Maps and skills

This topic is for your Paper 2 where you will get tested on your skills
in the following areas
– Maps
– Analyzing graphs, photos and diagrams and written information
Click on the link below to download a checklist for this topic

Map skills check list for revision

Four figure grid references

When you look at a map, it often has grid squares over the top of it. These
grid lines are to help you pin point a particular location. On most maps,
each grid square represents 1km by 1km in real life.
You give four numbers. Two of the numbers come from the bottom first and
then two from the side. You can remember this order by thinking of the
saying….

ALONG THE CORRIDOR AND THEN UP THE STAIRS

Steps for finding the grid reference

1) Look at the bottom left hand corner of the grid square

2) Follow the line down to the bottom of the grid and write down these two
numbers (01)

3) Follow the line across to the side of the grid and write down these two
numbers (13)
The grid reference for the is therefore 0113.
See if you can find the four figure grid reference of the other two
symbols on the map.

= 0214

= 0212

6 figure grid references

Sometimes on a map we need to pin point a location within a 1 km square
and need to be more precise. In this case we use 6 figure grid references.

Look at the grid below. We could easily give the four figure grid reference
for the square with the orange and blue balls in as 1201 using the method
explained above.

However, what if you wanted to give a more exact reference to show the
different locations of each ball within the square?
To give a more exact 6 figure grid reference, you must imagine that
the grid square is divided into 100 little squares.
Like this!

We number the new imaginary squares from 0-9 going up and across the
square

To give the 6 figure grid reference for the blue ball , we follow the
steps below.

1) Look at the bottom left of the square and follow the line down to the
bottom of the grid to get the first two numbers (just like you did for the four
figure grid references)
First two numbers = 12
2) Imagine the line along the bottom of the grid square is divided into 10
little squares numbered from 0-9
3) Now go along from line 12 until you line up with the blue ball. Decide
how many little squares you have moved across. In this case the blue ball
is in the little grid square 1.

We now have the number 12 1

4) Now look at the bottom left of the square again and following the line to
the side of the grid to get the next two numbers, (01) add them to the 3 you
already have.

We now have the number 12 1 01.

5) Imagine the line along the side of the grid square is divided into 10 little
squares numbered from 0-9
6) Now go up from line 01 until you reach the blue ball. In this case the blue
ball is in the little grid square 1

We now have our full 6 figure grid reference 12 1 01 1

Use the same steps to find the 6 figure grid reference for the orange

ball

= 12 6 01 7

Giving compass directions

Sometimes in the exam, you will be asked to give a compass direction from
one place to another. You should refer to compass points from an 8-point
compass. Remember to always give North or South first

Giving bearings
Sometimes you will be asked to give a bearing. This involves giving
an angle and a compass direction from one place (A) to another (B). The
instructions below, outline how you would do this.
To measure the bearing from A to B here is what you do

1. Draw a North line going North at A

2. Draw a pencil line connecting A to B. This acts as a guide for your
protractor!

3. Place your protractor on A and line up 0 with the North line.

4. Read round clockwise until you reach the line going to B. There’s your
Bearing! Don’t forget to write it with three figures (if the angle is only two
digits put a zero in front!).

A to B = 080o

5. Then add a compass direction at the end

080o NE

Using a key and map symbols

You are quite often asked to use a map key to identify the name of a
certain feature on a map. Often symbols can look very similar, make sure
you double check each feature you look at to check it matches with the key.
Measuring distance on a map and using the scale line
Maps represent the real world but at a smaller scale than in real life
(otherwise they wouldn’t fit on the page!)
To show people how big things are in real life, you must use a scale
line. This is normally given in kilometres. It can normally be found at the
bottom of a map.

This scale says it is 1:100 000. What this actually means is that 1 cm on
the map is actually 100,000 cm (1 km) in real life.
The easiest way to work out a straight line distance on the map is to
use the scale line and a ruler
1) Hold the ruler between two points on the map that you want to know the
distance between.
In this case the distance shown on the ruler between then two points in
4cm

2) Bring the ruler down to the scale line and hold it against it.

In this case the 4cm on the ruler represents 4km on the map. So the real
life distance between the two places is 4km.

What if you need to measure a curved distance? (e.g. a river or road)

You simply need to use a scrap of paper. You divide up the curved line into
small straight sections and then you pivot the paper alongside the curved
line, marking off straight sections on the paper’s edge. When you have
finished you do the same as before, and hold the whole distance up against
the scale line.

Height on a map: Contour lines and spot heights

Maps are flat pieces of paper, but land is not always flat, so how to map
makers represent hills and land of different heights? They use contour
lines and spot heights.
Contour lines
Contour lines are lines drawn on a map connecting points of equal
elevation (height), meaning if you physically followed a contour line,
elevation would remain constant. Contour lines show elevation and the
shape of the terrain. They’re useful because they illustrate the shape of the
land surface — its topography— on the map.
So that the map is not too crowded, contour lines are drawn for certain
elevations (heights) only. These lines are evenly spaced apart, normally
drawn for every 10 metres up or down in height that the land changes.

Sometimes not every contour line has a number of metres written on it for
the height of the land. If this is the case, you need to look at the height of
the lines around it, and work it out from there in spaces of 10 metres.

In the picture above, the two missing heights would be 20m and 40m.

What can contours tell you about the shape of the land?
If the contours are close together, you’re looking at a steep slope.
If the contours have wide spaces in between — you are looking at
a gentle slope.
If there are no contours at all– the land is flat.
Look at the shape of the valleys and hills on the map above.
Have a go at matching these contour line shapes up with the piece of land
they are representing, then scroll down to underneath the task to get the
answers!
The answers
1=B

2=E

3= D

4=C

5= F

6=A
Spot Heights
Spot heights are much easier to understand than contour lines. They are
exactly the same as they sound, they give height (normally in metres) for
one particular spot on the map.

This spot height is 359m.

Describing relief
Relief is the geographical word used to describe the shape of the land.
Exam questions often ask you to describe relief by looking at a map.

If you get a question asking you to describe the relief of an area, you
should try to comment on the following things:

– Give the actual height of the land, using contour lines or spot height to
get exact figures

– The slope of the land- is it gently sloping, steeply sloping or flat?

– Are there any features relating to relief that you can describe e.g. valleys,
mountains

– Describe if the relief changes across the area you have been asked to
look at (e.g. the east of the area is flat, but the west is steeply sloping)
Have a go at describing the relief in the area below

Describing drainage
Drainage is all about describing whether you can see water and how it is
flowing. In the exams you are often asked to describe the drainage of an
area.

You should try to comment on the following things

– Are there any rivers or lakes present? (give names of rivers and the
direction they are flowing)

– Are there lots of rivers (high drainage density) or just a few (low drainage
density)?

– Is there any evidence of underground water – such as springs or wells?

– Have humans altered the drainage in anyway? E.g. straightened
channels or dams.

Have a go at describing the drainage in the area below

Describing land use on a map

Land use simply means what land is used for!
So if you are trying to describe land use in an area from a map or
photograph, you simply state what that piece of land is used for by looking
at it closely.
This land is used for a settlement This land is used for
industry
This map extract shows an area which has the main land use of farming.
You can tell this by the fact that throughout the map extract there are
several named farms with large areas of land around them used either for
their crops or livestock (e.g. New Fm / Heath Fm)
Settlement Site
You should also be able to tell why a settlement was situated on a
particular site

If you look at the settlement of Luscott Barton on the map extract above,
you should be able to use your knowledge of why settlers chose their sites
for original settlements to pick out the key reasons for its location

For example

– It is located near to a water source – Knowl Water

– It is located next to a small area of woodland- Building supplies and fuel

– It is located on a small hill- for defense.

Settlement function
You should already know from studying settlement that settlement function
is the main purpose of a settlement (E.G. TOURISM)

Settlements normally have a number of functions but one may be more

important than the others.

You should be able to work out the function of a settlement, by looking at

the area surrounding it on a map

Use the flow chart below to help you figure out the settlement function of
the following map extract
Drawing a sketch map from a map extract you are given
You may be asked to draw a sketch map of a section of map that you are
given. This should simplify what you see on the map and pick out the main
features.
When making a sketch map, you should remember the following:

 Your field sketch or sketch map should be kept simple. There will be
no marks for a work of art!
 Draw in pencil NOT in pen
Follow the steps below to draw a perfect sketch map of a map extract

1. Start by drawing a frame the same size as the map area you are
trying to sketch
2. Using a pencil, draw the features that you have been asked to draw
or that are relevant to the task- DO NOT draw everything!
3. Label and annotate the sketch as required and remember to include a
north point and title

Look below at a map extract of the River Tees- Imagine you were given the
following questions.

Study the OS map of the River Tees below. Draw a sketch map to
show some of the features and characteristics of the river and its
valley. Locate and label the following
– The river and its meanders (use an arrow to show direction of river
flow)
– Levees (embankments) , river cliffs, slip off slopes along river
channel
– Built up settlements around the river
– Some of the main roads around the river
– North point and scale
An OS map extract of the River Tees
Identifying human and physical features in a photograph
This is one of the easiest type of questions you can get on your paper! You
may be asked to pick out the features of a photograph/area.

A feature is a certain characteristic of a landscape that you can see

A physical feature is something natural e.g. a cliff, a stream, wave cut
platform
A human feature is something made by humans e.g. road, bridge
See if you can describe out the human and physical features of the
photography below, then scroll down for the answers

The Answers
Physical Features
– Long stretch of beach on the left hand side of the photo
– Large waves arriving on beach (could be destructive)

– Inland lake or lagoon to the right had side of the photograph

– River is winding down towards the lagoon from the top of the photograph

– Small area of forest/woodland seen above the lagoon

– Mountains see in the background of the photograph

Human Features
– Mainly an urban area
– Settlement built along the beach between the lagoon and the sea

– Settlement is made up of high rise buildings

– These high rise buildings may be hotels

– Jetties/Piers can be seen going into the lagoon

Graphs
Maps are only part of your skills paper, you also need to be able to plot and
interpret graphs for both the map skills paper and the field skills paper.
The most important things to remember for plotting graphs are the
following:
– Add a title
– Label both axis

– If you are asked to complete a graph- make sure you make your part look
like the examiners part

– Use a ruler and a pencil- NOT A PEN AND FREEHAND!

Line graphs
These are used where there is a continuous change in data. For
example- how something changes over time (e.g. population)

If you are asked to plot a line graph, make sure you plot your point with a
very small dot or cross, and then join them up with a ruler.

If you are asked to describe the trends of a line graph, try to use phrases
such as increase gradually/rapidly or decrease gradually/rapidly. You
should also give numbers from the graph to back up what you are saying
Bar graphs
Bar graphs can be used where there are a number of separate items.

The items cannot really be joined on a line graph, because they do not

appear in a particular order.

When plotting a bar graph remember to keep the bars the same thickness
all along the graph, and use a ruler.

When interpreting a bar graph, try to pick out the highest and lowest values
and any patterns you notice.

Histograms
Histograms look similar to bar graphs, but normally there are no gaps
between the bars
They are used to show continuous data such as frequencies

On the x-axis is a series of numerical values that do not overlap e.g. 0-

0.99, 1.0-1.99 etc
One the y-axis is the % of number of each value

Divided bar graphs and Pie charts

These are used to show how a set of data can be broken down into
fractions or percentages.

Pie charts to show the employment structures of three countries

If you are plotting a pie chart, they require care using a ruler, protractor and
a compass. If the values are in % you can convert into degrees by
multiplying the % by 3.6

Divided bar graphs to show the employment structures of five countries

If you are plotting a divided bar graph, make sure that you work out how
many% each square along the graph paper is worth

When interpreting pie charts or divided bar graphs, make sure you pick out
highest and lowest values. If you are comparing two or three, remember to
pick out similarities and differences between the values.

Flow diagrams
 These are used to show movements using arrows.
 These are usually based on a map but might be in a diagram form
 The thickness of the arrows normally indicate the size of a flow
 An example could be to show traffic flow into two directions along a
road or migrations across the world
If you are asked to plot a flow diagram, make sure you work out the scale
first (how thick does the line need to be?)

If you are asked to interpret a flow diagram, make sure you pick out the
largest flow and smallest flows.

E.g. the largest world migrations since 1500 have been Europeans moving
from Europe to North America
Scatter graphs
 These are used for when you want to compare the relationship
between two sets of data
 The scatter graph shows how the two sets of data are related
  A line of best fit is drawn between the points to show the relationship
 Scatter graphs can show a positive correlation, negative correlation
or no correlation

When plotting a scatter graph, remember to keep all the points plotted the
same size and shape. You must also make sure that your line of best fit, is
as close to all the points as possible.

When interpreting a scatter graph, state what the relationship is and how
strong it is

e.g. There is a strong positive correlation between how many cups of

coffee Mrs Conrad drinks and how tired she is.

Triangular graphs
Radial graphs
Radial graphs are graphs around a central axis. We sometimes called them
star diagrams in lessons

An example below is for data recorded from a bi polar survey of a tourist

area, looking for the impact tourism had on the area. Scores from -2 to +2
were given to the area based on several categories.
This was then plotted on the radial graph below to show the results.
Wind rose diagrams
 Wind rose diagrams are a type of radial graph
 They provide a pictorial representation of wind direction
 There are different ways of plotting wind roses, but all involve adding
one measurement to the diagram for each day’s wind direction
(remember that wind directions are the direction the wind is coming
from)