Skills Flashcards
0
Q
Define biased…
A
Unfairly supporting
1
Q
Define subjective…
A
Based on opinion
2
Q
Define accurate…
A
Close to the real value
3
Q
Define valid…
A
How truthful
4
Q
Define representative…
A
How typical of an area
5
Q
Define qualitative…
A
Description/judgment
6
Q
Define quantitative…
A
Numerical
7
Q
Define discrete data…
A
Definitive information e.g. number of rocks
8
Q
Define continuous data…
A
Measurement which can vary e.g. depth of river
9
Q
What was the title of my investigation?
A
‘An investigation into how river channel characteristics change with increasing distance downstream’
10
Q
What was the aim of my investigation?
A
- The aim of the project was to investigate how a number of characteristics, including discharge, change along the course of the River Derwent in the North York Moors.
11
Q
What was my hypothesis for the investigation?
A
- River discharge will increase with increasing distance downstream. - River velocity will increase with increasing distance downstream.
12
Q
What were the 3 points I measured on the River Derwent?
A
2) Helwath Beck 4) Jugger Howe Beck 7) Broxa
13
Q
Why did I choose Helwath Beck as site 2?
A
- Located near to the source allowing for good comparison with sites further down the long profile.
14
Q
Why did I use Jugger Howe Beck as site 4?
A
- Below Bloody Beck where a main tributary joins, so we can see the impact of this on channel characteristics.
15
Q
Why did I use Broxa as site 7?
A
- Located over 10Km from the source on the River Derwent allowing statistical analysis of channel characteristics and testing of the Bradshaw model.
16
Q
What must you always include on a map?
A
- North arrow - Scale - Key
17
Q
What were the advantages of your general chosen location for your fieldwork study?
A
- Upper course of the River Derwent was accessible by a number of roads. - Located in the Moors of North Yorkshire where the river was natural and unmanaged. - Relatively safe and easy to access.
18
Q
What were the advantages of the actual characteristics of your chosen location for your fieldwork enquiry?
A
Shallow channel- safe Unmanaged- test Bradshaw model Safe- Broxa
19
Q
Justify your hypothesis… ‘River discharge increases with increasing distance downstream’
A
- It is calculated by CSA x V. The CSA increases because vertical and lateral erosion increase downstream. This is because velocity is increasing downstream due to a smoother channel and less friction due to a higher hydraulic radius. - In addition, there is more water in the channel because of the increasing number of tributaries resulting in discharge increase.
20
Q
What was the purpose of your enquiry?
A
- To test the Bradshaw model e.g. that discharge increases downstream. - Increase understanding of landforms and river characteristics.
21
Q
Why would you collect primary data?
A
Velocity data- want to work out discharge- CSA xV
22
Q
Explain how and why, you would collect one piece of primary data relating to the study, with reference to the sampling strategy used?
A
- To investigate whether velocity increases downstream, a suitable stretch of the River Derwent in North Yorkshire was identified, which was approximately 20m in length- still shallow enough to be safe. - 10 survey points identified- record how channel characteristics change and whether they match the Bradshaw model. - At each point, the width of the river was measured and the velocity was recorded using a systematic sample strategy at a 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4s of the way across. This gave an average ensuring we took into consideration the thalweg of the river. - The impellors height was set at 1/2 the depth of the surface facing upstream, so as to be in the fastest flow of water. - A stopwatch was used to time how long the impellor took to travel along the length of the screw, and the velocity of the river channel calculated using a given formula and velocity conversion graph.
23
Q
What equipment did you use to collect a piece of primary data?
A
- Tape measure - Stopwatch - Velocity conversion graph and formula. - Impellor
24
How do you calculate the CSA?
W x D
25
What were the problems with 1 piece of primary data you collected?
1) Wider sections of river meant potentially missing the thalweg. 2) Impellor became stuck with grit. 3) At Broxa the water was murky which made it difficult to see impellor. 4) The impellor stopped working when V was less than 0.0277 m/s.
26
What was the impact of wider sections of the river and potentially missing the thalweg on results? How could it be improved and how would this help your results?
- Unrepresentative velocity measurements as potentially didn't account for the thalweg. - More recordings especially at wider sections of the river. - More representative data giving a more accurate measurement.
27
What was the impact of the impellor becoming stuck with grit? How could it be improved and how would this help your results?
- Inaccurate velocity measurement - Use an electronic velocity recorder. - More representative
28
What was the impact of the water being murky?How could it be improved and how would this help your results?
- Data may have been inaccurate because of human error, leading to a invalid conclusion. - Alternative method such as the float method or a electronic velocity recorder - More representative.
29
What was the impact of the impellor not functioning when velocity was less than 0.0277? How could it be improved and how would this help your results?
- Unrepresentative - Float method or electronic velocity recorder - More representative
30
What were the advantages of the data collection method you used for velocity?
- Quantitive data - Create data presentation e.g. scattergraph - Statistical analysis which allowed the testing of hypothesis - Provided quick, accurate data
31
What sampling technique did you use to collect your data?
- Systematic sampling used on the River Derwent, North Yorkshire moors in order to investigate how river characteristics changed downstream. I did this a number of times e.g. Broxa - Done to make it unbiased and to measure the velocity, when we established a transect (peg and line) and measured velocity at 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 using pegs. - Also depth, sediment size, roundness and width. - Sites located 1.5 Km apart.
32
What were the strengths of the method used to collect the primary data above?
- Dividing river and recording velocity reduced bias. - Could adjust the height of the impellor in order to measure at 1/2 the depth for each specific site. - Quick and easy to complete. - Quantitive data allows statistical analysis.
33
What were the hazards of your investigation?
1) Drowning 2) Slips, trips and falls 3) Hypothermia 4) Weils disease
34
Talk about the risk of drowning?
- Low likelihood with high impact To avoid this we: - Checked river levels - Deepest site last - Worked in groups
35
Talk about the risk of slips, trips and falls
- Medium likelihood with a low impact To avoid this we: - Took care - Entered the river in a safe way - Suitable footwear - No heavy items
36
Talk about the risk of hypothermia?
- Low likelihood with a high impact To avoid this we: - Lots of layers - Spare clothing
37
Talk about the risk of weils disease
- Low likelihood with a medium impact To avoid this we: - Didn't drink the water - Covered any exposed wounds
38
What graphical methods could be used to display the data?
Scattergraph
39
What are the common errors on a scattergraph?
- Axis wrong way round - Incorrect line of best fit - No units for discharge - Incorrectly labelled axis - Title doesn't say anything about correlation
40
How do you draw a scattergraph?
- Distance downstream (independent) plotted on the X/horizontal axis and discharge (dependent) on the Y/vertical axis. - Plot 10 sites and add a trend line to show the overall trend of the results which as expected is positive. - Anomalous results e.g. site 10 - Add title and labels
41
Justify the use of a scattergraph?
- Quantitive data - Continuous data on both axis. - Shows strong positive correlation as plots are close to line of best fit. - Shows site 10 is anomalous
42
What are the strengths of presenting your data using a scattergraph?
- Clearly shows maximum, minimum and outliers within data - good at suggesting correlations due to line of best fit - Excellent for identifying anomalous data which are either well above or below the line of best fit. - Good for predicting what we would expect next (extrapolation)
43
What are the weaknesses of presenting your data using a scattergraph?
- Cannot graph repeat data - Doesn't provide causality - Only suggest a correlation rather than statistical certainty
45
