58 questions. Try each one, then open the answer to check yourself and read the explanation.
Study the map of ODU DISTRICT to answer this question. The symbol △ 1030 represents a
Answer: C (trigonometrical station.)
A triangle with a height beside it is the conventional sign for a trigonometrical station.
Study the map of ODU DISTRICT to answer this question. The long stretch of highland to the northeastern part of the map is a
Answer: C (ridge.)
The closely spaced contours run in a long narrow band across the north-east: a ridge.
Study the map of ODU DISTRICT to answer this question. ODU is most likely to be important trading centre because it is
Answer: A (a nodal centre.)
Routes meet at ODU, and a town where routes meet attracts trade; there is no port, mine or fishing on this inland map.
Which of the following planets is the farthest from the sun in the solar system?
Answer: D (Pluto.)
When this paper was set Pluto was counted as the ninth and outermost planet.
What will be the local time in Nigeria 15°E when the time is 7.00 p.m. in town Y 30°W?
Answer: B (10.00 p.m.)
Difference = 15 + 30 = 45° = 3 hours; Nigeria is east, so ahead: 7.00 p.m. + 3 h = 10.00 p.m.
What is the approximate distance between two places if one is located on 11°N and the other on 5°S on the same longitude?
Answer: C (1,776 km.)
They are on opposite sides of the Equator: 11 + 5 = 16°; 16 × 111 km = 1,776 km.
The horizontal displacement of blocks of the earth's crust along a fault plane is called
Answer: A (tear faulting.)
In a tear (strike-slip) fault the blocks slide past each other sideways along the fault.
The section of the external structure of the earth that supports life is the
Answer: A (biosphere.)
The biosphere is the zone of land, water and air where living things are found.
Which of the following are examples of metamorphic rocks?
Answer: B (Gneiss and quartzite.)
Gneiss (from granite) and quartzite (from sandstone) are both metamorphic; basalt, gabbro and granite are igneous.
The name of the volcanic rock which often forms the root of fold mountains is called
Answer: A (Batholith.)
Batholiths are huge masses of intrusive rock lying deep under fold mountains.
Which of the following is the most important weathering process in karst regions?
Answer: D (Carbonation.)
Rainwater containing carbon dioxide dissolves limestone: carbonation.
Which of the following mass wasting process results in curved tree trunks and leaning telegraph poles?
Answer: C (Soil creep.)
Soil creep is the very slow downhill movement of soil that tilts poles and bends tree trunks.
Which of the following are circular depressions formed on the bed of a river in its upper course by pebbles carried by the river?
Answer: A (Potholes.)
Pebbles swirled round by eddies drill round holes in the river bed: potholes.
Through what process are rift valleys formed?
Answer: C (Faulting.)
A rift valley forms when a block of land sinks between two parallel faults.
The process by which rocks are disintegrated by physical and chemical means in situ is known as
Answer: D (weathering.)
Breaking down of rocks where they lie is weathering.
Which of the following is a feature commonly found in the youthful stage of a river?
Answer: D (Interlocking spur.)
In the upper (youthful) course the river winds between interlocking spurs; the others are lower-course features.
The shallow part of the sea adjoining the coast is called
Answer: A (continental shelf.)
The continental shelf is the gently sloping, shallow sea floor next to the land.
Most warm ocean currents flow
Answer: B (from the Equator.)
Warm currents carry warm water from equatorial regions towards the poles.
Hail, fog, dew and frost are all forms of
Answer: D (precipitation.)
They are all forms of moisture from the air that reach the surface, grouped as precipitation (and condensation) in the syllabus.
Which of the following elements of weather and climate is matched with the wrong measuring instrument?
Answer: C (Humidity and barometer.)
Humidity is measured with a hygrometer (wet and dry bulb thermometers); a barometer measures pressure.
Through which of the following processes does solar energy warm the earth's surface?
Answer: D (Radiation.)
The sun's energy reaches the earth across space as radiation.
The release of harmful substances into the environment is called
Answer: D (pollution.)
Adding harmful substances to air, water or land is pollution.
Which of the following is the most important agent of erosion in humid regions?
Answer: D (Running water.)
Plenty of rain in humid regions gives many rivers and runoff, which do most of the erosion.
The diagram shows a hypothetical representation of population of selected countries (USA, Canada, Germany) in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Use it to answer this question. The diagrammatic representation above is a
Answer: D (bar graph.)
The values are shown by bars of different heights: a (multiple) bar graph.
The diagram shows a hypothetical representation of population of selected countries (USA, Canada, Germany) in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Use it to answer this question. The population of Canada in 2008 is
Answer: B (400 million.)
The Canada bar for 2008 reaches the 400 mark.
The diagram shows a hypothetical representation of population of selected countries (USA, Canada, Germany) in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Use it to answer this question. By how much did the population of Germany grow between 2008 and 2009?
Answer: B (50 million.)
Read the Germany bars for 2008 and 2009 and subtract: the 2009 bar is about 50 million higher.
Water pollution is caused by all the following except
Answer: A (treated sewage.)
Treated sewage has had harmful matter removed; the others poison water.
"The climate is constantly warm, rainfall is relatively abundant with double maxima, there is no month without rain." These are the characteristics of the
Answer: C (Equatorial climate.)
Constant heat, rain in every month and two rainfall peaks describe the equatorial climate.
Which of the following climatic types has the smallest annual range of temperature?
Answer: D (Equatorial.)
Equatorial places are hot all year, with an annual range of only about 2-3°C.
Which of the following is the first stage in the process of lumbering?
Answer: B (Suitable species are identified.)
Before felling, the lumbermen must first locate and mark the valuable trees.
Which of the following criteria is not important in distinguishing between a village and a town?
Answer: A (Geographical situation.)
Villages and towns are told apart by size, functions and amenities, not by where they are situated.
The number of persons per square kilometre of land is called
Answer: C (population density.)
Population density = number of people ÷ area.
Which of the following is a disadvantage of high population density?
Answer: A (Unemployment)
Too many people for the available jobs leads to unemployment; the other options are benefits.
Which factor of industrial location explains the establishment of cement industries near areas of limestone deposit? Proximity to
Answer: B (source of raw materials.)
Limestone is bulky and heavy, so cement factories are built near the deposits.
Which of the following modes of transportation provides door-to-door services?
Answer: A (Road transport.)
Only road vehicles can pick up and deliver at the exact doorstep.
African rivers exhibit the following characteristics except
Answer: D (that they have great depths.)
Many African rivers are shallow, with sandbars, especially in the dry season.
What method of mining is used for extracting petroleum in Africa?
Answer: B (Drilling.)
Oil is reached by drilling wells into the rock.
What factor accounts for the slow rate of industrial development in Tropical Africa?
Answer: A (Inadequate capital.)
Lack of capital is a major hindrance; the other options would help industry.
What is the name of the local wind that blows in West Africa between November and February?
Answer: A (Harmattan.)
The dry, dusty harmattan blows from the Sahara in the dry season.
Which of the following vegetation belts in Africa is the most extensive?
Answer: C (Savannah.)
Savanna covers more of Africa than any other vegetation belt.
Through which of the following sea routes is crude oil from West Africa transported to European markets?
Answer: B (The Cape route.)
The Cape route links Western Europe with West Africa and goes on round the Cape of Good Hope. Tankers carrying crude oil from Nigeria and other West African countries to Europe use this route. The North Atlantic route joins Europe and North America.
Which of the following towns has winter rainfall and summer drought?
Answer: B (Cape Town.)
Cape Town has a Mediterranean climate: rain in the cool winter and a dry summer.
Favourable factors for lumbering in Africa include all the following except
Answer: D (inaccessible equatorial forest.)
Forest that cannot be reached is a problem for lumbering, not a help.
(a) Outline four functions of an urban centre. (b) Highlight four problems of urbanization. (c) Suggest possible solutions to any two of the problems identified in (b) above.
(a) Administrative (government offices); commercial (markets, banks, shops); industrial; educational; health; residential; transport and communication centre; religious; recreational and tourism; provision of employment.
(b) Traffic congestion; slums and housing shortage; unemployment; high crime rate; pollution and poor sanitation; pressure on amenities (water, power, schools); high cost of living; spread of diseases.
(c) Congestion: more roads, mass transit, traffic control; slums: housing estates, urban renewal; unemployment: industries and skills training; crime: better security and jobs; pollution: waste management and sanitation laws; rural development to reduce migration.
Match each solution to a problem you named.
(a) Highlight any three advantages of each of the following modes of transport: (i) Rail; (ii) Water. (b) Give any four reasons why some countries in Africa have not been able to sustain their rail transport.
(a)(i) Rail: carries bulky and heavy goods cheaply over long distances; carries many passengers at once; opens up new areas; no traffic congestion; safer than road; reliable timetables.
(ii) Water: cheapest for bulky goods; carries very large loads; low construction cost (natural routes); links countries (international trade); good for heavy and non-perishable goods.
(b) High cost of construction and maintenance; inadequate capital; poor management and corruption; competition from road transport; old narrow-gauge lines and engines; lack of spare parts and skilled staff; low freight and passenger traffic; depletion of the minerals the lines were built for; political instability and unstable policies.
Three points for each mode.
(a) Define international trade. (b) Describe any five benefits of international trade. (c) What four factors limit trade between African countries and the United States of America (USA)?
(a) International trade is the exchange of goods and services between countries.
(b) Countries obtain goods they cannot produce; earns foreign exchange; encourages specialisation; widens markets; government revenue from duties; transfer of technology and ideas; jobs; good international relations; raises living standards.
(c) Distance and high freight costs; African exports are mostly raw materials of low value; strict US quality and health standards; tariffs and quotas; competition from other suppliers; low purchasing power in Africa; currency problems; political instability.
Explain each benefit briefly.
(a) Draw an outline map of Nigeria. On it, locate and name: (i) The Chad Basin; (ii) The Western Highlands; (iii) One important town in 5(a)(i) or (ii) above. (b) Describe the geography of the Western Highlands under the following headings: (i) Relief; (ii) Economic activities; (iii) Problems of development.
(a) Map: Chad Basin in the north-east (Maiduguri); Western Highlands in the south-west/west (Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Kwara; towns such as Oyo, Ilorin, Ado-Ekiti, Iseyin).
(b)(i) Relief: undulating upland of crystalline basement rock, 300-600 m, rising above 600 m in the Ekiti and Idanre hills; inselbergs (e.g. Olumo Rock, Idanre); dissected by rivers (Ogun, Osun, Oyo) flowing south.
(ii) Economic activities: cocoa, kola and oil palm farming in the south; yams, maize, cassava and tobacco; cattle in drier north; lumbering; quarrying and mining (granite, kaolin, gold at Ilesha); trade and crafts (weaving, dyeing); tourism.
(iii) Problems: soil erosion and leaching; rugged terrain for roads; bush burning; ageing cocoa farms and pests; rural-urban migration; poor roads and amenities; insufficient capital.
Keep (b) to the Western Highlands only.
(a) Explain any five physical factors that hinder the development of railway transportation in Nigeria. (b) Highlight any five ways transportation contributes to the economic development of Nigeria.
(a) Rugged relief and steep gradients (Jos Plateau, Udi hills, eastern highlands); many rivers and wide floodplains needing costly bridges (Niger, Benue); swamps and creeks in the south (Niger Delta); dense rainforest; heavy rainfall causing washouts and erosion; sandy desert soils and dust in the far north; floods.
(b) Movement of goods and raw materials; movement of people and labour; links producing areas with markets and ports; opens up new areas; promotes trade (internal and international); employment; national unity; tourism; government revenue; growth of towns.
Physical factors only in (a).
(a) Explain any five factors that are responsible for the population distribution in West Africa. (b) Outline any five advantages of low population density in some parts of West Africa.
(a) Climate (more people where rainfall is adequate; few in the Sahara/Sahel); fertile soils; relief (few in rugged highlands, many on plains and plateaus such as Jos); water supply; minerals (Jos, Tarkwa, Port Harcourt); industrialisation and employment in towns; historical factors (slave raids depopulated the middle belt; old kingdoms like Kano, Ife); pests and diseases (tsetse, river blindness); transport; government policy and capitals.
(b) Plenty of land for farming and grazing; less pressure on amenities; less pollution and congestion; lower crime; less environmental degradation; room for future development; fallowing restores soil fertility; resources conserved; lower cost of land.
Give a West African example for each factor.
(a) Draw an outline map of Africa. On the map, show and name: (i) Any three rivers important for generating electricity; (ii) Any two dams on two of the rivers. (b) Outline any five benefits of hydroelectric power to the people of Africa.
(a) Map with rivers such as Niger (Kainji, Jebba), Volta (Akosombo), Nile (Aswan High Dam), Zambezi (Kariba, Cahora Bassa), Congo (Inga); dams drawn on the correct rivers.
(b) Cheap, clean and renewable electricity; power for industries (e.g. aluminium smelting at Tema); domestic lighting and appliances; rural electrification; reservoirs for irrigation, fishing and transport; flood control; employment; tourism; export of electricity earns foreign exchange; reduces use of firewood.
Put each dam on its own river.
(a) Draw a sketch map of Africa. On the map, locate and name any two areas of gold mining in South Africa. (b) Describe one method of mining gold in South Africa. (c) State any four importance of gold mining to South Africa.
(a) Map: Witwatersrand (Johannesburg), Orange Free State goldfield (Welkom), Klerksdorp, Evander, Barberton.
(b) Shaft (deep) mining: vertical shafts are sunk to great depths (over 3,000 m); horizontal tunnels (drifts/stopes) follow the gold-bearing reef; the ore is blasted, loaded into wagons and lifted to the surface; it is crushed into fine powder and gold is extracted by cyanide or mercury and smelted into bars. (Alternatively alluvial panning or open cast.)
(c) Foreign exchange; government revenue; employment for millions including migrant workers; growth of towns (Johannesburg); development of transport and industries; attracts foreign investment; raw material for jewellery and electronics.
Describe the steps in order.
Four Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member countries contributed to a capital project in the sub-region in 2007 as shown below:
Country A: $50,000
Country B: $150,000
Country C: $110,000
Country D: $90,000
(a) Illustrate the information above in a pie chart. (b) State two advantages of using pie chart.
(a) Total = $400,000. Angles: A = 50,000/400,000 × 360° = 45°; B = 135°; C = 99°; D = 81° (sum 360°). Draw a circle of suitable radius, measure the sectors with a protractor from a vertical radius, shade/label each country with its value or percentage (A 12.5%, B 37.5%, C 27.5%, D 22.5%), title and key.
(b) Simple and attractive; easy to compare each part with the whole; easy to understand at a glance; shows many items in one diagram; easy to construct.
Show the working of every angle.
(a) With the aid of diagrams, explain the following terms in relation to the shape of the earth. (i) Sunrise and sunset. (ii) Circumnavigation. (b) Calculate the distance between town A (latitude 5°N) and town B (latitude 10°N) if they are both situated on the same meridian.
(a)(i) Because the earth is a sphere rotating from west to east, the sun rises earlier at places to the east and later at places to the west; sunrise and sunset happen at different times along different longitudes; if the earth were flat the sun would rise at the same time everywhere. Diagram of a globe lit from one side.
(ii) Circumnavigation: travelling continuously in one direction (e.g. eastwards) round the earth brings the traveller back to the starting point, as Magellan's expedition did; this is possible only on a sphere. Diagram of a route round a globe.
(b) Both are north of the Equator: 10° − 5° = 5°; 5 × 111 km = 555 km (5 × 69 miles = 345 miles).
Subtract latitudes when both places are in the same hemisphere.
(a) With the aid of diagrams, describe one mode of formation of a block mountain. (b) In what four ways are mountains of economic importance?
(a) Tension (or compression) in the crust produces two parallel faults; either the land between the faults is pushed up, or the land on both sides sinks, leaving the middle block standing high as a block mountain (horst) with steep fault-scarp sides and a flat top; e.g. Vosges, Black Forest, Ruwenzori, Usambara. Diagrams showing the faults, the arrows of movement and the raised block.
(b) Source of minerals; tourism and recreation (mountaineering, cool resorts); hydro-electric power from fast rivers; source of rivers; grazing (transhumance); forests and timber; relief rainfall on windward slopes; climatic barriers and defence; cool climate for crops such as tea and temperate vegetables.
Draw before-and-after diagrams.
(a) Define the term weathering. (b) Describe four processes of chemical weathering.
(a) Weathering is the breaking down or decay of rocks in their original place (in situ) by physical, chemical and biological processes, without the material being carried away.
(b) Carbonation: rainwater with carbon dioxide forms weak carbonic acid that dissolves limestone; oxidation: oxygen in water combines with iron in rocks, forming rust-coloured iron oxide that crumbles; hydration: minerals absorb water, swell and break up (e.g. feldspar to kaolin); hydrolysis: water reacts chemically with minerals such as feldspar in granite to form clay; solution: soluble minerals such as rock salt dissolve directly in water.
Name the rock or mineral affected by each process.
(a) List any two types of delta. (b) Explain four conditions favourable for the formation of delta. (c) Describe three main characteristics of a delta.
(a) Arcuate (fan-shaped), e.g. Niger, Nile; bird's-foot, e.g. Mississippi; estuarine/cuspate, e.g. Tiber.
(b) The river carries a large load of sediment; the sea or lake at the mouth is calm, with weak tides and currents; shallow, gently sloping sea floor; no strong currents to carry sediment away; slow speed of the river at its mouth; salt water helps the clay particles to flocculate and settle.
(c) Low, flat land of fine alluvium; the river splits into many distributaries; swamps, lagoons and creeks; fertile soils; builds out into the sea; mangrove vegetation in the tropics; triangular or fan shape.
Give a named example of each type.
Write explanatory notes on flooding under the following: (a) areas of occurrence; (b) causes; (c) negative effects; (d) control.
Flooding is the covering of normally dry land by water.
(a) River floodplains and valleys (Niger, Benue, Nile, Mississippi); deltas and coastal lowlands (Niger Delta, Lagos, Bangladesh); low-lying parts of towns with poor drainage; areas below dams.
(b) Heavy and prolonged rainfall; overflowing rivers; release of water from dams; blocked drainage and building on waterways; deforestation increasing runoff; storm surges and high tides; melting snow; dam failure.
(c) Loss of lives; destruction of homes, roads and bridges; crops and livestock destroyed; displacement of people; water-borne diseases; soil erosion; economic losses.
(d) Build dams and reservoirs; levees and embankments; dredging and channelisation; good drainage and clearing of gutters; afforestation; control of building on floodplains; early warning; planned release of dam water.
Write points under all four headings.
(a) Define ecosystem. (b) Describe any four ways in which man has interfered with the ecosystem. (c) With specific examples, outline three effects of man's interference with the ecosystem.
(a) An ecosystem is a community of plants and animals interacting with one another and with their non-living environment (soil, water, air, sunlight) in an area.
(b) Deforestation (lumbering, farming, urbanisation); bush burning; mining and quarrying; pollution of air, water and land; overgrazing; hunting and fishing; building of dams; use of fertilisers and pesticides; urbanisation and road building.
(c) Soil erosion and gullies (e.g. Agulu-Nanka, Anambra); desertification in northern Nigeria; loss of wildlife and plant species (extinction); oil pollution killing fish in the Niger Delta; global warming and climate change; flooding; acid rain; loss of soil fertility.
Give a real example with each effect.