Geography (ភូមិវិទ្យា)
What the paper tests
This paper tests map skills, Cambodia’s physical and human geography, climate, population, economic activities, and regional links through ASEAN. Expect map-scale calculations, interpretation of climate graphs, and explanations of why people settle where they do.
Core rules and concepts
- Cambodia lies roughly between 10°N and 14°N latitude and 102°E and 108°E longitude.
- The Mekong River and Tonle Sap lake dominate hydrology and agriculture; the Tonle Sap reverses flow seasonally.
- The monsoon brings a wet season from about May to October and a dry season from November to April.
- Map scale: 1:50,000 means 1 cm on the map represents 50,000 cm on the ground, or 0.5 km.
- Population density is people per square kilometre; lowland plains are denser than upland areas.
Worked example
A map has scale 1:50,000. The distance between two towns on the map is 4 cm. Ground distance = 4 × 50,000 = 200,000 cm. Convert to metres: 200,000 ÷ 100 = 2,000 m. Convert to kilometres: 2,000 ÷ 1,000 = 2 km. The towns are therefore about 2 km apart. The reasoning depends on converting units at each step, not on guessing.
Traps that cost marks
Do not read latitude and longitude in the wrong order. Do not treat the scale as 1 cm = 50,000 km. In climate graphs, check whether rainfall is shown as bars and temperature as a line. Do not confuse the Tonle Sap’s seasonal flow reversal with a permanent change in direction.
Exam focus
Show the scale calculation line by line and keep units visible.