Stage 4

Question 1

What are the advantages of bar graphs?

Answer 1

1. Can be used to make comparisons between two different data sets 2. A range of data can be shown on one graph 3. Easy to interpret trends and identify anomalies

Question 2

What are the disadvantages of bar graphs?

Answer 2

1. Need to categorise the data
2. Width of bar may be misleading
3. Only shows discontinuous data (e.g. gender, blood type)

Question 3

What are the advantages of line graphs?

Answer 3

1. Useful for showing continuous data = changes over space or time 2. Easy to identify trends

Question 4

What are the disadvantages of line graphs?

Answer 4

1. Can only be used to show continuous data (e.g. height)

Question 5

What are the advantages of a pie chart?

Answer 5

Clearly shows the relative contribution of each category

Question 6

What are the disadvantages of a pie chart?

Answer 6

1. Actual data values are hard to determine = data is shown as percentage of whole 2. Limited number of categories can be shown otherwise chart is too difficult to read

Question 7

What are the advantages of scatter graphs?

Answer 7

1. Clearly shows relationship between two variables
2. Shows direction and strength of relationship
3. Easy to identify anomalies
4. Spatial location of data can be shown (if x axis is distance)

Question 8

What are the disadvantages of scatter graphs?

Answer 8

1. Only shows extreme correlations = hard to spot trends
2. Can only be used to compare two data sets
3. Difficult to interpret if lots of data points/ data points are close together

Question 9

What are the advantages of triangular graphs?

Answer 9

1. Relatively easy to plot points 2. Allows three variables to be shown clearly on one graph 3. Easy to compare between variables

Question 10

What are the disadvantages of triangular graphs?

Answer 10

1. Can only be used if there are three variables 2. Hard to construct + Time consuming 3. Data usually needs to be converted to percentages before they are plotted

Question 11

What are triangular graphs?

Answer 11

• shows data points with three variables
• data must be a ration (eg. percentage)

Question 12

What is a kite diagram?

Answer 12

Shows change in percentage over distance of a transect (distance on x axis)

Question 13

What are the advantages of kite diagrams?

Answer 13

1. Clear results + visual representation of data
2. Can plot multiple variables / data sets which means it’s easy to compare between different locations
3. Useful for showing changes in characteristics over space

Question 14

What are the disadvantages of kite diagrams?

Answer 14

1. difficult to interpret
2. data must be a percentage

Question 15

Name the 6 types of graphs and charts most commonly used in geographical investigations.

Answer 15

1. Bar graph 2. Line graph 3. Pie chart 4. Scatter graphs 5. Triangular graphs 6. Kite diagrams

Question 16

What are the 5 most common spatial mapping techniques used in geographical investigations?

Answer 16

1. Choropleth mapping 2. Dot mapping 3. Isopleth/ isoline mapping 4. Flow line mapping 5. Proportional symbols mapping

Question 17

What is cloropleth mapping?

Answer 17

• Most widely used statistical map = shows average values per unit of area in a region
• Variation is shown by density of shading or colour
• Data must be a ration

Question 18

What are the advantages of cloropleth mapping?

Answer 18

1. Relatively simple to construct 2. Clear visual overview of spatial patterns 3. Useful for data published in aerial units

Question 19

What are the disadvantages of cloropleth mapping?

Answer 19

1. If some areas have v high values this can dominate the map 2. Inaccuracy in class interval 3. Does not show inter regional trends

Question 20

What is dot mapping?

Answer 20

• dot used to represent a feature
• visual scatter (density of dots) is used to show spatial pattern

Question 21

What are the advantages of dot mapping?

Answer 21

1. Good visual representation of the data 2. Spatial distribution of data can be shown accurately 3. Data is not interrupted by boundaries (e.g. regional/national)

Question 22

What are the disadvantages of dot mapping?

Answer 22

1. Time consuming to construct 2. Prior knowledge of influencing factors is needed for map to be accurate 3. High density areas = dots merge together which makes it difficult to read total

Question 23

What is isopleth/ isoline mapping?

Answer 23

A map that uses isolines (lines joining with equal value, calculated using interpolation) to show distributions that have a continuous pattern over space.

The distance between isolines determines the rate of change (denser meaning faster change)

Question 24

What are the advantages of isopleth mapping?

Answer 24

• visual representation
• especailly useful for physical geography

Question 25

What are disadvantages of of isopleth mapping?

Answer 25

1. Requires large amount of data collected at specific points 2. change in data over space must be continuous 3. Using interpolation to decide where to construct lines = inaccurate as it assumes that there is gradual change between the data location

Question 26

What is flow mapping?

Answer 26

* Shows the impression of movement between places * Width of flow lines is proportional to the number of items moving * Routed flow maps also show direction of movement

Question 27

What are the advantages of flow mapping?

Answer 27

1. can show movement AND direction 2. visual, so easy to interpret

Question 28

What are the disadvantages of flow mapping?

Answer 28

1. Difficult to construct if data is varied with wide extremes 2. Difficult to quantify exact figures 3. Non-routed maps are very generalised

Question 29

What is proportional symbols mapping?

Answer 29

• Symbols (e.g. circles, squares, bars) are drawn based on the idea that the size of the symbol is proportional to the value it represents

Question 30

What are the advantages of proportional symbols mapping?

Answer 30

1. Clear visual display of data 2. Easy to see proportions 3. Symbol can be divided to show other characteristics

Question 31

What are the disadvantages of proportional symbols mapping?

Answer 31

1. difficult to interpret small differences