Lesson Y9-U04-L06

Y9-U04-L06 The Power of Ice: Glaciers and Ice Ages Quiz: KS3 Geography, Unit 16

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y9-U04-L06, The Power of Ice: Glaciers and Ice Ages: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Geography (National Curriculum), Unit 16: Year 9: Dynamic Landscapes: Tectonics and Ice, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What turns deep snow into glacier ice?

    • Its own weight presses out air until it becomes dense ice.
    • Wind blows it into hard crystals of salt.
    • Heat from the Sun melts it, and the water freezes solid.
    • Rain soaks into it and turns it into rock.

  2. What is a glacier?

    • A layer of dust that blows off the mountains.
    • A fast river of meltwater cutting a narrow valley, which is then frozen into ice by winter cold.
    • A huge, slow-moving mass of ice that flows downhill under its own weight.
    • A sheet of ice that stays still on flat ground for thousands of years without ever moving at all.

  3. What is an ice age?

    • A short summer when all the ice melts quickly.
    • A time when volcanoes stop erupting completely for thousands of years across the whole planet.
    • A period when rivers freeze over every winter, but only in the far north of the country.
    • A long period when Earth was much colder and ice covered far more land.

  4. Roughly when did the last ice age peak?

    • About 18,000 years ago.
    • About 1,800 years ago.
    • About 180 years ago.
    • About 180,000 years ago.

  5. Which glacial erosion process happens when meltwater freezes onto rock and the moving ice rips pieces away?

    • Abrasion.
    • Plucking.
    • Weathering.
    • Deposition.

  6. Which glacial erosion process scrapes and smooths the land like sandpaper?

    • Abrasion.
    • Longshore drift.
    • Plucking.
    • Dissolution.

  7. Which shape of valley does a glacier typically carve?

    • A U-shape, wide and flat-floored.
    • A circle with no floor at all.
    • A zigzag shape with no slopes.
    • A V-shape, narrow and pointed.

  8. What is a corrie?

    • An armchair-shaped hollow high on a mountain where a glacier first formed.
    • A bend in a river where sand is deposited.
    • A long, narrow lake at the mouth of a river, formed where the sea floods the lower valley.
    • A waterfall that drops off a flat plain into a deep pool, carved out by flowing river water.

  9. On a relief map, what does a tight ring of contours holding a small lake suggest?

    • A corrie.
    • A coral reef.
    • A sand dune.
    • A river delta.

  10. On a map, what do closely spaced contour lines show?

    • The centre of a town.
    • A flat plain.
    • The mouth of a river.
    • A steep slope.

  11. How does a river valley differ from a glacial valley?

    • A river valley is narrow and V-shaped; a glacial valley is wide and U-shaped.
    • A river valley is wide and U-shaped; a glacial valley is narrow and V-shaped.
    • Both are V-shaped with pointed bottoms.
    • Both are U-shaped with flat floors.

  12. Which process is most responsible for the jagged, steep back wall of a corrie?

    • Plucking.
    • Deposition.
    • Solifluction.
    • Abrasion.

  13. Why does a glacial valley have a flat floor?

    • Wind blows the floor flat over thousands of years.
    • Thick ice abrades and widens the floor as it flows over it.
    • Rivers flatten it by depositing mud after the ice melts.
    • Plants grow on the floor and level it out.

  14. Which pair of landforms are both glacial in origin?

    • A waterfall and a meander.
    • A corrie and a U-shaped valley.
    • A lava dome and a sea stack.
    • A delta and a spit.

  15. A map shows widely spaced contours on a valley floor and bunched contours on its sides. What does this indicate?

    • A narrow V-shaped gorge cut by a fast river.
    • A cliff face dropping straight into the sea.
    • A U-shaped valley with a flat floor and steep sides.
    • A flat plain with no valley at all.

  16. Using the contours and lakes, where was the ice probably thickest?

    • In the deep, steep hollows where contours bunch tightest and lakes now sit.
    • Along the main river, where the contours are most spread out.
    • On the flat tops where contours are widely spaced.
    • In the town centre, where the roads are straight.

  17. Which evidence would most help a geographer judge where ice once covered the land?

    • The population of the nearest large city.
    • Landforms such as corries and U-shaped valleys, along with glacial deposits.
    • The number of cars using a motorway near the valley, counted over one busy weekend.
    • The colour of the sky on a sunny afternoon, and whether the clouds were pink or grey that day.

  18. A pupil says 'Snowdon was carved by a river'. What is the best correction?

    • Snowdon was shaped by glaciers, which leave corries and U-shaped valleys rather than river V-shapes.
    • Snowdon was carved by wind only, with no water or ice involved, so its valleys were blown out over time.
    • Rivers carve every mountain in the world, so the pupil is right and the glaciers played no part at all.
    • Snowdon was built by volcanoes and never shaped by any erosion.

  19. Which judgement best evaluates whether plucking or abrasion matters more for a U-shaped valley?

    • Abrasion is irrelevant; only plucking ever matters.
    • Neither matters, because ice cannot erode rock at all, so valleys are only ever shaped by rivers.
    • Both matter: plucking steepens the sides, while abrasion smooths and deepens the floor.
    • Plucking is irrelevant; only abrasion ever matters, since scraping alone explains every valley shape.

  20. Why is a relief map alone not enough evidence of past ice?

    • It shows everything about past climate, so no other evidence is needed.
    • It is always wrong about the height of the land.
    • It only shows roads and never shows landforms.
    • It shows shape but not the age, thickness or deposits, so extra evidence is needed.

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