These seven original questions cover contour skills from spacing to a written route answer. Try each on paper before opening the answer.
The set belongs to contours, height and cross-sections. Build a timed session with the timed original practice session builder and log slips in a mistake log.
Questions
Question 1. On a map, contours on hillside A are 0.5 cm apart and on hillside B they are 2 cm apart. Which is steeper, and does this tell you which is higher?
Answer
Hillside A is steeper, because closer contours mean the same height gain over a shorter distance.
It does not tell you which is higher. Height comes from the numbers on the lines, not from the spacing.
Question 2. Scale 1:25 000, contour interval 10 m. Two neighbouring contours are 1.6 cm apart. Calculate the ground distance and gradient.
Answer
Ground distance: 1.6 × 25 000 = 40 000 cm = 400 m.
Gradient: 10 ÷ 400 = 0.025, which is 1 in 40.
Question 3. The 80 m contour bends so that its tip points towards the 100 m contour. A stream is marked inside the bend. Name the landform and give two pieces of evidence.
Answer
It is a valley. The first piece of evidence is that the tip points towards higher ground (100 m). The second is the stream inside the bend, because streams run along valley floors.
Question 4. The 60 m contour bulges towards the 40 m side, and there is no stream. What landform is this, and what happens to the heights along the tip?
Answer
It is a ridge or spur, because the tip points towards lower ground.
The heights fall along the direction of the tip, from 60 m towards 40 m and lower.
Question 5. A transect on a 1:50 000 map crosses the 20 m contour at 0 cm, 40 m at 1.2 cm and 60 m at 2.0 cm. Find the gradient between 20 m and 60 m.
Answer
Distance: 2.0 cm × 50 000 = 100 000 cm = 1 000 m.
Rise: 60 − 20 = 40 m. Gradient: 40 ÷ 1 000 = 0.04, which is 1 in 25.
Question 6. For the same map, horizontal 1 cm on the cross-section equals 1 cm on the map. The vertical scale is 1 cm for 10 m. Calculate the vertical exaggeration.
Answer
Horizontal 1 cm on the map is 1 × 50 000 = 50 000 cm = 500 m. Vertical 1 cm is 10 m.
Vertical exaggeration = 500 ÷ 10 = 50 times. The landscape looks 50 times steeper than it is.
Question 7. Route P is 3.2 km long and climbs 40 m. Route Q is 1.6 km long and climbs 40 m.
A cyclist carrying a load wants the easier climb. Which route should the cyclist take, and what does the map not show?
Answer
Route P: 40 ÷ 3 200 = 1 in 80. Route Q: 40 ÷ 1 600 = 1 in 40.
Route P is gentler, although it is 1.6 km longer (3.2 − 1.6). A written answer: “Route P suits a cyclist with a load, because its gradient of 1 in 80 is gentler than Q’s 1 in 40. The map does not show road surface or traffic, so the choice uses relief and length only.”
If you got these wrong
- Questions 1 and 2: revisit inferring slope steepness from contour spacing.
- Questions 3 and 4: revisit telling a valley from a ridge.
- Questions 5 and 6: revisit drawing a cross-section.
- Question 7: revisit explaining a route choice.
For a teacher to go through your attempts, see online one-to-one Geography tuition.