Geography Fieldwork

Question 1

Primary data

Answer 1

Data collected by yourself

Question 2

Secondary data

Answer 2

Data collected by someone else

Question 3

How do u work out discharge

Answer 3

CSA (cross-section area) x velocity

Question 4

How do u measure velocity in a river

Answer 4

Equipment used: hyroprop impeller & stopwatch
Method: choose sample site, place hydroprop impeller into the facing upstream, start stopwatch as soon as impeller starts to move, stop when impeller reaches the end, convert time into velocity.
Justification: to calculate discharge, to identify velocity changes downstream, repeatable easy, reliable and easy.
Evaluation: sediment can stop impeller from rotating, parallax error.

Question 5

How do u measure depth in a river

Answer 5

Equipment: tape measure and meter ruler
Method: place tape measure from bank to bank and record length, divide width systematically, place meter ruler at the bottom of the river for each fraction, repeat systematically.
Justification: to calculate discharge, how depth changes along the river, repeatable.
Evaluation: parallax error, ruler on rocky ground-or at an angle, when water hits ruler due to resistance it forces water to move up the ruler creating an inaccurate data.

Question 6

How do u measure width

Answer 6

Equipment: measuring tape
Method: measuring the tape across the river bank to bank, make sure tape is tight and at a straight point
Justification: to calculate discharge, find out the width, repeatable.
Evaluation: parallax error, changes by current

Question 7

Field sketch

Answer 7

Equipment: pencil and paper
Method/justification: draw key features and labels describing if it is an increase/decrease of flood risk.
Evaluation: not to scale

Question 8

Drainage basin

Answer 8

The area of land grained by a river and its tributaries

Question 9

Watershed

Answer 9

An area of land that separates two drainage basins

Question 10

Confluence

Answer 10

Where two rivers join

Question 11

Source

Answer 11

The original point from which a river flows

Question 12

Qualitative data

Answer 12

Non-numerical data eg. Opinions, surveys, drawings, photographs

Question 13

Quantitive data

Answer 13

Numerical data

Question 14

Discharge

Answer 14

The volume of water flowing through a channel at any given point. Measured in cubic metres per second = cumecs =m3/s

Question 15

how to calculate risk

Answer 15

Risk = likelihood x severity

Question 16

Factors affecting flood severity

Answer 16

Value in property, distance from river, height from flood, value of land

Question 17

How do u measure surface runoff

Answer 17

Equipment: hydroslopes, measuring cylinder
Method: pour water into ‘cloud’ and start timer, place measuring cylinder under hydro slope, record amount of water in cylinder every 30 seconds for 5 mins, repeat to see how it changes on saturated ground.
Justification: to see how much water is absorbed , which is the best ground to reduce flood risk.
Evaluation: could lose water through leaks, ground could already

Question 18

Who do u measure pollution(traffic count)

Answer 18

Method: go to predetermined sampling site, start timer and count the passing cars for 5 mins, record total amount of cars
Justification: show the pollution, will always be different each time, repeatable

Question 19

How do u measure noise

Answer 19

Equipment: decibels
Method: go to ur predetermined sampling site, measure the noise of the traffic of the site, record
Justification: repeatable, quantitive data- can be plotted in a graph meaning it is comparable
Evaluation: could be other noises that are not to do with traffic meaning the results are inaccurate.

Question 20

How do u measure litter

Answer 20

Method: go to the predetermined sampling site and count the amount of litter in that area
Justification: shows the cleanliness of an area
Evaluation: more/ less bins in certain area

Question 21

How do u measure environmental quality

Answer 21

Method: observe surroundings around you and give them a rating between 1 and 5 for: graffiti, open spaces, cleanliness, street furniture, safety, parking, greenery, housing appearances.