GCSE Geography Revision — Map Skills: Grid References, Scale & Contours
Revise Map Skills: Grid References, Scale & Contours for GCSE Geography with a topic explanation, worked example and common mistakes. Check the board notes for specification differences.
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- Map Skills: Grid References, Scale & Contours in GCSE Geography: explanation, examples, and practice links on this page.
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What is Map Skills: Grid References, Scale & Contours?
Ordnance Survey (OS) map skills are fundamental to geography. A four-figure grid reference (e.g., 1234) identifies a grid square, while a six-figure grid reference (e.g., 123345) pinpoints a more precise location within that square. The scale of a map (e.g., 1:25,000) shows the relationship between a distance on the map and the actual distance on the ground. Contour lines join points of equal height and are used to show the relief (shape) of the land.
Board notes: These are essential, examinable skills for all GCSE Geography students (AQA, Edexcel, OCR). Questions requiring students to use an OS map extract to identify features, give grid references, measure distances, or describe relief appear in almost every exam paper.
Step-by-step explanationWorked examples
Worked example
Finding a six-figure grid reference: 1. First, find the four-figure reference for the square the feature is in (e.g., a church is in square 4562). 2. Imagine this square is divided into a 10x10 grid. 3. Estimate how many tenths 'along the corridor' the church is from the bottom-left corner (e.g., 7 tenths). This gives you 457. 4. Then estimate how many tenths 'up the stairs' it is (e.g., 3 tenths). This gives you 623. 5. Combine them to get the six-figure reference: 457623.
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Common mistakes
- 1Getting the order of grid references wrong. The rule is 'along the corridor and up the stairs'. You always read the eastings (the numbers along the bottom/top) first, then the northings (the numbers up the side).
- 2Misreading the scale. On a 1:25,000 map, 1 centimetre on the map represents 25,000 centimetres (or 250 metres) on the ground. A common mistake is to forget to convert the units correctly when measuring distances.
- 3Confusing closely spaced and widely spaced contour lines. Contour lines that are close together indicate steep land, while lines that are far apart show gentle slopes or flat land.
Map Skills: Grid References, Scale & Contours exam questions
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Frequently asked questions
How do you give a four-figure grid reference?
Find the grid square containing the feature you want to locate. Take the number of the vertical grid line to the left of the square (the easting) and then the number of the horizontal grid line at the bottom of the square (the northing). For example, 4562.
What does a 1:50,000 scale map mean?
It means that 1 unit of measurement on the map represents 50,000 of the same units on the ground. For example, 1cm on the map is equal to 50,000cm (or 500 metres or 0.5km) in reality. These maps cover a larger area than 1:25,000 maps but show less detail.