Lesson Y7-U01-L09

Y7-U01-L09 Height, Gradient and Cross-Sections Quiz: KS3 Geography, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y7-U01-L09, Height, Gradient and Cross-Sections: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Geography (National Curriculum), Unit 1: Year 7: The UK and Map Skills, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What does a black dot with a number beside it show on an OS map?

    • A spot height, the exact height at that one point
    • A trig point on a hilltop
    • A contour line giving the height along a whole line
    • The height of a river's source

  2. What does a blue triangle with a number show on an OS map?

    • The height of a church tower in the town, measured from the ground
    • The interval between two contour lines, which is the height gap between them
    • A spot height at one ordinary point on the land, shown by a black dot
    • A trig point, a precisely measured height, usually on a hilltop

  3. A brown line labelled 150 on an OS map shows what?

    • A contour, giving height along a whole line
    • The depth of a lake below the surface
    • A spot height at a single point
    • A trig point on a summit

  4. What does a cross-section show?

    • A top-down view of a town's streets
    • A map of rainfall across the whole country
    • A side-on slice of the land along a line from A to B
    • The compass bearing from A to B

  5. On a cross-section graph, which value goes UP the side?

    • Distance from A to B
    • Rainfall in millimetres
    • Time of day
    • Height in metres

  6. Which description gives the formula for gradient?

    • Run divided by rise
    • Rise divided by run
    • Rise multiplied by run
    • Rise added to run

  7. A slope rises 60 m over a flat run of 300 m. What is the gradient as '1 in n'?

    • 1 in 6
    • 1 in 60
    • 1 in 5
    • 1 in 3

  8. A slope rises 40 m over a flat run of 800 m. What is the gradient as '1 in n'?

    • 1 in 20
    • 1 in 40
    • 1 in 2
    • 1 in 8

  9. A slope rises 50 m over a flat run of 500 m. What is the gradient as '1 in n'?

    • 1 in 5
    • 1 in 100
    • 1 in 50
    • 1 in 10

  10. Which slope is steeper: a gradient of 1 in 4 or a gradient of 1 in 12?

    • Neither is steep because both are gentle
    • 1 in 12
    • Both are equally steep
    • 1 in 4

  11. A line A to B crosses contours reading 80, 100, 120 and 90 m, in that order. In what order should the heights be plotted?

    • 90, 120, 100, 80 m, starting from the highest contour on the far side
    • 80, 90, 100, 120 m, sorted from the lowest contour to the highest peak
    • 120, 100, 80, 90 m, starting from the peak of the hill and going down
    • 80, 100, 120, 90 m, from left to right in the order the line crosses them

  12. Why should the dots on a cross-section be joined with a smooth curve?

    • Real hills have no sharp corners, so a smooth curve matches the land
    • Smooth curves use less ink on squared paper, so the graph looks neater
    • Straight lines are not allowed on graphs at all, so every line must curve
    • Jagged lines show that the land is flat, with no hills or valleys to draw

  13. A footpath rises 60 m over a flat run of 180 m. What is its gradient as '1 in n'?

    • 1 in 6
    • 1 in 30
    • 1 in 12
    • 1 in 3

  14. A road sign reads '1 in 4 ahead'. Compared with a 1 in 20 slope, which is steeper?

    • The 1 in 20 slope, because a bigger second number means steeper
    • Both are equally steep, since both are gradients
    • The 1 in 20 slope, because it is a longer walk
    • The 1 in 4 slope, because a smaller second number means steeper

  15. Heights of 70, 100, 130, 150, 130, 90 and 60 m are plotted in order along a line. Which description fits the shape?

    • A valley falling to 60 m in the middle, then rising again
    • A hill rising to a top of 150 m in the middle, then falling away
    • A cliff rising straight up from 60 m to 150 m
    • A flat plain at 100 m all the way along

  16. Land rises from 80 m to 160 m over a run of 200 m. What is the gradient as '1 in n'?

    • 1 in 2.5
    • 1 in 80
    • 1 in 25
    • 1 in 4

  17. Hill A is 200 m high and is climbed over 2 km. Hill B is also 200 m high but is climbed over 400 m. Which is the steeper climb?

    • Hill A, because a longer run is always steeper
    • Both are equally steep, because they have the same height
    • Hill A, because it is further away from the path
    • Hill B, because the same height is packed into a shorter run

  18. Slope X rises 40 m over 200 m. Slope Y rises 40 m over 800 m. Which slope is steeper, and what is its gradient?

    • Y, at 1 in 20
    • Y, at 1 in 5
    • X, at 1 in 20
    • X, at 1 in 5

  19. Which map mark shows a height along a whole line rather than at one point?

    • A dot on a cross-section graph
    • A black spot height dot
    • A blue trig point triangle
    • A brown contour line

  20. Why is a hill with a gradient of 1 in 3 harder to climb than one with a gradient of 1 in 10?

    • The climb is packed into a shorter run, so the slope is steeper
    • The 1 in 3 hill is taller in metres than the 1 in 10 hill
    • Gradients are measured in metres, so the 3 is larger
    • The 1 in 3 hill is further away from the footpath

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