Lesson Y9-U05-L02

Y9-U05-L02 Asking a Good Geographical Question Quiz: KS3 Geography, Unit 17

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y9-U05-L02, Asking a Good Geographical Question: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Geography (National Curriculum), Unit 17: Year 9: Thinking Like a Geographer: Fieldwork and Geographical Enquiry, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What is a hypothesis in a geographical enquiry?

    • A testable statement you predict is true, then check with data
    • A map showing where every feature in the town is found
    • A summary of the final results written at the very end
    • A list of questions to ask people on the street during fieldwork

  2. What does 'directional' mean when describing a hypothesis?

    • It states that the answer must be written as a question
    • It lists every place where the data was collected that day and each person involved
    • It predicts which way the data will go, such as higher or lower
    • It names the compass direction in which the river flows

  3. What is a variable in a hypothesis?

    • The final conclusion written after the data is analysed
    • The one thing you measure or compare, such as footfall or rent
    • The place where the fieldwork takes place on each day
    • The question written at the top of the enquiry sheet

  4. Which of these is one of the four tests of a question worth investigating?

    • It has a clear answer that the teacher already knows well
    • It is testable with data you can collect in the time you have
    • It uses only numbers that someone else has already collected and checked carefully
    • It is written as a statement rather than as a question

  5. How does a hypothesis differ from a question?

    • A question asks for data; a hypothesis asks for an opinion from the people involved
    • A question is always directional; a hypothesis never is
    • A question names a place; a hypothesis names a number only
    • A question asks; a hypothesis predicts an answer as a statement

  6. Which version of the idea would be a directional hypothesis?

    • Footfall near the station is different from the park
    • Footfall near the station is what we will study this term
    • Footfall near the station is a topic for the class
    • Footfall is higher near the station than near the park

  7. Refine 'Traffic is a problem' by adding a place, one variable and a direction. Which version is best?

    • Traffic outside our school gates is heavier at 8.30am than at 1pm
    • Traffic is a problem in lots of places around the world today and in the future
    • Traffic around the school is something we might look at
    • Traffic causes many problems for people living in towns

  8. Which statement is a testable, directional hypothesis for a local park?

    • Is the park used more at weekends or on weekdays?
    • The park is a good place for families to spend time
    • Many different people visit the park for many different reasons
    • The park is busier at weekends than on weekdays

  9. Which of these is a good enquiry question about the high street?

    • Is the high street nice to walk along or not at all?
    • Is the whole country's shopping getting worse each year, and why is that happening so fast?
    • Are shops in towns important for the lives of people?
    • Are there more empty shops on the side streets than on the main street?

  10. Which of these should NOT be investigated in a local enquiry, according to the four tests?

    • Is litter heavier near the takeaways than near the library?
    • Does footfall fall as you move away from the station?
    • Are rents lower further away from the city centre?
    • Is climate change bad for the whole planet?

  11. A hypothesis says footfall is higher on the high street than on the side streets. Which variable is being measured?

    • The number of empty shops on the side streets only
    • Whether the high street is a nice place to shop
    • The number of people passing a point each minute
    • The distance between the high street and the railway station

  12. Which feature of a hypothesis lets data clearly support or reject it?

    • It is written in very long and formal sentences
    • It predicts a direction, such as higher or lower
    • It gives the personal opinion of the person who wrote it
    • It mentions many different places at the same time

  13. Which is a focused version of the topic 'empty shops'?

    • Are empty shops bad for the town and the people in it?
    • Do all towns in the whole country have empty shops at all, every single year?
    • Why do shops in towns sometimes close down for good?
    • Are there more empty shops at the north end than the south end?

  14. A weak hypothesis is 'Things change across the town'. What is missing from it?

    • A list of the methods used to collect the data
    • A longer introduction explaining the history of the town
    • A conclusion that was written before any data was collected
    • A named place, one clear variable and a direction

  15. Which is the strongest hypothesis for a fieldwork enquiry on river width?

    • The river is wider at the downstream site than at the upstream site
    • The river is an interesting place to visit near the local park on weekends
    • Many different animals live in and around the river each year
    • Rivers are very important to the people living nearby today

  16. Why is 'Is the high street busier than the side streets?' a question rather than a hypothesis?

    • It uses a direction, so it cannot be tested with any data
    • It is too big to answer with local data that is collected
    • It names a place but has no variable to measure at all
    • It asks something and does not predict an answer as a statement

  17. Why must a good hypothesis be testable?

    • So that data can clearly support or reject it
    • So that it can be written in the form of a question
    • So that the conclusion can be written before the fieldwork
    • So that it names as many different variables as possible

  18. Why is 'Is the world getting worse?' not worth investigating in a local enquiry?

    • It asks a question rather than making a statement at all, so it cannot be tested
    • It is far too big to test with the local data you can collect
    • It names no place, so the data would be too vague
    • It uses a variable that cannot be measured in numbers

  19. Why might a directional hypothesis be risky in fieldwork?

    • It removes the need to write a clear conclusion at the end
    • It forces every site to be measured on exactly the same day
    • It makes it impossible to collect any numerical data at all
    • It may bias you to look only for the answer you predicted

  20. The hypothesis 'Busier at the north end' is weak. What must be added to make it testable?

    • A map drawn in colour showing every shop on the street
    • A statement that the answer will simply be yes or no
    • A named place and a measurable variable such as footfall
    • A list of the shopkeepers who will be interviewed about it

All KS3 Geography quizzes