Lesson Y7-U06-L06

Y7-U06-L06 Life in the Hot Desert Quiz: KS3 Geography, Unit 6

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y7-U06-L06, Life in the Hot Desert: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Geography (National Curriculum), Unit 6: Year 7: Ecosystems and Biomes, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What is a hot desert?

    • A cold, frozen area close to the poles, where the ground stays frozen for most of the year
    • A grassland with rain falling in only one season
    • A biome that is very hot and gets less than 250 mm of rain a year
    • A biome with heavy rain and tall trees all year round

  2. What does the word arid mean?

    • Very windy, with strong gusts every day
    • Full of wet mud after every storm
    • Covered in ice and snow for most of the year
    • Very dry, with almost no rain

  3. What does nocturnal mean?

    • Living in large groups high in the canopy
    • Active only in the daytime and resting at night
    • Able to live underwater for long periods
    • Active at night and resting in the day

  4. What is an oasis?

    • A large sand dune that moves across the desert
    • A wet, green spot in a desert where water reaches the surface
    • A rocky plateau with almost no plants, where the wind carves the stone into tall columns
    • A dry riverbed that never holds any water

  5. How much rain does a hot desert typically receive in a year?

    • More than 2,000 mm
    • Less than 250 mm
    • Between 500 and 1,000 mm
    • Between 1,500 and 2,000 mm

  6. Why can nights in a hot desert be cold?

    • Sand absorbs cold air from the sky during the day
    • The desert is covered in snow every night, which keeps the sand cold until morning
    • Heat escapes into the clear sky, because there are few clouds to hold it in
    • The Sun does not rise over the desert at night

  7. Which hot desert in North Africa is hot, dry and sandy with bare ground for miles?

    • The Gobi
    • The Sahara
    • The Atacama
    • The Amazon

  8. What is the thick stem of a cactus mainly used for?

    • Catching sunlight to make food at night
    • Storing water for the dry months
    • Attracting pollinating bats in winter
    • Spreading the cactus's weight across soft sand

  9. In Salah is a town in the Sahara Desert. What is the highest average monthly temperature there?

    • About 36°C, in September
    • About 14°C, in January
    • About 27°C, in May
    • About 42°C, in July

  10. In a hot desert town such as In Salah in Algeria, how much rain typically falls in July?

    • About 300 mm
    • Less than 1 mm
    • About 88 mm
    • About 250 mm

  11. A desert animal drinks very little water and gets most of its moisture from food. Which challenge is it coping with?

    • Deep snow cover
    • Freezing temperatures
    • Too little water
    • Too much rain

  12. A camel has wide feet. Which desert challenge does this solve?

    • Soft, shifting sand
    • Deep mud that stops animals from moving
    • Heavy rainfall
    • Freezing winds

  13. A cactus has waxy skin and spines. Which challenge do these features help it solve?

    • Heavy rain that washes away the soil
    • Too much sunlight at night
    • Cold winters that freeze the stem
    • Water loss from the plant

  14. Desert foxes hunt at night. Which challenge does this behaviour help them beat?

    • Cold winter nights with frost
    • Daytime heat, by staying active when it is cooler
    • Heavy rainfall that floods their burrows
    • Thick snow covering the sand for most of the year

  15. Which feature best helps a desert plant survive long dry periods?

    • Growing deep roots that reach only the surface soil
    • Storing water in a thick, fleshy stem
    • Growing huge leaves to catch heavy rain
    • Shedding all its leaves in the hot season

  16. Why is an oasis important to both animals and people in a desert?

    • It gives reliable water and a green place to find food
    • It has the highest temperatures in the desert
    • It is a sand dune that blocks the wind and keeps the desert cool at night
    • It is a frozen pool that only forms in winter

  17. Which challenge and adaptation pairing is correct for a hot desert?

    • Cold nights: wide, flat leaves that catch the dew and keep the plant warm all night long
    • Too little water: thin, shiny leaves that absorb sunlight
    • Too much heat by day: resting in burrows and being nocturnal
    • Soft sand: short, thin legs that sink into the ground

  18. Why does a cactus have spines rather than broad leaves?

    • Spines lose much less water than broad leaves, which helps the cactus keep its store
    • Spines make the cactus taller so it catches more sunlight
    • Spines help the cactus grow faster in the rainy season
    • Spines attract pollinating insects to the desert, which helps the cactus spread across the sand

  19. Which statement best describes how living things cope in a hot desert?

    • They beat the heat and lack of water using adaptations and by timing their activity
    • Most plants grow fastest in the heat, so the desert is very green
    • They avoid all challenges by moving to the coast each day, which is only 50 km from the desert
    • Animals survive because the desert provides plenty of shade and water

  20. A pupil says the hot desert has no life at all. Which response is most accurate?

    • Yes, because deserts are always frozen at night, which means that no plant or animal can survive there
    • Yes, nothing can survive with less than 250 mm of rain
    • Many plants and animals live there by using adaptations to cope with heat and very little water
    • No, every desert is covered in dense forest that shades the sand

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