OCR GCSE Geography B (J384) · Geographical Skills & Fieldwork
Mini-Lesson
Geographical Skills & Fieldwork
This mini-lesson walks you through the geographical skills OCR B expects: reading OS maps (grid references, scale, distance, direction, contours), choosing the right graph, working out statistics, running a fieldwork enquiry, and using GIS.
Work through each screen, answer the questions as you go (multiple-choice, two calculations, short-answer and games) and collect ⭐ stars. Press Start when you're ready.
OS map skills
Grid references — eastings then northings
Ordnance Survey maps are covered by a numbered grid. The golden rule is along the corridor, then up the stairs — read the eastings (the lines going up, numbered left→right) first, then the northings (lines going across, numbered bottom→top).
To name a square, read its left-hand easting line, then its bottom northing line. Here the shaded square is 1946 (easting 19, northing 46).
4-figure reference = a whole 1 km square (2 digits east, 2 north). 6-figure = a point within that square (imagine each square split into tenths, 0–9, giving 3 digits east, 3 north).
Quick check
Reading a 6-figure reference
?A church lies in grid square 1946. It is 4 tenths across the square from the left and 7 tenths up from the bottom. What is its full 6-figure grid reference?
OS map skills
Scale, distance and direction
Scale: OS maps are drawn to scale. On a 1:25 000 map, 4 cm = 1 km (each grid square is 1 km across); on a 1:50 000 map, 2 cm = 1 km. Scale tells you real distance from map distance.
Distance: measure a straight line with a ruler, or a winding route (road/river) with string or the edge of paper, then convert using the scale.
Direction: use the 8-point compass (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW). For more precision use a bearing — the clockwise angle from north, measured in degrees (000°–360°).
Bearings: always measured clockwise from north. Due east is 090°, due south is 180°, due west is 270°.
Skills — calculate
Turning map distance into real distance
On a 1:50 000 OS map, a footpath measures 6 cm long on the map.
How long is the footpath in real life, in kilometres?
How to work it out
1:50 000 means 1 cm on the map = 50 000 cm on the ground.
6 cm × 50 000 = 300 000 cm. Then 300 000 cm ÷ 100 000 = km (100 000 cm in 1 km).
kmEnter the real length of the footpath:
km
Tip: 6 × 50 000 = 300 000 cm; there are 100 000 cm in 1 km.
OS map skills
Relief and contour lines
Contour lines are lines on a map joining points of equal height above sea level. They show the shape of the land — its relief. Every so often a contour is labelled with its height in metres.
Contours close together mean a steep slope; contours far apart mean a gentle slope. Circles inside circles mark a hill or summit.Quick check
Reading the slope
?On an OS map, the contour lines on one hillside are drawn very close together. What does this tell you about the land?
Graphical skills
Choosing the right graph
Part of the skill is picking the right way to present data:
Bar chart — compares separate categories (e.g. traffic count by street).
Line graph — shows change over time (e.g. rainfall through the year).
Pie chart — shows proportions of a whole (e.g. how land use is split).
Choropleth map — uses shading (darker = higher value) to show how something varies across an area (e.g. population density).
Proportional symbols — circles/bars whose size shows the value (e.g. bigger circle = bigger city).
Choropleth = colour/shade categories on a map; proportional symbols = symbols whose size scales with the value. Don't confuse them.
Match it
Match the data to the best graph
Tap the type of data on the left, then tap the best way to present it on the right.
Numerical & statistical skills
Averages and spread
Four measures describe a set of data. For the pebble sizes 2, 4, 7, 8, 9 (cm):
Mean — add them up, divide by how many: (2+4+7+8+9) ÷ 5 = 30 ÷ 5 = 6.
Median — the middle value when in order: 2, 4, 7, 8, 9 → 7.
Mode — the value that appears most often (none repeats here, so there is no mode).
Range — highest − lowest: 9 − 2 = 7 (a measure of spread).
Median vs mean: the median is just the middle number in an ordered list — it isn't affected by one very large "anomaly", so it can be more reliable than the mean when the data has outliers.
Skills — calculate
Find the median
A student measured the width of 7 pebbles (cm): 5, 8, 3, 6, 5, 9, 4.
What is the median pebble width?
How to work it out
Put them in order first: 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 8, 9. With 7 values the middle one is the 4th value.
cmEnter the median width:
cm
Tip: ordered → 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 8, 9. The middle (4th of 7) value is the median.
Fieldwork enquiry
The fieldwork enquiry process
A good fieldwork investigation follows a clear route, from question to evaluation:
Set a question/hypothesis → collect data → present it → analyse it → reach a conclusion → evaluate the strengths and limitations.Fieldwork enquiry
Data: primary, secondary and sampling
Primary data — data you collect yourself in the field (e.g. your own traffic count or river measurements).
Secondary data — data collected by someone else (e.g. census figures, Environment Agency records, an OS map).
Sampling — you can't measure everything, so you sample: random (chosen by chance), systematic (at regular intervals, e.g. every 10 m) or stratified (in proportion to sub-groups).
Primary vs secondary: if you gathered it in the field it's primary; if you looked it up from an existing source it's secondary.
Sort it
Primary or secondary data?
Tap a data source, then tap the box it belongs in.
🧑🔬 Primary
📚 Secondary
Quick check
Which sampling method?
?A student measures river depth at exactly every 5 metres across the channel. Which sampling method is this?
Match it
Match the enquiry stage to what you do
Tap a stage on the left, then tap what happens in it on the right.
Skills — calculate
Working out a percentage
In a traffic survey, 45 of the 180 vehicles counted were lorries.
A GIS is computer software that stores, maps and analyses data by location. It builds a map from layers of information (e.g. roads, rivers, population, flood risk) that can be switched on and off and combined.
Uses: mapping fieldwork results, spotting patterns, planning (e.g. where to build), and modelling risks such as flooding.
Everyday examples: Google Maps, satnavs, and online OS mapping are all built on GIS.
Key idea: the power of GIS is combining layers of geographical data so you can see how different factors overlap at the same location.
Explain it
Your turn — evaluating fieldwork
✎In the evaluation stage of an enquiry, you assess how reliable your investigation was. Give two things you might comment on, and why they matter.
Model answer (any two developed points)
Sample size / method — a small sample or a biased sampling method may not be representative, so the data (and conclusion) could be less reliable.
Accuracy of measurement — equipment error or human mistakes (e.g. mis-reading a ruler) reduce accuracy; repeating readings improves reliability.
Timing / conditions — data collected on one day or in unusual weather may not be typical, so results could differ at another time.
Anomalies — you should identify any anomalous results and say how they were treated.
Each point should say how it affects reliability and what you would change next time.
Sort it
Cartographic or graphical skill?
Tap the correct type of skill for each task.
Recap
The key ideas to know
Grid references: eastings then northings ("corridor then stairs"); 4-figure = a 1 km square, 6-figure = a point within it.
Scale & distance: use the scale (1:25 000 → 4 cm/km; 1:50 000 → 2 cm/km) to convert map distance to real distance.
Direction: 8-point compass or a bearing measured clockwise from north (E=090°, S=180°, W=270°).
Relief: contours join equal heights — close = steep, far apart = gentle.
Graphs: bar (compare), line (over time), pie (proportions), choropleth (shading), proportional symbols (size).
Statistics: mean (add ÷ count), median (middle), mode (most common), range (max − min).