Success Homeschool

Year 12 Geography · Interpreting maps and spatial data

Name: ______________________

Date: ____________

1. On a map, contour lines close together indicate…
- ☐ (a) flat land
- ☐ (b) a steep slope
- ☐ (c) a river
- ☐ (d) a road
2. At a scale of 1:25 000, 1 cm on the map represents…
- ☐ (a) 25 m
- ☐ (b) 2.5 km
- ☐ (c) 250 m
- ☐ (d) 25 km
3. What is a limitation of choropleth maps?
- ☐ (a) They assume values are uniform within each area
- ☐ (b) They cannot use colour
- ☐ (c) They only show rivers
- ☐ (d) They show exact locations of every person
4. What is a key strength of GIS?
- ☐ (a) It replaces fieldwork entirely
- ☐ (b) It prints paper maps only
- ☐ (c) It removes the need for data
- ☐ (d) It can overlay data layers to reveal spatial relationships
5. Gradient is calculated as…
- ☐ (a) horizontal distance ÷ vertical rise
- ☐ (b) vertical rise ÷ horizontal distance
- ☐ (c) vertical rise × horizontal distance
- ☐ (d) area ÷ population
6. On a 1:50 000 map, two points are 4 cm apart. What is the real distance in kilometres?
7. A town has 12,000 people in 8 km². What is its population density in people per km²?
8. A slope rises 50 m over a horizontal distance of 1,000 m. What is the gradient as a percentage (number only)?

Answer sheet

1. a steep slope — Closely spaced contours mean a rapid change in height.
2. 250 m — 25 000 cm = 250 m.
3. They assume values are uniform within each area — Choropleths hide variation within areas.
4. It can overlay data layers to reveal spatial relationships — Layer overlay is central to GIS analysis.
5. vertical rise ÷ horizontal distance — Gradient = rise ÷ run.
6. 2 — 4 × 500 m = 2,000 m = 2 km.
7. 1500 — 12,000 ÷ 8 = 1,500.
8. 5 — 50 ÷ 1,000 = 0.05 = 5%.