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Cameroon GCE A-Level Geography study materials
Cameroon GCE A-Level Geography study resources

Cameroon GCE A-Level Geography practice questions

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Question 1Geography

In the Cameroon GCE A-Level Geography syllabus, the study of the Earth's internal structure distinguishes the lithosphere from the asthenosphere mainly because the lithosphere is:

  1. rigid and includes the crust plus the uppermost solid mantle Correct answer.
  2. composed entirely of the outer liquid core
  3. restricted to the oceanic crust only
  4. molten and capable of plastic flow beneath the crust

Explanation

The lithosphere is the rigid outer shell made of the crust and the top of the upper mantle, broken into tectonic plates. The asthenosphere below it is partly plastic and allows plate movement. This distinction underpins plate tectonic theory studied at A-Level.

Question 2Geography

Mount Cameroon lies along the Cameroon Volcanic Line. Which tectonic setting best explains this volcanic activity?

  1. A deep ocean trench at a subduction zone
  2. A transform fault where plates slide past each other
  3. A hot spot or intraplate setting linked to a mantle plume Correct answer.
  4. A mid-ocean ridge where two plates diverge

Explanation

The Cameroon Volcanic Line is an intraplate chain of volcanoes and volcanic centres trending from the Gulf of Guinea onto the continent. Its activity is generally attributed to a mantle plume or hot spot rather than a plate boundary. This is a classic Cameroonian example of intraplate volcanism.

Question 3Geography

The Sanaga River flows from the Adamawa Plateau towards the Atlantic. Which factor most strongly explains the rapids and waterfalls along parts of its course?

  1. A steep fall in gradient where the river crosses a resistant rock band or fault line Correct answer.
  2. Tidal action pushing water back upstream
  3. Constant discharge throughout the year
  4. Uniformly gentle gradients across a wide floodplain

Explanation

Rapids and waterfalls form where a river encounters a sudden steepening of gradient, often where resistant rock or a fault creates a knick point. The descent from the high Adamawa Plateau towards the coastal lowlands provides such breaks in slope. Tidal action and uniform gradients do not generate rapids.

Question 4Geography

Which climatic factor chiefly accounts for the high rainfall at Debundscha near Mount Cameroon, one of the wettest places in Africa?

  1. Its position deep in the continental interior
  2. Orographic uplift of moist south-west monsoon winds against the mountain slopes Correct answer.
  3. Descending dry air from the subtropical high-pressure belt
  4. Cold offshore currents that suppress evaporation

Explanation

Debundscha sits on the windward flank of Mount Cameroon where moist monsoon air from the Gulf of Guinea is forced to rise. Orographic uplift cools the air, causing heavy and prolonged relief rainfall. Its coastal position ensures abundant moisture supply.

Question 5Geography

The harmattan wind affects northern Cameroon during the dry season. Its most characteristic effect is:

  1. a rise in relative humidity and cloud cover
  2. cool, dry, dust-laden air with hazy skies and reduced visibility Correct answer.
  3. heavy convective thunderstorms in the afternoon
  4. persistent fog and drizzle along the coast

Explanation

The harmattan is a dry, dusty north-easterly wind blowing from the Sahara during the dry season. It brings cool nights, hazy skies and low humidity to northern Cameroon. It suppresses rather than produces rainfall.

Question 6Geography

A soil profile in the humid forest zone of southern Cameroon typically shows a deeply weathered, reddish horizon. Which pedogenic process best explains this colour?

  1. Calcification with accumulation of calcium carbonate
  2. Salinisation caused by high evaporation
  3. Podzolisation with leaching of iron and aluminium
  4. Laterisation involving intense chemical weathering and iron oxide accumulation Correct answer.

Explanation

In hot, humid equatorial climates, intense chemical weathering removes silica and bases while iron and aluminium oxides remain, giving lateritic soils their red colour. This process is called laterisation or ferralitisation. Calcification and salinisation occur in drier environments.

Question 7Geography

In the Bamenda Highlands, steep slopes are farmed using contour ridges and stone bunds. The main purpose of these practices is to:

  1. lower the water table permanently beneath the field
  2. reduce soil erosion by slowing surface runoff across the slope Correct answer.
  3. increase soil salinity for salt-tolerant crops
  4. accelerate the removal of topsoil to expose bedrock

Explanation

Contour ridges and stone bunds follow the slope's contour to interrupt downhill runoff, allowing water to infiltrate and trapping eroded soil. This conserves the topsoil on steep highland farms. They do not aim to salinise or drain the land permanently.

Question 8Geography

The population pyramid of Cameroon has a broad base and narrow apex. Which interpretation is most consistent with this shape?

  1. A population dominated by elderly retirees
  2. Low birth rates with an ageing population
  3. Balanced birth and death rates producing a rectangular profile
  4. High birth rates with a large young dependent population Correct answer.

Explanation

A broad base indicates a high proportion of children, reflecting high birth rates, while a narrow apex shows few elderly people due to lower life expectancy. This gives Cameroon a youthful population with a high dependency ratio. A rectangular or top-heavy profile would indicate low fertility and ageing.

Question 9Geography

Rural-urban migration in Cameroon, especially towards Douala and Yaoundé, is most strongly driven by which combination of push and pull factors?

  1. Equal opportunities in both rural and urban areas
  2. Rural poverty and land pressure pushing people out, with urban jobs and services attracting them in Correct answer.
  3. Rural land abundance and urban unemployment
  4. Urban pollution pushing people to villages and rural amenities attracting them

Explanation

Push factors such as rural poverty, land shortage and limited services combine with pull factors such as urban employment, education and healthcare to drive rural-urban migration. This produces rapid urban growth in Douala and Yaoundé. The other options invert or deny these forces.

Question 10Geography

Cameroon's population is unevenly distributed. Which area is most sparsely populated?

  1. The arid northern plains of the Far North near Lake Chad Correct answer.
  2. The coastal plain around Douala
  3. The highland areas of the West Region
  4. The humid forest zone around Ebolowa

Explanation

The semi-arid Far North plains experience low and unreliable rainfall, limiting crop production and water supply, so population density is low. The humid south, western highlands and coastal plain support denser settlement. Physical environment strongly influences this distribution.

Question 11Geography

Which statement best describes the role of the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) in the national economy?

  1. It operates the country's railway network exclusively
  2. It regulates the national currency and monetary policy
  3. It coordinates petroleum extraction offshore
  4. It manages large agro-industrial plantations of bananas, rubber and oil palm for export Correct answer.

Explanation

The CDC is a parastatal that runs large plantations in the south-west coastal belt, producing export crops such as bananas, rubber and oil palm and providing employment. It is an agricultural enterprise, not a monetary or transport authority. This makes it a key example of plantation agriculture in Cameroon.

Question 12Geography

Cocoa is a major cash crop in Cameroon's forest zone. Which set of conditions is most favourable for its cultivation?

  1. Waterlogged clay soils with frequent flooding
  2. Deep, well-drained soils with high temperatures and 1,500–2,000 mm of well-distributed rainfall Correct answer.
  3. Hot, dry conditions with less than 500 mm annual rainfall
  4. Cool highland temperatures with frost in winter

Explanation

Cocoa thrives in hot, humid tropical conditions with reliable rainfall of roughly 1,500–2,000 mm and deep, well-drained soils. These conditions prevail in southern Cameroon's forest zone. Waterlogging, drought and frost are all harmful to the crop.

Question 13Geography

The aluminium smelter at Edéa is located there primarily because of:

  1. a nearby coal field
  2. access to imported bauxite through a deep-water port
  3. abundant hydroelectric power from the Sanaga River Correct answer.
  4. proximity to iron ore deposits

Explanation

Aluminium smelting is highly energy-intensive, so smelters are sited where cheap electricity is available. Edéa lies beside the Sanaga River, whose hydroelectric potential supplies the smelter. Bauxite is imported, but the decisive locational factor is power.

Question 14Geography

Which of the following is a renewable source of energy that Cameroon exploits significantly for electricity generation?

  1. Oil shale from the Adamawa Plateau
  2. Natural gas from the Kribi field
  3. Hydroelectric power from rivers such as the Sanaga Correct answer.
  4. Coal from the Donga valley

Explanation

Cameroon generates most of its electricity from hydroelectric schemes on rivers such as the Sanaga, including the Edéa and Nachtigal installations. Hydropower is renewable because it depends on the continuous water cycle. Coal, gas and oil shale are finite fossil fuels.

Question 15Geography

The port of Douala handles the bulk of Cameroon's external trade. A major constraint on its efficiency is:

  1. siltation and shallow draft limiting access for large vessels Correct answer.
  2. its location far inland without rail links
  3. excessive water depth preventing large ships from docking
  4. a total absence of road connections to the hinterland

Explanation

Douala lies on the Wouri estuary, where sediment deposition reduces channel depth and restricts the size of vessels that can enter. This requires costly dredging and limits port capacity. The port is nonetheless well connected by road and rail to the hinterland.

Question 16Geography

In a central place theory framework applied to Cameroon, a large settlement such as Yaoundé functions as a higher-order centre because it:

  1. offers a wide range of specialised goods and services to a large surrounding region Correct answer.
  2. has the smallest sphere of influence in the settlement hierarchy
  3. provides only low-order goods such as bread and kerosene
  4. serves a population limited to its immediate neighbourhood

Explanation

Higher-order central places supply specialised goods and services that require a large threshold population, giving them extensive spheres of influence. Yaoundé, as the capital, performs administrative, commercial and service functions for a wide area. Low-order goods and small hinterlands characterise lower-order centres.

Question 17Geography

Which environmental problem is most closely associated with the retreat of Lake Chad's shoreline in the Far North Region?

  1. Rapid glacial retreat on the lake's shores
  2. Increased hydroelectric output from the lake
  3. Desertification and loss of grazing and fishing livelihoods Correct answer.
  4. Expansion of mangrove forests

Explanation

The shrinking of Lake Chad, driven by reduced rainfall and heavy water abstraction, has exposed lake bed and contributed to desertification in the surrounding area. This undermines fishing, grazing and farming livelihoods. The lake is not a source of hydropower or glaciers, and mangroves are coastal.

Question 18Geography

Deforestation in the Congo Basin portion of Cameroon contributes to global environmental change mainly by:

  1. increasing carbon sequestration in the atmosphere
  2. releasing stored carbon dioxide and reducing carbon sinks Correct answer.
  3. lowering global sea levels through reduced runoff
  4. increasing the Earth's albedo in tropical latitudes

Explanation

Forests store large quantities of carbon in biomass and soils. When cleared and burned, this carbon is released as carbon dioxide, while the loss of trees reduces future carbon uptake, reinforcing the greenhouse effect. Deforestation does not increase sequestration or lower sea levels.

Question 19Geography

A candidate is asked to interpret a choropleth map showing population density by division in Cameroon. The most appropriate first step is to:

  1. assume all divisions have equal density
  2. ignore the legend and estimate values from memory
  3. read the key to understand the density classes and their shading Correct answer.
  4. measure the map's physical dimensions with a ruler

Explanation

A choropleth map conveys information through shading classes, so the key or legend must be read first to interpret what each shade represents. This allows accurate comparison between divisions. Ignoring the key or assuming equal density would misrepresent the data.

Question 20Geography

On a topographical map of Cameroon with a scale of 1:50,000, a straight-line distance of 4 cm between two settlements represents an actual ground distance of:

  1. 20 kilometres
  2. 200 kilometres
  3. 2 kilometres Correct answer.
  4. 200 metres

Explanation

At 1:50,000, one centimetre on the map equals 50,000 cm on the ground, which is 0.5 km. Multiplying 4 cm by 0.5 km gives 2 km. The other values result from misplacing the decimal point.

Question 21Geography

A river's cross-section shows a broad, flat floodplain with fine alluvium and meander scars. This landform is best explained by:

  1. wind deposition of sand dunes
  2. vertical erosion in the upper course
  3. lateral erosion and deposition in the middle and lower courses Correct answer.
  4. glacial scouring of a valley floor

Explanation

Broad floodplains with alluvium and meander scars form where a river meanders laterally, eroding outer banks and depositing sediment on inner banks and during floods. This is characteristic of the middle and lower courses. Vertical erosion and glacial or aeolian processes produce different landforms.

Question 22Geography

Which factor most directly explains why the coastal lowlands of Cameroon have higher temperatures than the Adamawa Plateau?

  1. The coastal area has a thinner atmosphere
  2. Temperature decreases with altitude, so the elevated plateau is cooler Correct answer.
  3. The plateau is closer to the equator
  4. The coastal area receives less solar radiation

Explanation

Temperature falls with increasing altitude at roughly 6.5°C per 1,000 m in the troposphere. The Adamawa Plateau stands well above sea level, so it is cooler than the coastal lowlands. Solar radiation and equatorial proximity do not explain this contrast.

Question 23Geography

In the context of Cameroon's development, the term 'informal sector' refers to:

  1. government ministries and public agencies
  2. unregistered or unregulated economic activities such as street trading and small workshops Correct answer.
  3. foreign-owned multinational enterprises only
  4. large registered corporations paying corporate tax

Explanation

The informal sector covers economic activities that are not registered or regulated by the state, including street vending, artisanal workshops and small-scale services. It employs a large share of the urban workforce in Cameroon. Registered corporations and public agencies belong to the formal sector.

Question 24Geography

A development planner argues that investing in girls' secondary education in Cameroon will reduce fertility rates. Which reasoning best supports this claim?

  1. Educated women are required to migrate abroad
  2. Educated women tend to marry later and have better access to family planning information Correct answer.
  3. Education directly lowers the country's birth rate by law
  4. Education reduces the availability of healthcare

Explanation

Female education is strongly associated with later marriage, greater use of family planning and higher participation in the workforce, all of which tend to lower fertility. This is a well-established demographic relationship. Legal compulsion or migration requirements are not valid explanations.

Question 25Geography

Two villages on opposite banks of a river in the humid zone both practise shifting cultivation. Which change would most likely increase the sustainability of this system under rising population pressure?

  1. Shortening fallow periods indefinitely without inputs
  2. Introducing agroforestry and improved fallows to restore soil fertility Correct answer.
  3. Expanding cultivation onto steep, unprotected slopes
  4. Abandoning all cultivation and relying on hunting

Explanation

Shifting cultivation depends on long fallows to restore fertility. As population pressure shortens fallows, soil degradation follows, so agroforestry and improved fallows can maintain fertility and diversify income. Shortening fallows further or farming steep slopes would accelerate degradation.

Question 26Geography

Which factor best explains why Cameroon's climate is often described as having a 'dry season' in the north and a 'wet season' in the south during the same months?

  1. The north is influenced by cold ocean currents offshore that suppress rainfall while the south is warmed by them
  2. The north comes under the influence of the dry Harmattan air mass while the south receives moist south-westerly monsoon winds Correct answer.
  3. The north is at a higher altitude than the south, so it receives less rainfall at all times of the year
  4. The south lies closer to the Equator and therefore receives rain throughout every month of the year

Explanation

Cameroon's rainfall pattern is controlled by the seasonal migration of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone and the contrasting air masses. In the dry season the Harmattan from the Sahara reaches the north, while the south remains under moist monsoon flow from the Atlantic. This explains the marked north-south contrast in the same months.

Question 27Geography

Mount Cameroon is described as an active volcanic mountain. Which statement best explains its formation?

  1. It is a fold mountain formed by the collision of two continental plates along the coast
  2. It is a residual hill left after the erosion of a former sedimentary plateau
  3. It lies along a zone of crustal weakness associated with the Cameroon Volcanic Line, where magma reaches the surface Correct answer.
  4. It was built by the deposition of coral and marine sediments during a former marine transgression

Explanation

Mount Cameroon is a volcanic massif aligned with the Cameroon Volcanic Line, a chain of volcanic centres that follows a zone of crustal weakness. Magma rises along this structure to build the mountain. It is therefore not a fold mountain or an erosional residual.

Question 28Geography

A river in Cameroon rises on the Adamawa Plateau and flows to the coast. Near its source it has a steep gradient; near its mouth it is sluggish and deposits sediment. Which sequence of processes best describes this downstream change?

  1. Deposition dominates in the upper course, erosion in the middle course, and transport in the lower course
  2. Transport dominates in the upper course, deposition in the middle course, and erosion in the lower course
  3. Erosion dominates in the upper course, transport in the middle course, and deposition in the lower course Correct answer.
  4. Erosion dominates in all courses, with deposition occurring only where the river meets the sea

Explanation

The classic three-course model of a river describes a downstream decline in gradient and energy. Erosion is most active in the steep upper course, transport in the middle course, and deposition where the gradient is lowest in the lower course. This matches the observation described in the stem.

Question 29Geography

In a settlement hierarchy of Cameroon, which service would most appropriately be located in a low-order village centre?

  1. A weekly market selling basic foodstuffs Correct answer.
  2. A national government ministry
  3. A specialist referral hospital
  4. A regional university campus

Explanation

Low-order settlements provide services with low thresholds and small ranges, such as a weekly market for basic goods. Higher-order services like universities, referral hospitals and ministries require large populations to be viable. This is the basis of central place theory.

Question 30Geography

Which statement best describes the physical geography of the Adamawa Plateau?

  1. It is a highland region of volcanic and granitic rocks that forms a drainage divide between rivers flowing north and south Correct answer.
  2. It is a coastal plain formed from recent alluvium deposited by the Sanaga
  3. It is a narrow coastal ridge formed by marine deposition along the Gulf of Guinea
  4. It is a low-lying basin that collects water from the surrounding highlands

Explanation

The Adamawa Plateau is an elevated interior region whose rocks are largely granitic and volcanic. Its height makes it an important watershed separating northward-flowing and southward-flowing drainage. It is neither coastal nor a low basin.

Question 31Geography

A farmer in the Far North Region of Cameroon notices that the rainy season has become shorter and more erratic. Which adaptation is most appropriate for sustaining crop production?

  1. Abandoning all soil conservation measures to save labour
  2. Increasing reliance on a single long-season crop
  3. Adopting drought-tolerant varieties and water-harvesting techniques Correct answer.
  4. Expanding rain-fed cotton onto marginal land

Explanation

Where rainfall is reduced and unreliable, the sustainable response is to reduce risk through drought-tolerant crops and to capture and store the limited water. These measures match the physical constraint rather than ignore it. Expanding marginal cultivation or abandoning conservation would worsen vulnerability.

Question 32Geography

Which of the following best explains why the Sanaga River has high potential for hydroelectric power generation?

  1. It flows through an arid region where evaporation is high
  2. It is navigable for large ocean-going vessels along most of its length
  3. It has a very gentle gradient throughout its course
  4. It has a large discharge and significant falls where it crosses resistant rock Correct answer.

Explanation

Hydroelectric potential depends on both discharge and head (fall). The Sanaga combines a large volume of water with falls created where it crosses resistant rock. Neither high evaporation nor a gentle gradient would favour power generation.

Question 33Geography

Which soil-management practice is most suitable for restoring fertility on a heavily leached ferralitic soil in southern Cameroon?

  1. Deep ploughing to bring subsoil to the surface
  2. Applying organic manure and practising crop rotation with legumes Correct answer.
  3. Burning vegetation each year to release potash
  4. Continuous monocropping of maize without inputs

Explanation

Ferralitic soils are strongly leached and low in nutrients and organic matter. Adding manure and rotating with legumes restores organic matter and fixes nitrogen. Continuous cropping, annual burning and deep ploughing all degrade such soils further.

Question 34Geography

Which description best matches the vegetation of the Sahelian zone in the Far North Region of Cameroon?

  1. Mangrove swamp along tidal creeks
  2. Dense evergreen rainforest with a closed canopy
  3. Montane forest with tree ferns and mosses
  4. Open grassland with scattered thorny shrubs and drought-resistant trees Correct answer.

Explanation

The Sahel is a semi-arid zone characterised by sparse grass and drought-adapted shrubs and trees such as acacia. Closed rainforest, mangrove and montane forest all require much wetter or different conditions.

Question 35Geography

Which statement best explains why the population of Cameroon is concentrated in the southern forest zone and the western highlands rather than in the Adamawa and Far North?

  1. The southern zone has a cooler climate that discourages settlement
  2. The Adamawa and Far North have richer mineral deposits that attract most settlement
  3. The northern zones are entirely covered by dense forest that is difficult to clear
  4. The south and west offer more reliable rainfall, fertile volcanic soils and a longer growing season Correct answer.

Explanation

Population distribution follows environmental and economic opportunity. The humid south and the volcanic western highlands support intensive agriculture with reliable rainfall and fertile soils, so they attract settlement. The interior plateau and the Far North are drier and less favourable for dense rural settlement.

Question 36Geography

A country's population has a high dependency ratio. Which combination of characteristics is most consistent with this?

  1. A large proportion of children under 15 and a small proportion of working-age adults Correct answer.
  2. An equal proportion of people in every age group
  3. A small proportion of children and a large proportion of working-age adults
  4. A large proportion of elderly people and a very small proportion of children

Explanation

The dependency ratio compares dependants (children and the elderly) with the working-age population. In Cameroon the young dependent group is large because of high fertility. A small dependent group or an even age distribution would produce a low ratio.

Question 37Geography

Which factor most directly explains the growth of Douala as Cameroon's largest city and industrial centre?

  1. Its location on a high plateau with a cool climate
  2. Its deep-water port and position at the terminus of major transport routes Correct answer.
  3. Its position as the political capital of the country
  4. Its isolation from international trade routes

Explanation

Douala grew because its port provides access to overseas trade and it is the focus of road and rail routes into the interior. Industry followed the transport and trade advantage. A cool plateau site, capital status and isolation would not explain its growth.

Question 38Geography

A government wishes to reduce the dominance of Douala and Yaoundé within the national urban system. Which policy is most consistent with that aim?

  1. Encouraging all rural dwellers to migrate directly to the largest cities
  2. Developing secondary towns as growth centres with their own industries and services Correct answer.
  3. Removing transport links between the capital and the interior
  4. Concentrating all new public investment in the two largest cities

Explanation

A primate-city pattern can be balanced by strengthening intermediate towns so that they attract investment and population. Concentrating investment in the largest cities or removing links would reinforce centralisation. Redirecting migration to the largest cities has the same effect.

Question 39Geography

Which statement best describes the role of the informal sector in Cameroon's urban economy?

  1. It consists mainly of large registered corporations paying corporate tax
  2. It absorbs a large share of urban workers in small-scale trade, transport and repair activities outside formal regulation Correct answer.
  3. It is confined to rural subsistence farming
  4. It is a government programme for public-sector employment

Explanation

The informal sector covers unregistered, small-scale economic activity such as street trading, motorcycle taxis and repair workshops. It provides livelihoods for many urban workers outside formal regulation and taxation. It is neither corporate nor a public employment scheme.

Question 40Geography

Which combination of factors best explains the location of the aluminium smelter at Edéa?

  1. Availability of hydroelectric power from the Sanaga and access to imported alumina through Douala Correct answer.
  2. Abundant natural gas at the site and a skilled labour surplus in the town
  3. Proximity to large bauxite mines at the site and a dry climate
  4. Cheap coal deposits nearby and a large local market for aluminium

Explanation

Aluminium smelting is highly energy-intensive, so it locates where cheap electricity is available. Edéa draws hydroelectric power from the Sanaga and can import alumina through the nearby port of Douala. Local bauxite, coal or gas are not the basis of the plant.

Question 41Geography

Which agricultural system is best described as shifting cultivation?

  1. Rearing livestock on enclosed pastures throughout the year
  2. Growing irrigated rice on the same floodplain each season
  3. Cultivating the same plot permanently with heavy applications of fertiliser
  4. Clearing a plot, cropping it for a few years, then abandoning it to allow natural regeneration Correct answer.

Explanation

Shifting cultivation involves clearing land, cropping it for a limited period, and moving on when fertility declines, allowing fallow regeneration. Permanent cultivation, enclosed pasture and irrigated monoculture are sedentary systems.

Question 42Geography

Which statement best explains why cocoa and coffee are important to Cameroon's export economy despite fluctuations in world prices?

  1. They are consumed almost entirely within Cameroon
  2. They are produced only on large state plantations
  3. They are protected from all price changes by fixed international agreements
  4. They provide a large share of export earnings and cash income for smallholders Correct answer.

Explanation

Cocoa and coffee are major export crops grown largely by smallholders, so they generate both foreign exchange and rural cash income. They are not consumed mainly at home, nor grown only on state farms, and world prices are not fixed.

Question 43Geography

Which measure would most directly reduce soil erosion on steep farmland in the western highlands of Cameroon?

  1. Removing all vegetation from the slope before planting
  2. Ploughing furrows straight down the slope
  3. Planting contour hedgerows and constructing stone bunds across the slope Correct answer.
  4. Grazing large herds continuously on the slope

Explanation

Erosion on steep slopes is controlled by interrupting the downslope movement of soil and water. Contour hedgerows and stone bunds do this by slowing runoff and trapping sediment. Downslope ploughing, vegetation removal and overgrazing all accelerate erosion.

Question 44Geography

A candidate is asked to interpret a climate graph for a station in Cameroon showing a double rainfall maximum. Which conclusion is most justified?

  1. The station lies in the Sahel, where rainfall is concentrated in a single short season
  2. The station has a Mediterranean climate with winter rain
  3. The station lies in the humid south, where the passage of the ITCZ produces two rainy peaks Correct answer.
  4. The station is in a desert where rainfall is negligible

Explanation

In southern Cameroon the passage of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone northward and southward produces two rainfall maxima separated by a short dry season. A single short rainy season typifies the Sahel, while Mediterranean and desert climates do not fit the graph.

Question 45Geography

Which statement best describes the hydrological significance of the Wouri estuary and its mangrove swamps?

  1. They are permanently dry and used mainly for housing
  2. They supply most of the country's hydroelectric power
  3. They provide nursery habitat for fish and help trap sediment and buffer coastal flooding Correct answer.
  4. They are freshwater lakes isolated from the sea

Explanation

Mangrove swamps in an estuary are tidal, brackish environments that serve as fish nurseries and help stabilise sediment and reduce coastal flooding. They are not dry land, a power source or isolated freshwater lakes.

Question 46Geography

Which factor best explains the low population density of the Adamawa Plateau compared with the western highlands?

  1. It is entirely covered by mangrove swamp
  2. It has no transport routes of any kind
  3. Its higher altitude and poorer soils make intensive farming less rewarding Correct answer.
  4. It has a wetter climate that discourages settlement

Explanation

The western highlands have fertile volcanic soils and reliable rainfall that support dense farming populations. The Adamawa Plateau is higher, with less favourable soils and a harsher climate for intensive cultivation, so it is more sparsely settled.

Question 47Geography

Which of the following best describes the difference between weather and climate as applied to a station in Cameroon?

  1. Weather refers to long-term averages, while climate refers to short-term conditions
  2. Both terms refer only to rainfall and ignore temperature
  3. Both terms refer only to conditions recorded at the coast
  4. Weather refers to short-term atmospheric conditions, while climate refers to long-term averages and patterns Correct answer.

Explanation

Weather is the state of the atmosphere over a short period, such as a day's rainfall or temperature. Climate is the average pattern over many years. The two are distinguished by timescale, not by the elements measured or the location.

Question 48Geography

A map of Cameroon uses a scale of 1:1,000,000. Two towns are 6 cm apart on the map. What is the real distance between them?

  1. 600 km
  2. 6 km
  3. 60 km Correct answer.
  4. 0.6 km

Explanation

A scale of 1:1,000,000 means one unit on the map represents one million of the same units on the ground. Six centimetres therefore represents six million centimetres, which is 60 kilometres. Converting correctly avoids the common error of miscounting zeros.

Question 49Geography

Which statement best explains why Cameroon's forests are considered important for carbon storage in the global context?

  1. Forests emit oxygen that traps heat in the atmosphere
  2. Growing trees absorb carbon dioxide and store it in biomass and soils, so forest loss releases stored carbon Correct answer.
  3. Forest soils contain no carbon at all
  4. Forests reflect all incoming solar radiation back to space

Explanation

Trees take up carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and store carbon in wood and soil organic matter. When forests are cleared or burned, much of that stored carbon is released. Forests do not reflect all radiation, nor is oxygen a heat-trapping gas in this context.

Question 50Geography

Which statement best describes the demographic transition as it applies to Cameroon?

  1. Cameroon's population is declining rapidly because of very high death rates
  2. Cameroon is in an early transitional stage with high birth rates and falling death rates Correct answer.
  3. Cameroon has never experienced a decline in death rates
  4. Cameroon has completed the transition with birth rates below death rates

Explanation

Cameroon is in an early transitional phase: death rates have fallen with improved health care and sanitation, but birth rates remain high, so the population grows rapidly. The transition is not complete and the population is not declining.