Grade 7 terms 1 & 2

Question 1

True or false: maps or large cities, provinces or countries give detailed and specific information about the places in the area.

Answer 1

False. That is true of a local map of a town, suburb or village. In maps of large areas, much less detail is shown.

Question 2

Refer to your notes for the examples of symbols you’ll find on a map

Answer 2

See notes

Question 3

What is a “key” on a map?

Answer 3

It is a list of all symbols on a map with a word to describe each symbol. It is usually a box at the bottom of the map. It helps people to read the information about the mapped area.

Question 4

Look at your notes to see an example of how street guides point you to the place you are seeking.

Answer 4

See notes

Question 5

On a map, what is a grid?

Answer 5

A grid consists of horizontal and vertical lines that form blocks of the same size. Usually the columns (vertical) are labelled using the alphabet and the rows (horizontal) are labelled with numbers. This gives each block an alpha-numeric grid reference.

Question 6

Define these maps skills terms:
Intersection
Landmarks

Answer 6

Intersections are the point at which streets cross each othe.
Landmarks are key places like a hospital, town hall etc. that will help you know where you are located on a map.

Question 7

How does a flood happen?

Answer 7

When there is too much water in one place or when land that is usually dry becomes covered in lots of water.

Question 8

What is a flash flood?

Answer 8

A sudden rise in water level after a heavy storm.

Question 9

True or false: floods are the world’s worst natural hazards in terms of loss of life.

Answer 9

True.

Question 10

What are eight causes of floods and give a fact about each.

Answer 10

• Heavy rain: after storms or prolonged heavy rain, rivers can burst their banks, causing flooding.
• Human activities: poor farming techniques.
• Fires and loss of vegetation: when trees and vegetation are cleared, soil erosion can result. The topsoil gets carried into dams and rivers and blocks the flow, causing water levels to rise.
• Settlement: much of surface of cities consists of hard materials, roofing, tar, concrete. Water can’t soak into the soil so runs off into storm water drains and then into rivers instead of soaking into the ground.
• meltwater: melting snow and ice run into rivers in great quantities during warmer times, causing flooding.
• Tsunamis caused by earthquakes: when earthquakes happen at sea, they can cause huge waves to travel towards the shore, causing major flooding
• Storm surge: this occurs when strong winds from a cyclone push on the surface of the sea causing the sea to rise much higher than it normally would.
• the Earths climate is changing: can cause floods in places that are usually dry.

Question 11

Give three names for tropical storms

Answer 11

Hurricanes, cyclones or typhoons

Question 12

What can farmers do to help prevent soil erosion and the resultant flooding?

Answer 12

Contour ploughing: plowing the land from side to side across a slop rather than from top to bottom f the slope. This holds the water in the soil in contoured slopes.

Question 13

Which country was most affected by the Tsunami in March 2011? Describe what happened.

Answer 13

Japan. An earthquake of 9.0 magnitude struck just off the west coast and whole towns were destroyed and nearly 15 800 people were killed and nearly 27 000 injured, with more than 3000 reported missing.

Question 14

Which was the worst Tsunami disaster in recent history? Give four facts about it.

Answer 14

It struck on 26 December 2004 following the Indian Ocean earthquake, which had its epicenter off the coast of Indonesia, setting off several tsunamis. Over 230 000 people died in fourteen countries and it flooded coastal areas with waves up to 30 metres high.

Question 15

What is a meteorologist?

Answer 15

A scientist studying the weather and making weather forecasts.

Question 16

Give a definition of these keys words:
Climate change
Deforestation
Urbanization
Tributary
Aid organization
Soil erosion
Evacuation
Refugee camp
Famine
Looting
Informal settlement
Low-lying area
Channel
Levees
Flood plain

Answer 16

Climate change: the idea that the ‘normal’ climate of Earth is changing.
Deforestation: the clearing of trees in a forest by cutting or burning them.
Urbanization: more and more people live in towns and cities.
Tributary: a smaller river flowing into a larger one.
Aid org: organization helping people in need, e.g. Red Cross
Soil erosion: top layer of soil being washed away
Evacuation: to be taken away from a dangerous place.
Refugee camp: camp set up for people made homeless by flooding, war, or other disasters.
Famine:shortage or lack of food
Looting: theft of goods from shops and from other people.
Informal settlement: houses built of wood, plastic and iron, often with no services like water, electricity or sewerage.
Low-lying areas: land that is lower the surrounding land.
Channel: to build cement river courses for water to flow in or to change the course of a river.
Levees: mounds or piles of earth along river banks to stop flooding
Flood plain: flat land along the sides of rivers that is covered in water when the river floods.

Question 17

What do street maps give you?

Answer 17

And aerial or birds eye view of an area. They show the names of towns, suburbs and streets and how the roads connect with one another. Important places such as schools, hospitals, churches and parks are shown as symbols.