Geographical skills
AQA GCSE Geography revision on Geographical skills. Aligned to the AQA GCSE Geography 8035 specification. This bank has 10 practice questions on this topic.
Sample questions (3 of 10)
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Question 1
On an OS map at 1:25,000 scale, a distance of 4 cm on the map represents how many metres in real life?
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Answer: 1000
1:25,000 means 1 cm on the map = 25,000 cm (250 m) in real life. So 4 × 250 = 1,000 m, or 1 km. The other common scale is 1:50,000 where 1 cm = 500 m. Read the bar scale at the bottom of the map to double-check.
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Question 2
A 6-figure grid reference identifies a square on an OS map of size...
- A) 1 km × 1 km
- B) 500 m × 500 m
- C) 100 m × 100 m
- D) 10 m × 10 m
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Answer: 100 m × 100 m
4-figure grid reference identifies a 1 km × 1 km square. 6-figure narrows it to a 100 m × 100 m square within that (each axis split into 10). Read EASTINGS first (along the bottom), then NORTHINGS (up the side) — remember 'along the corridor, up the stairs'.
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Question 3
Contour lines that are CLOSE together on a map mean...
- A) Flat ground
- B) Gentle slope
- C) Steep slope
- D) Water body
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Answer: Steep slope
Contours show elevation; the standard interval on UK OS maps is 5m or 10m. Close together = a lot of height change in a short distance = steep. Far apart = gentle. Lines that close in a circle = hill (or sometimes a depression — look for hachures or labels). Reading relief is a core skill.
Want to test yourself on the remaining cards for this topic?
7 more questions on Geographical skills — plus mistakes tracking and spaced repetition across the whole Geography spec.