Map Reading and Interpretation
16 Grade 10 Geography questions on Map Reading and Interpretation, with worked marking schemes. 16 questions are available on this topic in full.
Question 1
1 markOn a map extract, a cattle dip lies exactly south-west of a secondary school. What is the true bearing of the cattle dip from the school?
A. 135°
B. 045°
C. 225°
D. 315°
(1 mark)
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1 markA learner measures the straight-line distance between two trading centres on a map extract whose scale is 1:50,000 and finds it to be 4.7 cm. What is the ground distance between the two centres?
A. 23.5 km
B. 2.35 km
C. 235 km
D. 0.235 km
(1 mark)
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4 marksA county government intends to site a milk-cooling plant in a dairy-farming area of Nyandarua. Suggest four ways in which a topographical map of the area would be useful to the planning team.
(4 marks)
Marking scheme
1 mark for each use correctly justified, maximum 4, any of: - The road and track network shown allows the team to choose a site that farmers can reach easily and from which milk can be transported to the market. - The distribution and density of homesteads shows where the dairy farmers are concentrated, so the plant can be placed close to its suppliers. - Rivers, dams and boreholes shown indicate the water supply needed for cooling and for cleaning the equipment. - Contours show the relief, so the team can select gentle or flat land suitable for building and avoid steep slopes and flood-prone valley bottoms. - Trading centres, power lines and other services shown indicate where labour, electricity and support services are available. - Areas under forest, swamp or public land shown help the team avoid sites that cannot be built on. Naming a map feature without stating its use earns no mark.
Question 4
1 markOn a topographical map, contour lines form a series of V shapes whose pointed ends face towards the higher ground. Which feature is represented?
A. A ridge
B. An escarpment
C. A spur
D. A river valley
(1 mark)
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1 markA footpath on a map extract rises steadily from 1,500 metres above sea level to 1,800 metres above sea level over a horizontal distance of 6 km. What is the gradient of the footpath?
A. 1:200
B. 1:2,000
C. 1:2
D. 1:20
(1 mark)
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4 marksDescribe how a learner would estimate the area of an irregularly shaped forest on a map extract drawn to a scale of 1:50,000.
(4 marks)
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1 markA map extract shows streams flowing outwards in all directions from the slopes of a volcanic mountain. Which drainage pattern do the streams form?
A. Centripetal
B. Radial
C. Dendritic
D. Trellis
(1 mark)
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5 marksDescribe the steps a learner would follow when drawing a cross-section between two points on a topographical map.
(5 marks)
Marking scheme
1 mark per step, maximum 5, any of: - Join the two given points with a straight pencil line and lay the straight edge of a strip of paper along it. - Mark on the edge of the strip every place where a contour cuts the line, writing down each height value, and also mark rivers, roads and other features to be labelled. - Draw a horizontal base line of exactly the same length as the marked line and choose a suitable vertical scale covering the lowest and the highest values marked. - Draw and number the vertical axis, then place the strip along the base line and plot each recorded height as a dot at its correct position and height. - Join the dots with a smooth free-hand curve, taking the curve a little below the lowest contour value where the line crosses a river so that the valley floor is not drawn flat. - Complete the section with a title, the labels of the features crossed, and a statement of both the horizontal and the vertical scales.
Question 9
3 marksExplain three ways in which a learner can tell, from evidence shown on a topographical map, that the mapped area receives high rainfall.
(3 marks)
Marking scheme
1 mark for each point correctly linked to rainfall, maximum 3, any of: - Large areas of thick natural forest or dense vegetation are shown, and such vegetation only grows where rainfall is high and reliable. - The drainage is dense, with many permanent rivers and their tributaries shown in continuous blue lines, indicating a constant supply of water from rainfall. - Swamps, marshes or permanent lakes and dams are shown, showing that more water is received than drains away or evaporates. - Plantations of tea, coffee or pyrethrum are shown, and these crops are grown only in high-rainfall highland areas. - Settlement and cultivated land are dense, since people concentrate where farming is supported by reliable rainfall. A statement of the evidence with no explanation earns no mark.
Question 10
4 marksOutline four methods used to represent relief on a topographical map.
(4 marks)
Marking scheme
1 mark each, maximum 4, any of: - Contours: lines joining places of equal height above sea level. - Spot heights: dots with a figure showing the measured height of a point. - Trigonometrical stations: surveyed points marked with a triangle and a height value. - Bench marks: points of known height marked along roads or on permanent structures. - Form lines: broken lines used to show the general shape of land where heights have not been surveyed. - Hachures: short lines drawn down the slope, thicker and closer where the slope is steeper. - Hill shading: shading applied as though light falls on one side, leaving slopes in shadow. - Layer tinting or colouring: bands of colour used for different height ranges. The name alone earns no mark unless the brief description is given.
Question 11
4 marksDescribe how a learner would measure the length of a winding river, such as the River Nzoia, on a topographical map using a piece of string.
(4 marks)
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4 marksState four items of information found in the margin of a topographical map sheet.
(4 marks)
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1 markOn a 1:50,000 map extract, a dispensary is located at the six-figure grid reference 275418. What does the figure 5 in this grid reference show?
A. The dispensary is 5 km east of easting 27
B. The dispensary lies in the fifth grid square from the south-western corner of the sheet
C. The dispensary is five-tenths of a grid square east of easting 27
D. The dispensary is five-tenths of a grid square north of northing 41
(1 mark)
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2 marksDistinguish between a statement scale and a representative fraction as used on topographical maps.
(2 marks)
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1 markA map extract of part of Kirinyaga County shows homesteads strung out in a narrow line on either side of a murram road. How is this settlement pattern described?
A. Dispersed
B. Nucleated
C. Radial
D. Linear
(1 mark)
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1 markA learner draws a cross-section from a map whose horizontal scale is 1:50,000, choosing a vertical scale in which 1 cm represents 100 metres. What is the vertical exaggeration of the cross-section?
A. 5 times
B. 50 times
C. 2 times
D. 0.5 times
(1 mark)
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