Logo

Geography Quiz - Looking at the UK 01 (Questions)

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are the countries that make up the UK. In your KS3 Geography lessons, you will (hopefully) have been taught that the UK does NOT include the Republic of Ireland! There is sometimes talk on the TV about the north/south divide of the UK. People from London say that anything north of Watford is the north but people in Liverpool say that the south begins at the River Mersey. Geographers are a little clearer about it, they say that it is a line that divides upland from lowland and marks the change from mainly arable to mainly pastoral farming. In geographical terms, it is a (slightly wiggly) line from the mouth of the River Humber to the start of the Severn Estuary.

In terms of human geography, the south fares better than the north - a slightly better life expectancy, higher income, better employment opportunities and so on. Some geographers argue that the dividing line should carry on south to the River Exe, making most of Devon and Cornwall part of the 'north'. It is probably better to think of this as more of a north and west/south and east divide.

1. What do the letters UK mean?
[ ] Undivided Kingdom
[ ] Unified Kingdom
[ ] Union of Kingdoms
[ ] United Kingdom
2. The UK can be described by which word?
[ ] Continent
[ ] Islands
[ ] Peninsula
[ ] Republic
3. How many countries make up the UK?
[ ] 2
[ ] 3
[ ] 4
[ ] 5
4. Which country is not part of the UK?
[ ] Northern Ireland
[ ] Republic of Ireland
[ ] Scotland
[ ] Wales
5. England's so-called North-South divide is based on what sort of factors?
[ ] Economic
[ ] Agricultural
[ ] Geographical
[ ] All of the above
6. The Scottish city of Aberdeen is a support centre for which industry?
[ ] Car production
[ ] Nuclear power
[ ] Oil
[ ] Textiles
7. What is an official population survey called?
[ ] Assessment
[ ] Census
[ ] Government tally
[ ] Head count
8. What is the main cause of loss of countryside in South-East England?
[ ] Building of new housing estates
[ ] Foreign tourists
[ ] Grazing animals
[ ] Industrial pollution
9. What is the UK's 2nd largest city after London?
[ ] Birmingham
[ ] Cardiff
[ ] Edinburgh
[ ] Manchester
10. Which of these had the lowest unemployment rates in 2009?
[ ] North-East England
[ ] Orkney Islands
[ ] South-West England
[ ] West Midlands
Logo
Geography Quiz - Looking at the UK 01 (Answers)
1. What do the letters UK mean?
[ ] Undivided Kingdom
[ ] Unified Kingdom
[ ] Union of Kingdoms
[x] United Kingdom
Its full title is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain actually refers to the main island of our archipelago, the one that contains Wales, Scotland and England. Many people mistakenly refer to the UK as Great Britain
2. The UK can be described by which word?
[ ] Continent
[x] Islands
[ ] Peninsula
[ ] Republic
It is an archipelago that has two main islands and thousands of smaller ones
3. How many countries make up the UK?
[ ] 2
[ ] 3
[x] 4
[ ] 5
The United Kingdom was formed in 1801 when Great Britain and Ireland passed an Act of Union
4. Which country is not part of the UK?
[ ] Northern Ireland
[x] Republic of Ireland
[ ] Scotland
[ ] Wales
Southern counties of Ireland left the union in 1922 to form the Republic of Ireland
5. England's so-called North-South divide is based on what sort of factors?
[ ] Economic
[ ] Agricultural
[ ] Geographical
[x] All of the above
Some think there is a 'poor North' and 'rich South' but the situation is not quite as clear-cut as that
6. The Scottish city of Aberdeen is a support centre for which industry?
[ ] Car production
[ ] Nuclear power
[x] Oil
[ ] Textiles
It became an oil boom town when North Sea oil (and gas) was first discovered. It was an ideal location for oil companies to use as a base for people and equipment needed to travel to the rigs out in the North Sea
7. What is an official population survey called?
[ ] Assessment
[x] Census
[ ] Government tally
[ ] Head count
Can you work out when the next one is due? There is a census every 10 years and it began in 1801
8. What is the main cause of loss of countryside in South-East England?
[x] Building of new housing estates
[ ] Foreign tourists
[ ] Grazing animals
[ ] Industrial pollution
As more and more houses are built, there is less and less farmland and countryside between towns and villages
9. What is the UK's 2nd largest city after London?
[x] Birmingham
[ ] Cardiff
[ ] Edinburgh
[ ] Manchester
London's population is around 9 million! Birmingham's is just over 1 million
10. Which of these had the lowest unemployment rates in 2009?
[ ] North-East England
[x] Orkney Islands
[ ] South-West England
[ ] West Midlands
The Orkneys are off Scotland's north coast. Many people are self-employed in tourism & local service industries and there is a low population density