5.3 Water budgets Quiz: Pearson Edexcel Geography, Unit 7

The 20 questions

1. In a drainage basin water budget equation, what does 'P' represent?

   • Percolation
   • Peak discharge
   • Evapotranspiration
   • Precipitation

2. A basin receives 900 mm of precipitation and loses 600 mm to evapotranspiration, with no change in storage. What is the annual runoff?

   • 900 mm
   • 1,500 mm
   • 600 mm
   • 300 mm

3. Which feature typically characterises the water budget of a tropical rainforest drainage basin?

   • Constant soil deficit
   • High winter snowpack
   • Zero surface runoff
   • High evapotranspiration

4. Which climate type typically shows low precipitation and low evapotranspiration, with water often locked in snow and ice?

   • Monsoonal
   • Tropical
   • Mediterranean
   • Polar

5. Which factor causes the peak discharge of the River Yukon to occur in late spring?

   • High evapotranspiration
   • Deforestation
   • Snowmelt
   • Monsoon rain

6. Which factor maintains a relatively stable annual river regime in the Amazon basin?

   • Year-round rainfall
   • Glacial meltwater
   • Seasonal snowmelt
   • Extensive damming

7. What does the lag time on a storm hydrograph show?

   • Delay to peak
   • Total storm duration
   • Maximum rainfall depth
   • Baseflow recovery speed

8. Which basin characteristic produces a shorter lag time and higher peak on a hydrograph?

   • Dense forest cover
   • Deep permeable soils
   • Gentle valley slopes
   • High drainage density

9. How does urbanisation typically alter the lag time of a storm hydrograph?

   • It doubles it
   • No change occurs
   • It shortens it
   • It lengthens it

10. Which rock type in a drainage basin promotes rapid surface runoff during heavy rain?

    • Porous chalk
    • Impermeable clay
    • Fractured sandstone
    • Permeable limestone

11. Which land management strategy helps planners reduce peak discharge in a drainage basin?

    • Afforestation
    • Dredging riverbeds
    • Channel straightening
    • Building tarmac carparks

12. Which seasonal weather event causes the primary discharge peak in the River Indus?

    • Summer monsoon
    • Winter frost
    • Spring drizzle
    • Autumn depression

13. Which physical factor explains why two equal-sized basins have different hydrograph shapes?

    • Rock permeability
    • Equator distance
    • Latitude
    • Time zone

14. Which basin characteristic causes a steep, bare catchment to have a higher peak discharge?

    • Fast overland flow
    • High infiltration rate
    • High interception storage
    • Deep groundwater storage

15. Which evidence best measures changes in peak discharge following a catchment planning scheme?

    • Climate graphs
    • Isohyetal maps
    • Water budgets
    • Storm hydrographs

16. Which physical factor combines with climate and soils to shape a river's annual regime?

    • Atmospheric pressure
    • Urbanisation
    • Plate tectonics
    • Geology

17. What type of hydrograph response is produced by impermeable urban surfaces and steep slopes?

    • Lagged hydrograph
    • Flashy hydrograph
    • Flat hydrograph
    • Subdued hydrograph

18. What does a water budget show for a drainage basin over a year?

    • Flood return period
    • Sediment yield rate
    • Input-output balance
    • Channel velocity profile

19. Which two main processes control the annual balance of a regional water budget?

    • Precipitation and evapotranspiration
    • Infiltration and percolation
    • Sublimation and condensation
    • Stemflow and throughflow

20. A river's annual discharge is 1,200 million cubic metres from a catchment receiving 2,000 million cubic metres of rain, with no change in storage. What is the evapotranspiration loss?

    • 2,000 million cubic metres
    • 3,200 million cubic metres
    • 800 million cubic metres
    • 1,200 million cubic metres

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