marked: 1 mark per description. Questions 1(a), 4(a) and 10(a) were capped at 3 without accurate data, and several reserved marks for particular elements (see below).
• Part (b), 6 marks, uses three levels: Level 3 (5–6) clearly explains with detailed knowledge; Level 2 (3–4) explains on a largely secure base; Level 1 (1–2) describes. Where the question asks for two things, clearly explaining only one capped the answer at 4.
• The essays, 20 marks, use four levels: Level 4 (16–20) has an effective and sustained evaluation with a sound conclusion and well-integrated examples; Level 3 (11–15) is broadly evaluative with some narrative and a conclusion; Level 2 (6–10) is mainly descriptive with a thin evaluation; Level 1 (1–5) makes a few general points. No examples, max. 8. Where one place is required and the place is not clearly described, the answer becomes generic and is also capped at 8.

Production, location and change

• 1(a) Describe the sources of change in crop production (4 marks): 1 mark is reserved for each source of change (area, multicropping, yield). Overall production grew in five of the six regions; yield was the largest source of change and fell only in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA); area grew most in Sub-Saharan Africa (about 14%) and fell in MENA and North America; multicropping changed least overall but was large in Latin America and the Caribbean and did not change in Asia-Pacific or Europe and Central Asia.
• 1(b) Explain two practices that increase crop yield (6 marks, levels): seed selection, selective breeding or GM varieties (for drought, pests, disease, soils or temperature), crop, soil and water management, weed and pest control, precision agriculture, controlled environments and fertilisers. Increasing area or multicropping from the figure was credited only with additional knowledge. One practice clearly explained, max. 4.
• Question 2, physical factors and the need for agricultural change in one country (20 marks): physical factors include climate, relief and soils, and events such as storms, drought, flooding or climate change; reasonable coverage of at least two physical factors was expected. You needed to be clear about what agriculture was like before and why change was needed, and to weigh social, economic and political factors. A country that is not clearly described makes the answer generic, max. 8. If two countries are used, the better one is credited.
• Question 3, government policy and the location of manufacturing and related services (20 marks): services had to be those linked to manufacturing, not services in general, and the focus had to be location. Policies can work through land, labour, capital, markets, technology and transport, or through industrial estates, export processing zones and special economic zones, and their influence can be positive or negative. A strong answer might argue that the government’s influence varies with context, such as level of development.

Environmental management

• 4(a) Describe the variations in Japan’s renewable electricity (4 marks): a mark reserved for each of the total share and the sources, max. 3 without accurate data. Total share: rising from about 16% in January to a peak of about 31% in May, staying high until about October, a second peak of about 25% in September, and low (below about 17%) from December to February. Sources: solar was the largest throughout and varied most (about 6% in January to 14% in May); HEP also peaked in May (about 4.5% to 11%) and caused the September peak; biofuels and geothermal changed little; geothermal was the smallest source; wind varied slightly.
• 4(b) Two ways climate affects monthly renewable output (6 marks, levels): sunshine intensity and duration, cloud cover, the amount and type of precipitation, spring snowmelt and wind speed affect solar, HEP and wind; biofuels and geothermal are not directly affected. Effects on demand counted only if linked back to production. One way clearly explained, max. 4.
• Question 5, does rising energy demand lead to more pollution? (20 marks): consider who is demanding the energy and at what scale, pollution of land, air or water at any stage of supply, how far demand is met from renewable or non-renewable sources and when there is a real choice, and the role of monitoring, controls and enforced regulation.
• Question 6, management of one degraded environment (20 marks): outline at least two problems (land, air or water pollution affecting nature, people, the economy or politics) and judge management by whether it removed the cause, restored the environment, how long problems lasted, what remains and what new challenges arose. A degraded environment that is not clearly described makes the answer generic, max. 8.

Global interdependence

• 7(a) The pattern of primary product export dependent countries (4 marks): 1 mark reserved for the overall pattern, for example uneven but found in most continents, most within the tropics, most in the Southern Hemisphere, the highest proportion in South America and the most countries in Africa, and few in Europe, Central America and South and Southeast Asia. Product types: all three fairly even in Africa, agriculture and mining dominant in South America, energy dominant further north and in northern and central Asia, and clusters such as mining in West Africa, agriculture in East Africa and energy in West Asia.
• 7(b) How free trade increases trade flows (6 marks, levels): removing tariffs, quotas and other restrictions lowers costs for exporters and prices for consumers; free trade encourages specialisation and the use of comparative advantage; much of it operates within regional trade blocs; and the WTO works to remove barriers and settle disputes. Economic or geographical explanations were both credited. Only defining free trade stays in Level 1.
• Question 8, must local communities be involved for aid to succeed? (20 marks): any type of international aid project (relief, development, tied, bilateral, multilateral). Judge success by whether the original problem was removed, what challenges remain and what new issues arose, and from the viewpoints of local people, governments, donors and businesses. Contrasting top-down and bottom-up approaches is likely but not required for full marks.
• Question 9, sustainability issues as one tourist area or resort developed (20 marks): show how environmental, social and economic issues changed at different stages, possibly including decline, from the viewpoints of different groups, and whether change came from management or the lack of it. The tourism carrying capacity or a tourism life cycle model can help but is not required. A small tourism-dependent country such as the Maldives counted as one area; for a larger country such as Jamaica, you needed one area or resort within it. Naming a place without detail of attractions, activities, issues, groups or management counted as generic, max. 8.

Economic transition

• 10(a) Variations in Greater London’s well-being (4 marks): max. 3 without data. Against OECD regions: London ranged from about 35% to 95%, was in the top 20% three times (health, income and access to services), was mostly in the middle 60% and never in the bottom 20%, and was below 50% three times, lowest for civic engagement. Against other UK regions: London was the top region for health, income and education and close to the top for access to services, but bottom for environment and housing and close to the bottom for community, safety and life satisfaction.
• 10(b) How cumulative causation can lead to regional divergence (6 marks, levels): an initial advantage attracts economic activity; the multiplier effect brings more and better-paid jobs, skills, services, migrants, tax revenue, innovation and new industries; backwash effects draw capital, resources and people from the periphery, so the core grows at the periphery’s expense. Only describing cumulative causation or divergence stays in Level 1.
• Question 11, the changing nature and role of the primary sector (20 marks): its role includes supplying raw materials, food and medicines, earning finance and foreign currency, and providing jobs, and in oil-rich countries mineral extraction has driven rapid development. Its nature changes from labour-intensive and low-productivity to mechanised and efficient, employing fewer people and becoming relatively less important as secondary and tertiary sectors grow (the Clark-Fisher model can be used). Better answers compare countries with different primary sectors, such as oil-rich and farming-dependent economies.
• Question 12, NIC growth and the globalisation of economic activity (20 marks): write about the growth of NICs, not their impacts, and about economic globalisation, not cultural or political. Weigh NICs’ influence on global resources, production and markets over time against TNCs, the new international division of labour, trade liberalisation and the WTO, the global financial system, technology, transport, outsourcing and offshoring. Showing how these factors interconnect marks out a higher-level answer.

Where the marks are on 9696/42

Split by marking style, for a candidate answering two options:

Part of the paper	Marking	Marks
Part (a) data descriptions (two)	Point-marked, with reserved marks and data caps	8
Part (b) explanations (two)	Three levels, max. 4 for one item where two are asked	12
Essays (two)	Four levels, max. 8 without examples or a clear case study	40
Total		60

• Two-thirds of the paper is essay writing. A sustained evaluation and a conclusion that answers “to what extent” separate Level 4 from Level 3.
• Three of the eight essays (Questions 2, 6 and 9) depend on one clearly described place. A case-study bank is worth more than a list of general points.
• Focus rules cost marks in Questions 3 and 12: related services, not all services; growth of NICs, not their impacts.

How to self-mark 9696/42 with the mark scheme

1. Mark part (a) point by point, checking reserved marks (each source in 1(a), total and sources in 4(a), the overall pattern in 7(a)) and the “max. 3 without data” caps.
2. Level part (b). Count whether you clearly explained two practices or two ways; if only one, cap at 4. In 7(b) and 10(b), check you explained a process rather than only defining it.
3. Check essay focus first. Did you answer the question set, including the focus rules in Questions 3 and 12?
4. Check your case study. For Questions 2, 6 and 9, is the place clearly described with specific detail? If not, cap at 8.
5. Level the essay by the quality of evaluation: sustained, with a sound conclusion (Level 4), or broadly evaluative with narrative (Level 3).
6. Log each lost mark as missing data, lost focus, a generic case study or a weak conclusion, and practise that skill next.

Sit 9696/42 as a timed mock

The paper allows 90 minutes for 60 marks, a minute and a half per mark. Treat it as two 45-minute halves:

Block	Marks	Time
First option: part (a)	4	6 minutes
First option: part (b)	6	9 minutes
First option: essay, including a plan	20	28 minutes
Second option: part (a)	4	6 minutes
Second option: part (b)	6	9 minutes
Second option: essay, including a plan	20	28 minutes
Check data values and conclusions	–	4 minutes

Read both essay titles in each option before you start the data question, and choose the one where you have the most place-specific detail.

Other May/June 2026 9696 papers

• 9696 Paper 12 (Core Physical Geography)
• 9696 Paper 22 (Core Human Geography)
• 9696 Paper 32 (Advanced Physical Geography Options)

Practise and download

• Download 9696/42 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 options were on 9696 Paper 42 May/June 2026? +

Four: production, location and change; environmental management; global interdependence; and economic transition. You answer two different options, and in each one the compulsory 10-mark data question plus one of two 20-mark essays.

How many marks is 9696/42 and how long is it? +

It is out of 60 marks and lasts 1 hour 30 minutes. Each option you answer is worth 30 marks: 10 for the data question and 20 for the essay.

What did 9696/42 Question 4(a) on renewable energy in Japan need? +

A description of both the total renewable share and the individual sources, with a mark reserved for each, and accurate data. The total share rose from about 16% in January to a peak of about 31% in May, with a second peak of about 25% in September, and solar was the largest source throughout.

How are the 20-mark essays on 9696/42 marked? +

With four levels: 16 to 20, 11 to 15, 6 to 10 and 1 to 5. Level 4 needs an effective and sustained evaluation with a sound conclusion. An essay without examples cannot go above 8 marks.

What counts as a case study for 9696/42 Questions 2, 6 and 9? +

One clearly described country, degraded environment or tourist area with place-specific detail. Generic answers were capped at 8. For Question 9, a small tourism-dependent country such as the Maldives counted as one area, but for a larger country such as Jamaica you needed one area or resort within it.

Where can I download 9696/42 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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