Lesson Y7-U01-L07

Y7-U01-L07 Measuring Distance and Using Scale Quiz: KS3 Geography, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

In partnership with Revision Ninja

Lesson Y7-U01-L07, Measuring Distance and Using Scale: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Geography (National Curriculum), Unit 1: Year 7: The UK and Map Skills, written with Revision Ninja.

Host it live on the board and students join with a game code on their own devices, or revise alone with Free Play. The answers are revealed in the game.

Host this setFree Play

The 20 questions

  1. What does a map scale tell you?

    • How much the map has been shrunk compared with real life
    • How many colours the map has been printed in, shown in the key
    • How high the land is above sea level, shown by the contour lines
    • Which direction north lies on the map, shown by the compass arrow

  2. On a 1:25 000 map, what does 1 cm equal in real life?

    • 2 500 cm
    • 1 000 cm
    • 25 000 cm
    • 250 000 cm

  3. How many centimetres are there in 1 metre?

    • 50 cm
    • 100 cm
    • 1 000 cm
    • 10 cm

  4. How many metres are there in 1 kilometre?

    • 100 m
    • 500 m
    • 10 000 m
    • 1 000 m

  5. Which tool do you use to measure a straight line on a map?

    • A compass
    • A ruler
    • A protractor
    • String

  6. Change 600 cm into metres.

    • 0.6 m
    • 6 m
    • 60 m
    • 600 m

  7. On a 1:25 000 map a line measures 4 cm. What is the real distance in kilometres?

    • 4 km
    • 10 km
    • 1 km
    • 0.4 km

  8. On a 1:25 000 map a line measures 2 cm. What is the real distance in metres?

    • 500 m
    • 5 000 m
    • 250 m
    • 2 000 m

  9. A straight line on a 1:25 000 map measures 8 cm. What is its real distance?

    • 8 km
    • 200 m
    • 2 km
    • 800 m

  10. Which calculation changes centimetres into metres?

    • Add 100
    • Divide by 1 000
    • Multiply by 100
    • Divide by 100

  11. Which calculation changes metres into kilometres?

    • Divide by 100
    • Subtract 1 000
    • Divide by 1 000
    • Multiply by 1 000

  12. Change 5 000 cm into metres.

    • 5 m
    • 500 m
    • 5 000 m
    • 50 m

  13. On a 1:25 000 map a bendy lane measures 6 cm when followed with string. What is its real length?

    • 0.6 km
    • 1.5 km
    • 6 km
    • 15 km

  14. A straight line is 1 km long in real life, and the road between the same two places is 1.5 km. How much longer is the road?

    • 0.15 km
    • 0.5 km
    • 2.5 km
    • 1.5 km

  15. Which method measures a winding river on a map most accurately?

    • A protractor centred on the middle of the river, read as an angle
    • A compass turned clockwise along the river, then read off as a bearing
    • A ruler laid straight from the source to the mouth of the river
    • String laid along every bend, then straightened against a ruler

  16. Why does a ruler give a shorter answer than string for a winding road?

    • A ruler adds an extra bend every time it is placed on the map
    • A ruler is always placed at the wrong angle on a map
    • A ruler measures in metres rather than centimetres
    • A ruler cuts across the corners, so it misses the bends

  17. A map has a scale of 1:50 000. A line measures 4 cm. What is the real distance?

    • 4 km
    • 200 m
    • 1 km
    • 2 km

  18. On which map is 1 cm worth MORE real distance, 1:25 000 or 1:50 000?

    • 1:25 000, because 1 cm equals 2 500 m of real land, which is ten times more
    • 1:25 000, because 1 cm equals 500 m, which is twice as much as 1:50 000
    • 1:50 000, because 1 cm equals 500 m, twice the 250 m on 1:25 000
    • Both are equal, since both maps show 1 cm of the same real distance

  19. Two walkers measure the same bendy path and get 5 cm and 7 cm. What is the most likely reason for the difference?

    • The scale of the map changed during the walk
    • The path was really two different routes
    • One walker measured in metres rather than centimetres
    • Their string was not followed exactly along every bend

  20. What is the correct order for finding a real distance from a map?

    • Measure the cm, convert to km, then multiply by the scale
    • Measure the cm, multiply by the scale, then convert to metres or km
    • Multiply by the scale, measure the cm, then convert to km
    • Convert to km, measure the cm, then multiply by the scale

All KS3 Geography quizzes