Cover each answer, write your working, then open it to compare. Each question uses an original map described in words.
The skills come from topographic direction and position.
Part A: grid references
Question 1. A lighthouse is in the square with lower left corner at easting 27 and northing 83. Give the four-figure reference.
Answer
- Eastings first, then northings.
Question 2. A jetty is in the square between easting 27 and 28 and northing 83 and 84. It is four-tenths across and six-tenths up. Give the six-figure reference.
Answer
Easting 27 and four-tenths gives 274. Northing 83 and six-tenths gives 836. The reference is 274836.
Part B: bearings and direction
Question 3. The bearing of a hut from a camp is 118°. Find the bearing of the camp from the hut.
Answer
118° is less than 180°, so add 180°: 298°. The camp is to the north-west of the hut.
Question 4. A hill lies 35° west of north from a village. Write the bearing.
Answer
360° − 35° = 325°. Bearings run clockwise, so a direction west of north is more than 270°.
Question 5. Town B is two squares east and two squares north of Town A. Give the direction of B from A and of A from B.
Answer
B from A: north-east. A from B: south-west. Equal east and north distances give exactly north-east.
Part C: relative position and routes
Question 6. The question says “Give the grid reference of the temple.” A student writes “north of the school”. Explain the error.
Answer
The command words ask for a grid reference, which is a number. A relative position is another answer type and would not earn the mark.
Question 7. A description says: “From the station at 3560, go north for two squares along a tarred road to a clinic at 3562.” The map shows a tarred road going north for two squares and a clinic symbol at 3562. Is the description supported?
Answer
Yes. The direction (north), the symbol (tarred road), the distance (two squares) and the feature (clinic) all agree with the map.
Question 8. The same description says the clinic is “on a footpath”. The map key shows a tarred road there. Correct it.
Answer
Replace “footpath” with “tarred road”. A footpath and a road are separate symbols in the key.
If you got these wrong
Questions 1 and 2 link to four-figure and six-figure grid references. Questions 3 to 5 link to measuring a bearing from a north line.
Question 6 links to relative position versus exact grid location, and questions 7 and 8 to checking a route against map symbols.
For a teacher to go through your working, see online one-to-one Geography tuition.