Lesson 3.2.4.2

3.2.4.2 Environment and population Quiz: AQA Geography, Unit 2

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 3.2.4.2, Environment and population: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Geography (7037), Unit 2: Human geography, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which zonal soil is typically very fertile and found under temperate grassland?

    • Tundra peat
    • Podzol
    • Chernozem
    • Laterite

  2. Which zonal soil is typically acidic and infertile, developing under coniferous forest in cool humid climates?

    • Podzol
    • Rendzina
    • Alluvium
    • Chernozem

  3. Which soil problem is caused by the accumulation of salts near the surface, often in irrigated arid areas?

    • Waterlogging
    • Salinisation
    • Structural deterioration
    • Soil erosion by rainfall only

  4. Waterlogging of agricultural land is most likely to occur where:

    • Soils are well drained and deep in dry climates
    • Irrigation is absent in semi-arid areas
    • Rainfall is very low and evaporation is very high
    • Drainage is poor and water tables are high, so soil remains saturated

  5. Which soil problem is caused when soil particles are damaged, leading to compaction and reduced infiltration?

    • Structural deterioration
    • Eutrophication
    • Desalination
    • Salinisation

  6. Which combination describes the main effects of soil erosion on agriculture?

    • Increased soil depth and higher organic matter
    • Improved drainage and reduced runoff
    • Greater water retention and lower nutrient loss
    • Loss of topsoil, reduced fertility and lower crop yields

  7. A tropical area with a long, heavy wet season and a dry season is most often associated with which climate type?

    • Mediterranean climate with cool wet winters only
    • Humid continental climate with snowy winters
    • Polar tundra climate
    • Tropical monsoon or savanna climate

  8. Which climate type is characterised by hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters?

    • Polar climate with permanent ice
    • Mediterranean climate
    • Equatorial climate with rain all year
    • Humid subtropical climate with rain in summer

  9. Which statement best describes the role of climate in shaping human agricultural activity?

    • Only soil colour determines the types of crops grown
    • Climate has no effect on farming because technology overcomes it
    • Climate only affects the price of food in shops
    • Temperature and rainfall determine which crops can be grown and how productive farming is

  10. Which strategy is most directly aimed at ensuring food security in a country with variable harvests?

    • Clearing forests to expand grazing land without planning
    • Maintaining buffer stocks and strategic reserves of staple foods
    • Banning imports entirely in all years
    • Reducing storage capacity to lower costs

  11. A farming system depends on a single rainy season and the failure of rains leads to famine. Which element of food security is most affected?

    • The nutritional content of imported soft drinks, measured in sugar and calories per bottle and compared across the national market
    • Food prices in distant overseas markets only, which rise and fall with global trade but have no effect on households in the affected region
    • Access and availability of food under environmental stress
    • The number of supermarkets in the capital city, counted each year and compared with the number of rural shops across the country

  12. Which argument best evaluates the role of irrigation in increasing food production?

    • Irrigation has no effect on food production in any setting, since crops grow at the same rate whether or not they receive any extra water
    • Irrigation can raise yields in dry areas but risks salinisation and waterlogging if poorly managed
    • Irrigation eliminates all soil problems permanently, because the water it supplies flushes away every salt and drainage issue for good
    • Irrigation always reduces yields because water is never beneficial to crops, even in dry areas where rainfall is scarce each season

  13. A country's maize yield is 3 tonnes per hectare, and the farm area is 40,000 hectares. What is the total output in tonnes?

    • 13,333 tonnes
    • 1,200,000 tonnes
    • 120,000 tonnes
    • 43,000 tonnes

  14. Which strategy most directly reduces the risk of soil erosion on sloping farmland?

    • Removing all vegetation cover before each planting
    • Contour ploughing and terracing to slow runoff
    • Increasing the amount of bare soil exposed to rain
    • Ploughing straight up and down steep slopes

  15. Which measure is most effective in limiting the spread of salinisation in an irrigated area?

    • Improving drainage and managing irrigation to avoid excessive water build-up
    • Removing all drainage channels to keep water on the surface, so that fields stay wet and salts remain close to the root zone
    • Planting only crops that increase salt inputs, such as crops that release salts into the soil with every harvest across the field
    • Irrigating with saline water every season, which keeps crops watered with the same water source used across each growing cycle

  16. Which combination best describes the relationship between climate change and agriculture?

    • Climate change has no effect on crop yields in any region, since farmers adapt fully to every change in temperature and rainfall
    • Changing temperatures and rainfall patterns can alter crop yields and the location of productive farmland
    • Climate change always increases yields in all regions, because warmer temperatures and wetter seasons improve growing conditions
    • Climate change only affects the colour of soils, which darken or lighten with warming while leaving yields and farmland unchanged

  17. A farmer observes that crop yields fall during years of intense rainfall on a clay soil. Which soil problem is most likely?

    • Desertification by wind only
    • Waterlogging
    • Eutrophication of groundwater
    • Salinisation

  18. Which combination of factors most limits agricultural productivity on a leached tropical soil?

    • Low nutrient retention and high acidity leading to low fertility
    • High fertility and deep organic-rich topsoil, which supports dense crop growth and high yields across the whole cultivated area each season
    • Continuous snow cover over the growing season, which protects the soil from frost and keeps the land productive throughout the year
    • Frequent flooding of nutrient-rich alluvial deposits, which renews fertility each year and keeps yields high across the lowland plain

  19. A region's aquifer is being depleted by pumping for irrigation faster than it is recharged. Which food security risk is most directly raised?

    • Reduced demand for food as irrigation expands, since cheaper water lowers the price of produce and so cuts the amount farmers grow
    • Higher groundwater levels leading to waterlogging, which saturates the root zone and reduces yields across the irrigated fields each year
    • Increased soil fertility from additional water, because extra irrigation carries nutrients into the soil and raises yields in each season
    • Reduced water availability for irrigated crops, threatening future yields

  20. Which argument best evaluates the view that food security can be achieved by increasing production alone?

    • Production increases always guarantee food security for all groups, because more food in total means every household has enough to eat
    • Access, distribution, affordability and stability also matter, so production increases alone may not ensure security
    • Food security is irrelevant where production is rising, since higher output makes access, prices and stability unimportant to households
    • Food security is determined only by the weather in one season, so changes in production across several years have no lasting effect

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