Lesson 3.1.2.5

3.1.2.5 Hot deserts: quantitative and qualitative skills Quiz: AQA Geography, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 3.1.2.5, Hot deserts: quantitative and qualitative skills: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Geography (7037), Unit 1: Physical geography, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. In a field study of wind-blown sand, which measurement is most directly required to describe sand transport?

    • The number of tourists visiting the dunes, which indicates how heavily the site is used
    • The colour of the sand grains, which indicates the mineral composition of the dune material
    • The population of the nearest settlement, which indicates the pressure on the local dune resources
    • Wind speed at a standard height above the surface

  2. Which statistical measure best summarises a set of sand grain diameters with a skewed distribution?

    • The median
    • The mean alone, which is the most robust measure whatever the shape of the distribution
    • The total of all diameters, which summarises the overall mass of the sample collected
    • The highest value only, which is the most representative of the whole sample of grains

  3. Which method is suitable for measuring the spatial extent of a desert landform in a mapping exercise?

    • Recording only the landform's colour in the field, which is a good guide to its size
    • Using a distance estimate from memory of the location, which is fast and reasonably accurate
    • Using a dated satellite image and a georeferenced map to digitise the landform boundary
    • Estimating the area by eye from a single photograph taken at ground level from the edge of the dune

  4. A Spearman's rank correlation between wind speed and sand flux gives rs = 0.78. Which conclusion is most appropriate?

    • Sand flux is caused entirely by the colour of the sand grains, which control how easily they move
    • There is a strong positive monotonic association between wind speed and sand flux
    • Wind speed has no effect on sand flux, since the rank correlation is not zero at all
    • There is a perfect linear relationship between wind speed and sand flux, so the points lie on a line

  5. Which graph is most suitable for showing the relationship between wind speed and sediment transport from paired field measurements?

    • A scatter graph with a best-fit line
    • A histogram of altitude values, which shows how many sites fall within each altitude band
    • A pie chart of sediment types, which shows the proportion of each grain type in the sample
    • A bar chart of total annual rainfall, which compares the rainfall across several years

  6. When sampling a dune field, which approach best reduces sampling bias?

    • Using a random or systematic sampling design across the full dune field
    • Sampling only on the windward slopes, where the sand is most active and easiest to see
    • Sampling only the most accessible dune crests, which are the easiest to reach on foot
    • Sampling only at midday when conditions are hottest, so that the team works the most efficient hours

  7. Which is the most appropriate statistical test to determine whether grain-size classes differ significantly between two dune environments?

    • A pie chart with no test, which shows the proportions but does not test their difference
    • A simple mean of all grains combined, which is compared against the value for a single dune
    • The chi-squared test of independence on the frequency counts in each class
    • A correlation between grain colour and altitude, which measures the link between the two properties

  8. Which factor is most likely to introduce error in a field measurement of sand deposition over a month?

    • Recording the date of each measurement, which allows the results to be placed in sequence
    • Repeating measurements at the same site, which gives a check on the consistency of the readings
    • Failure to measure in the same locations and at the same intervals each time
    • Using a consistent measuring tape length throughout the study, which keeps the scale the same

  9. A desert field site has a mean rainfall of 45 mm with a standard deviation of 30 mm over 10 years. What does this indicate?

    • The site receives 45 mm of rain every day for the entire ten-year period of the record
    • Rainfall has no variation at all over the period, because the mean is so close to zero
    • Rainfall is very reliable, so each year closely matches the mean value of 45 mm of rain
    • Rainfall is highly variable from year to year, and single-year totals can differ greatly from the mean

  10. Which data-presentation choice most clearly shows the change in a desert wadi's discharge during a storm?

    • A map coloured by average annual temperature only, which does not show any flow
    • A line graph with time on the horizontal axis and discharge on the vertical axis
    • A pie chart showing the proportions of rainfall and evaporation that fell over the catchment
    • A table listing the names of nearby settlements, which gives the context but no flow data

  11. Which qualitative skill is most important when interpreting field observations of desert landforms?

    • Describing landforms without considering the processes that formed them or their age
    • Relying on a single observation to generalise to all deserts, which keeps the account simple
    • Linking observed landform features to the processes and time scales that could have produced them
    • Ignoring observations that do not match a preferred explanation, so that the account stays consistent

  12. A desert dune's migration rate is measured at 12 m per year. Over 5 years, what is the total displacement?

    • 120 m, which is obtained by multiplying the rate by ten rather than by the five years
    • 60 m
    • 2.4 m, which is obtained by dividing the rate of 12 m by the time of 5 years
    • 17 m, which is obtained by adding the rate of 12 m to the time of 5 years

  13. Which is the best description of the purpose of a sampling frame in a desert field study?

    • It specifies the wind direction for each sample, so that orientation can be compared between dunes
    • It defines the colour code used for mapping the dune field and its different landform types
    • It defines the full set of locations from which samples are drawn
    • It is the frame that holds the measurement instruments steady during each reading in the field

  14. A researcher finds sand accumulates faster on one side of a fence than the other. Which interpretation is most defensible?

    • The sand is produced locally by the fence itself, which breaks down and releases grains
    • The fence has no effect because sand moves randomly and cannot be influenced by any structure
    • The difference must be due to rainfall because the desert is dry, so the fence must be irrelevant
    • The fence alters local wind flow and sediment deposition, which should be tested with further measurements

  15. Which measure would show how consistently sand grains of different sizes are sorted by wind across a surface?

    • The number of grains greater than 2 mm only, which counts the coarsest fraction of the sample
    • A sorting index based on the standard deviation of grain sizes
    • The total mass of all grains collected from the surface, which indicates the amount of sand present
    • The colour distribution of the grain population, which shows the mineral variety of the sample

  16. Which test is used to determine whether two sample means differ significantly when the data are approximately normal?

    • Student's t-test
    • The median test, which compares the middle values of two samples directly
    • The chi-squared test, which compares observed and expected counts in categories
    • Spearman's rank correlation, which measures the association between two ranked variables

  17. What is the purpose of a Pearson's correlation coefficient?

    • It measures the central value of a skewed distribution of field data
    • It measures the difference between observed and expected counts in a contingency table
    • It measures the number of observations that fall within each class interval of a histogram
    • It measures the strength and direction of a linear relationship between two continuous variables

  18. A dune height survey gives ten values, and one is recorded in error at 40 m. Which is the best measure of average height?

    • The median height
    • The total of all heights, which gives the average height of the dune across the sample
    • The mean height, which is unaffected by an erroneous value because all values are equal in weight
    • The range of heights, which summarises the typical height of the dune in the survey

  19. Which is the correct formula for the mean of a set of values?

    • The sum of the values divided by the number of values
    • The middle value of the ranked list, regardless of how many values there are
    • The sum of the values multiplied by the number of values in the set
    • The largest value minus the smallest value, divided by two

  20. In a field study, a scale of 1:10,000 is used. What ground distance does 4 cm on the map represent?

    • 400 m
    • 40 km, which is obtained by multiplying the scale by the map distance twice over
    • 4 km, which is obtained by dividing the scale by ten and then applying it to the map
    • 40 m, which is obtained by treating the scale as 1:1,000 rather than 1:10,000

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