levo

Fieldwork and Geographical Skills

Map skills: grid references, latitude and longitude, scale and direction

  • 3 things to know
  • AS Unit 2

Overview

Four- and six-figure grid references, latitude and longitude, 1:25 000 and 1:50 000 OS map scales, measuring straight and curved distances and areas, and giving direction by compass point and bearing.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

What are latitude and longitude?

Process

How do 1:25 000 and 1:50 000 OS maps differ?

Key term

What is landscape character assessment?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    How do you give a four-figure grid reference?

    Model answer

    Read the eastings first, along the bottom of the map, then the northings, up the side ('along the corridor, then up the stairs'). Use the numbers of the lines that cross at the bottom left-hand corner of the square.

  2. 2

    How do you give a six-figure grid reference?

    Model answer

    Find the four-figure square, then divide each side of it into tenths. Add the number of tenths along to the easting and the number of tenths up to the northing, giving a location to within 100 metres on an OS map.

  3. 3

    What are latitude and longitude?

    Model answer

    Latitude is the angle north or south of the equator, from 0° to 90°. Longitude is the angle east or west of the prime meridian at Greenwich, from 0° to 180°. Together they locate any point on Earth.

  4. 4

    How do 1:25 000 and 1:50 000 OS maps differ?

    Model answer

    On a 1:25 000 map, 4 cm represents 1 km, so it shows more detail such as field boundaries. On a 1:50 000 map, 2 cm represents 1 km, so it covers a larger area in less detail. Grid squares are 1 km on both.

  5. 5

    How do you measure distance on a map along a curved route such as a road or river?

    Model answer

    Lay the straight edge of a piece of paper along the route, marking and pivoting it at each bend, then measure the total length marked against the map's scale line.

  6. 6

    How can you estimate the area of a feature on an OS map?

    Model answer

    Count the whole grid squares it covers and add the part squares, estimating fractions. Each grid square on a 1:25 000 or 1:50 000 map represents 1 km².

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Coastal Landscapes
Glaciated Landscapes
Tectonic Hazards
Changing Places

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

Governments must win votes.
ruralurbanelite

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AFew coastal people recognised the signs.
BThe coasts were densely populated.
CMany communities were struck with no notice at all.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

The Mariana Trench reaches almost 11,000 m below sea level.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in Fieldwork and Geographical Skills, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.