When it comes to your exams, the examiners want to see more than just your ability to repeat what you’ve been told in class. They want to know that you *understand* what’s going on and can relate it to real-life case studies.

Even when a question doesn’t specifically ask for a case study you can still demonstrate understanding by relating a landform or a process to an actual place or event.

For example, in the Tectonics section of the curriculum, you are expected to know what an earthquake is, and that quakes of all magnitudes can occur, not just the ‘big ones’. Having a case study of a major quake is good, but it can pay to also know of a few smaller ones to demonstrate that you understand that smaller quakes occur all the time.

In the UK there are small tremors detected every day, but only a few make the news. Most of our quakes are so small that only the geologists are interested in them.

Here’s a few useful links to other official websites that offer real-time earthquake monitoring systems, so you can see what’s happening either globally or in your local area.