Your own fieldwork: physical geography enquiry - AQA GCSE Geography (Paper 3) Exam Questions

Practise 25 exam-style questions on Your own fieldwork: physical geography enquiry for AQA GCSE Geography (Paper 3). Write your answer as you would in the exam and get it marked in seconds against the mark scheme, point by point, with an AI tutor on hand if you get stuck.

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1–12 marks each
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20 questions, marked as you go

Sample questions with model answers

Here are 4 of the questions in this topic, each with a model answer, an explanation of why it earns the marks and the mark scheme an examiner would use.

Question 1

1 mark

Name one source of secondary data that you used, or could have used, in your physical geography enquiry.

Model answer

Met Office rainfall records for the week before our fieldwork on the River Holford.

Explanation

Secondary data has been collected by someone else, such as a government agency, and is used to give context or to compare with your own results. Rainfall records, for example, show whether the river was higher than normal on the day of the fieldwork. Data you measured yourself is primary data, even if you later typed it into a spreadsheet.

Mark scheme

1 mark
An appropriate source of secondary data for a physical enquiry, e.g. Ordnance Survey maps / geology maps / Environment Agency river level, discharge or flood risk data / Met Office rainfall or weather records / tide tables / a Shoreline Management Plan / satellite images or online aerial maps / published reports, books or websites / data collected by other groups or in previous years
Do not accept primary data the student collected themselves (e.g. 'our depth measurements'). Accept 'the internet' only if the type of data is stated (e.g. 'rainfall data from the Met Office website').

Question 2

2 marks

Explain why it was important to collect a large enough sample of data in your physical geography enquiry.

Model answer

A large sample is more representative of the river. At each of our five sites on the River Holford we measured 10 pebbles. If we had measured only two or three, one unusually large stone would have had a big effect on the mean, so the larger sample made our mean pebble sizes more reliable and our conclusion that pebble size decreases downstream more trustworthy.

Explanation

The bigger the sample, the less one unusual reading affects the result, so the data is more representative and reliable. A larger sample also takes more time, so fieldwork always balances sample size against the time available. Answers that only say 'to get more data' do not explain why more data is better.

Mark scheme

1 mark
A larger sample is more representative of the whole river, beach or area / reduces the effect of anomalies or unusual readings
max 2; 1 for a reason, 1 for development. Credit reference to the student's own sample (e.g. 10 pebbles at each site).
1 mark
so the results (e.g. the means) are more reliable or accurate and the conclusions can be trusted
development of the previous point
1 mark
Statistical tests such as Spearman's rank need a reasonable number of sites or pairs of data (often at least 10)
1 mark
otherwise the result cannot be judged significant / the pattern could have happened by chance
development of the previous point

Question 3

4 marks

Suggest two ways in which you could improve the data collection in your physical geography enquiry to make your results more reliable.

Model answer

First, I could collect data at more sites, for example ten sites every 200 m instead of five sites every 500 m. This would make the downstream pattern clearer, reduce the effect of one anomaly like the slow velocity at Site 3, and give enough pairs of data to use Spearman's rank. Second, I could use a flow meter instead of timing a float. A float only measures surface velocity and was blown by the wind and caught in eddies, but a flow meter measures velocity directly at a set depth, so the readings at every site would be more consistent and reliable.

Explanation

Reliability means getting similar results if the data were collected again. Each improvement earns one mark, and explaining why it makes the results more reliable earns the second, so 'use better equipment' on its own scores only 1. The best answers name the specific change to their own method.

Mark scheme

1 mark
Collect data at more sites / take a larger sample (e.g. more pebbles or quadrats at each site)
max 4; two ways, each with 1 mark for the improvement and 1 for explaining how it improves reliability. Credit any appropriate improvement.
1 mark
so anomalies have less effect / the pattern is clearer and more representative / statistical tests such as Spearman's rank become valid
development of the previous point
1 mark
Repeat each measurement several times (e.g. time the float three times) and calculate a mean
1 mark
so random errors such as stopwatch reaction time are reduced
development of the previous point
1 mark
Use more precise equipment, e.g. a flow meter instead of a float, a digital pH meter instead of a colour chart, callipers instead of a ruler
1 mark
which gives readings less affected by human judgement / measures velocity below the surface rather than only at the surface
development of the previous point
1 mark
Repeat the fieldwork on other days or in other seasons
1 mark
to check whether the results are typical and not caused by the conditions on one day (e.g. recent heavy rain)
development of the previous point
1 mark
Make the method consistent, e.g. the same person takes each type of measurement at every site, or pebbles are selected randomly rather than by eye
1 mark
so results from different sites can be compared fairly and bias is reduced
development of the previous point

Question 4

6 marks

Explain how the geographical theory or concept behind your physical geography enquiry helped you to plan the enquiry.

Model answer

My enquiry 'How does the River Holford change downstream?' was based on the Bradshaw model, which predicts that width, depth, velocity and discharge increase downstream while load size and gradient decrease.

The model helped me plan in several ways. First, it gave me my hypotheses, such as 'Channel width increases with distance downstream' and 'Pebble size decreases with distance downstream', so I knew exactly what I was testing. Second, it told me which variables to measure: width, depth, velocity and pebble size and roundness. This decided the equipment we needed - a tape measure, a metre rule, a float and stopwatch, and callipers with a Powers' roundness chart.

Third, it affected where and how we sampled. Because the model is about change with distance from the source, we needed a river we could follow downstream, and we chose sites at regular 500 m intervals from near the source so that changes could be plotted against distance. Fourth, it gave us expected results, so during processing we could see that the low velocity at Site 3 did not fit and investigate why. Finally, it helped us decide to present our data as graphs against distance downstream, and it gave us the explanations, such as attrition and abrasion, that we used in our conclusion.

Explanation

Theory is the starting point of an enquiry: it suggests the question, the hypotheses, what to measure and where. Level 3 answers explain several of these links using details of their own enquiry, rather than just describing the theory. A description of the Bradshaw model with no link to planning stays in Level 1.

Mark scheme

6 marks
Levels of response (6 marks).
Level 3 (5-6 marks): detailed, well-developed explanation of several ways the theory or concept shaped the planning (question and hypotheses, variables, location, sampling, equipment, expected results); clearly applied to the student's own enquiry with specific detail.
Level 2 (3-4 marks): clear explanation of some ways the theory helped the planning, with some application to the student's enquiry.
Level 1 (1-2 marks): basic statements about the theory with little link to planning; may simply describe the theory; generic.
0 marks: nothing worthy of credit.
Indicative content (not a checklist; credit other valid points): the theory named and briefly outlined; it gave the enquiry question and testable hypotheses (e.g. Bradshaw predicts width increases downstream); it decided which variables to measure (width, depth, velocity, load size and roundness, gradient) and so which equipment was needed; it influenced the choice of location (a river long enough to show change; a dune system with a full sequence of zones); it shaped the sampling strategy (sites at regular intervals downstream or along a transect inland); it gave expected results to compare with, helping to identify anomalies; it suggested how to present the data (graphs against distance) and which statistical test to use (Spearman's rank); it provided the explanations used in the conclusion. Credit any appropriate physical theory or concept.

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