Fieldwork and skills, Year 7

An anemometer

HintIt often has small cups that spin.

The whyThe faster the wind blows, the faster the cups turn. A hand-held digital one gives a reading in metres per second or kilometres per hour.

A rain gauge

HintIt is a funnel over a measuring container, read in millimetres.

The whyIt is set in the open, away from trees and walls, and read at the same time each day so that the daily totals can be compared.

To make the result more reliable

HintOne reading on its own might be a slip.

The whyA single reading can be thrown off by a slack tape or a misread number. Repeats show up odd results and the mean evens out small errors.

The time of day

HintThink about rush hour.

The whyA count at 8.30 a.m. and a count at 2 p.m. differ for reasons that have nothing to do with the roads themselves.

So that none are forgotten or mixed up

HintThink about an hour later, back in the classroom.

The whyA table prepared in advance, with headings and units, makes sure each reading is recorded once, against the right site, in the same way.

'Does the river get wider downstream?'

HintPick the one you could answer with a tape measure.

The whyA good enquiry question names something that can be measured and has a possible answer. 'What is it like?' gives you nothing to test.

People passing, on a market day and on a normal day

Hint'Busier' is a comparison, so one set of numbers is not enough.

The whyThe question is a comparison, so data is needed for both situations, collected in the same place and in the same way.

An aerial photograph

HintThe describing word covers anything to do with the air.

The whySeen from above, the pattern of fields, roads and buildings is clear in a way it never is at street level.

Housing

HintEach small roof has a family under it.

The whyLand use is what an area is used for. Rows of small buildings with gardens are homes; a few very large roofs with car parks suggest shops or industry.

Labels

HintWithout them, nobody knows what the lines are showing.

The whyA field sketch is a simple outline of a view with its key features named and explained. The notes carry the geography; the drawing only has to be clear.