Rivers Fieldwork Flashcards
How long is the river wye?
17 km (11 mi)
What is the elevation of the wye from source to mouth?
68m
What is unique about the river?
It is a chalk stream
Describe one fieldwork method the students could have used to collect data to investigate this river.
One possible data collection method the students could
have used is measuring the width of the river placing a
tape measure either side of the riverbanks at different
sites while ensuring it is taut.
One possible data collection method the students could
have used is measuring the depth of the river placing a
metre ruler at 10 equal intervals sideways along the width of the
river.
Candidates could have measured discharge of the river by
using a tape measure to measure the width of the river (1)
and the velocity of the river by using a flowmeter (1)
Suggest one way students could have used a flood risk map to investigate this river.
The flood risk map could have been used to investigate
the areas of the channel at high risk of flooding (1)
allowing groups to pre-plan survey sites (1) to ensure
data could be collected safely (1)
You have studied a river as part of your geographical investigation.
Evaluate the effectiveness of the different techniques used to present your
fieldwork data.
How did we investigate velocity using a flowmeter?
Use flowmeter 3 times along the width of a channel,facing it upstream so the propellor actually moves.
Use an accurate stop watch while seeing how long it takes for the propellor to be moved to the end of the hydroprop
What were problems with our field work?
We only surveyed 2 locations and too much people were in the river which could effect results.
What conclusions can be made?
Width and Depth and Discharge(figured from the volicty) increases downstream while bedload decreases
What model can the conclusions match with?
Bradshaw model
What were some limitations on Width and Depth
Tape measure was not taught and could be obstrcutted by vegetation or it could be pulled downstream
Depth measured could be at places where river bed isnt even and the metre ruler could be pushed in the sediment?
What are 3 methods of sampling?
Random- data is collected by chance- no bias but can cause uneven results and probably can result in sites with hazards
Systematic-Location of the sites at equal distances to each other
Stratified-dividing sampling into groups, there may be bias but it can avoid hazards
What was the field sketch for
river landforms
width and depth
show contrast
3 quantitative methods and 1 qualitative method:
Depth Width Velocity- Quantitative
Field sketch-Qualitative
How measured bed load?
Annotated photograph
You have studied a river landscape as part of your geographical investigation.
Explain one advantage of a sampling strategy you used in your geographical
investigation.
Systematic sampling of the survey sites of the river Wye
at equal intervals allowed us to remove bias and select
sites that would be best illustrate changes downstream to
enable us to gather representative data .
or
Random sampling of the bedload of the river Wye
increased the chance of selecting a range of sediment to
analyse which allowed us to gain a better
understanding of how bedload changes downstream
Explain one way your investigation helped you understand how river processes
affect people.
Commercial/residential properties located close the River Wye
are vulnerable to flooding which could lead to damages to
the properties and possessions
Roads / rail networks near to the river Wye are often
damaged by flood waters which can result in disruption for
commuters
Explain two ways you tried to make sure that your data collection methods were
accurate.
We repeated the measurement of velocity three times
to reduce the effect of human error
We measured the river depth at three different points
to reduce the potential of loose bedload affecting the true
reading
Describe fieldwork methods the students could have used to collect data to
investigate a river landscape
One possible data collection method the students could have used is measuring the width of the river placing a tape measure either side of the riverbanks at different sites.
One possible data collection method the students could have used is measuring the depth of the river placing a metre ruler at equal intervals along the width of the river .
Candidates could have measured discharge of the river by
using a tape measure to measure the width of the river and the velocity of the river by using a flowmeter
Advantages and disadvantages of using Scatter graphs:
Advantages:
They show relationships (correlation) between two variables clearly.
Easy to identify trends (positive, negative, or no correlation).
Outliers (unusual data points) are easy to spot.
Can handle large amounts of data without becoming unclear.
Disadvantages:
Only shows relationships, not exact values or detailed data.
Can’t show information about more than two variables at once.
If there’s no clear correlation, the graph might not give much useful insight.
Doesn’t work well for small datasets, as patterns may not be visible.
Advantages and disadvantages of pie charts
Adv:
Easy to read and understand at a glance.
Good for showing proportions and percentages.
Visually appealing and simple for comparing parts of a whole.
Useful for small sets of data.
DisAdv:
Not good for large amounts of data or too many categories.
Hard to compare slices that are similar in size.
Exact values are difficult to read without labels.
Can be misleading if the data isn’t accurate or well-organized.
Advantages and Disadvantages of bar charts
Adv:
Easy to compare different categories.
Works well with large amounts of data.
Can show trends over time (if used with time-based categories).
Simple to read and understand.
Can display both positive and negative values.
DisAdv:
Can become cluttered with too many bars or categories.
Not ideal for showing proportions like a pie chart.
The scale can sometimes be misleading if not chosen carefully.
Takes up more space than some other charts.
Advantages and disadvantages of divided bar charts.
Adv:
Shows the total value as well as how it is divided into parts.
Good for comparing the composition of different categories.
Easy to see proportions within each bar.
Useful when you want to compare both totals and parts at the same time.
Disadv:
Hard to compare individual sections across different bars, especially if they’re small.
Becomes confusing with too many categories or small differences.
Exact values can be difficult to read without labels.
If the bars aren’t the same length, it’s harder to compare proportions.
