Map reading, fieldwork and geographical skills
What the domain tests
Map reading, fieldwork and geographical skills questions test whether you can use maps and data accurately and design a small investigation. Skills include scale, grid references, bearings, contours, cross-sections, graphs, sampling and evaluation. These skills are examined through practical mapwork and structured fieldwork questions.
Core rules and concepts
- Scale compares map distance with ground distance. A scale of 1:50,000 means 1 cm represents 50,000 cm, or 0.5 km.
- Four-figure grid references locate a square; six-figure references locate a point within it. Read eastings first, then northings.
- Contours join points of equal height. Closely spaced contours mean steep slopes; widely spaced contours mean gentle slopes. A cross-section shows relief along a line.
- A bearing is measured clockwise from north, usually from grid north. Use a protractor and check whether the angle is more or less than 180°.
- Fieldwork needs an aim or hypothesis, a sampling method, risk assessment, data collection, presentation, analysis and evaluation. Random, systematic and stratified sampling suit different questions.
Worked example
On a 1:50,000 map, a road is 6.4 cm long. A straight line between the same two points is 5.2 cm. Calculate the road distance and straight-line distance. Reasoning: 1 cm = 0.5 km. Road distance = 6.4 × 0.5 = 3.2 km. Straight-line distance = 5.2 × 0.5 = 2.6 km. The road is longer because it bends. Always convert centimetres to kilometres and state the unit.
Traps that cost marks
- Reading northings before eastings.
- Using the contour interval as the height of every contour.
- Measuring straight-line distance along a curved road.
- Presenting fieldwork data without evaluating reliability, bias or limitations.