Lesson Y7-U03-L06

Y7-U03-L06 Meanders and Ox-bow Lakes Quiz: KS3 Geography, Unit 3

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y7-U03-L06, Meanders and Ox-bow Lakes: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Geography (National Curriculum), Unit 3: Year 7: Rivers and the Water Cycle, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What is a meander?

    • A deep hole carved at the base of a waterfall by the falling water and loose stones
    • A steep drop where a river falls over hard rock, often forming a spray of white water
    • A smaller stream that joins a bigger river from the side, adding water to its flow
    • A bend or loop in a river, found in the middle and lower course

  2. On a meander, which bend has fast, deep water?

    • The meander neck, where the land is narrowest
    • The slip-off slope, where sand is deposited
    • The outer bend, where the water is fast and deep
    • The inner bend, where the water is slow and shallow

  3. What is a river cliff?

    • A curved lake left behind when a meander is cut off
    • A gentle, sandy bank built up on the inner bend
    • A narrow strip of land between two tight bends
    • A steep bank cut into the outer bend by erosion

  4. What is a slip-off slope?

    • A curved lake left behind when a meander is cut off from the main river channel
    • A steep bank cut into the outer bend by fast water eroding the land over many years
    • The narrow strip of land between two tight bends that a river may break through
    • A gentle, sandy bank built up on the inner bend by deposition

  5. Which process forms the river cliff on a meander?

    • Erosion, by fast water wearing away the outer bank
    • Solution, by minerals dissolving on the inner bend
    • Transport, by saltation of stones on the outer bend
    • Deposition, by slow water dropping sand on the outer bank

  6. Which process forms the slip-off slope on the inner bend?

    • Abrasion, as stones scrape the inner bank
    • Deposition, as slow water drops its sand and mud
    • Hydraulic action, as the water forces cracks apart
    • Erosion, as the fast water cuts the inner bank away

  7. What is the narrow strip of land between two tight bends called?

    • A meander neck, the narrow strip between two tight bends
    • A plunge pool, the hole carved at a waterfall base
    • A slip-off slope, the gentle inner bank
    • A river cliff, the steep outer bank

  8. What is an ox-bow lake?

    • A flat floodplain covered by water in a flood
    • A curved lake left behind when a meander is cut off
    • A deep plunge pool at the foot of a waterfall
    • A wide lake formed where a river meets the sea

  9. A pupil's cross-section shows a steep bank on one side of a bend and a gentle sandy bank on the other. Which side is the steep bank on?

    • The side where the land is narrowest between two bends
    • The inner bend, where the water deposits sediment
    • The side where the water is slow and shallow
    • The side where the fast, deep water flows against the bank

  10. On a meander cross-section, which feature shows the deepest water?

    • The gentle slip-off slope on the inner bend
    • The meander neck, where the land is narrow
    • The steep river cliff on the outer bend
    • The ox-bow lake formed after the bend is cut off

  11. Why does a river deposit sand on the inner bend of a meander?

    • Its water there is salty, so the sand becomes heavy
    • Its water there is frozen, so the sand stays put
    • Its water there is fast, so the sand is dropped in a pile
    • Its water there is slow and shallow, so it cannot carry the sand

  12. Which is the correct order of ox-bow lake formation?

    • Loop forms with erosion, neck narrows, river breaks through, deposition seals the lake
    • The neck narrows first, then the loop forms slowly, and the lake is cut off by a flood
    • Deposition seals the lake first, then the river breaks through the neck of land
    • The river breaks through, then the loop forms, then erosion starts on the outer bank

  13. In a flood, which feature does a river break through to cut off a meander?

    • The plunge pool at the base of the bend
    • The slip-off slope on the inner bend
    • The steep river cliff on the outer bend
    • The narrow neck of land between two bends

  14. A river has a meander with a very narrow neck of land. What is most likely to happen next?

    • The inner bend will get steeper and eventually form a waterfall over hard rock
    • The meander will widen slowly until it becomes a straight river with no bends at all
    • The river will flow uphill across the neck, carrying its load over the high land
    • The river may break through the neck in a flood and cut the bend off

  15. A river's outer bend is being eroded, moving the bend sideways over time. What does this show?

    • The bend is being filled in by deposits from a delta
    • The bend is slowly drying up into a plunge pool
    • The bend is turning into a waterfall as it moves
    • The bend is gradually getting wider and moving sideways

  16. Explain why an ox-bow lake is eventually sealed off from the river.

    • Abrasion wears away the lake's shore until the bend is finally cut off from the river
    • Solution dissolves the neck of land so the lake is separated from the channel
    • Ice from the winter freezes the bend shut, cutting the lake off from the river
    • Deposition seals off the old bend, so it is cut off from the main channel

  17. Why does an ox-bow lake slowly dry up and disappear?

    • Sediment gradually fills it in, and it is no longer fed by the river
    • The sea slowly pushes the lake up into a hill, so the water drains away over time
    • The water freezes into solid ice in winter, which melts away again in the spring
    • Evaporation turns the lake into a cloud of water vapour in a single hot afternoon

  18. A pupil says the inner bend is eroded because it is where the fast water flows. Which correction is right?

    • The inner bend is eroded because the water there is salty and wears the rock away
    • The fast water is on the outer bend, so erosion happens there, not the inner bend
    • The inner bend is eroded because it is where the sand is dropped and piles up
    • The inner bend is eroded because it is the deepest part of the river channel there

  19. Two meanders lie close together. Which change is most likely to cut one off first?

    • The mouth of the river is the most likely place to cut off a bend
    • The inner bends are wide and will be cut off first
    • The neck between two close outer bends is narrow and easily eroded
    • The straight sections between bends are most likely to flood

  20. Which best describes the cross-section of a meander?

    • Deep and steep on the inner bend, shallow and gentle on the outer bend
    • Deep and steep on the outer bend, shallow and gentle on the inner bend
    • Shallow and steep on the outer bend, deep and gentle on the inner bend
    • Equally deep and shallow on both sides of the channel

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