Lesson Y7-U03-L07

Reading the Flow: Hydrographs Quiz: KS3 Geography, Unit 3

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y7-U03-L07, Reading the Flow: Hydrographs: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Geography (National Curriculum), Unit 3: Year 7: Rivers and the Water Cycle, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What unit is used to measure river discharge on a hydrograph?

    • Cumecs
    • Millimetres
    • Litres
    • Metres

  2. What do the vertical bars at the top of a hydrograph represent?

    • Air pressure
    • Temperature
    • Rainfall
    • Wind speed

  3. What does the curved line on a hydrograph show?

    • Gradient
    • Elevation
    • Humidity
    • Discharge

  4. What term describes the highest point of the discharge curve on a hydrograph?

    • Base flow
    • Peak discharge
    • Lag time
    • Peak rainfall

  5. What term describes the time gap between peak rainfall and peak discharge?

    • Lag time
    • Base flow
    • Storm duration
    • Concentration time

  6. During a storm event, which peak occurs first on a hydrograph?

    • Maximum lag
    • Base flow
    • Peak discharge
    • Peak rainfall

  7. When reading a hydrograph value, which axis should you look at first?

    • Discharge axis
    • Gradient axis
    • Time axis
    • Rainfall axis

  8. What does the horizontal bottom axis of a hydrograph measure?

    • Elevation
    • Time
    • Distance
    • Discharge

  9. A hydrograph shows peak rainfall at hour 6 and peak discharge at hour 16. What is the lag time?

    • 22 hours
    • 10 hours
    • 6 hours
    • 4 hours

  10. Peak rainfall is at hour 5 and peak discharge at hour 14. What is the lag time?

    • 9 hours
    • 5 hours
    • 14 hours
    • 19 hours

  11. Peak rainfall is at hour 4 and peak discharge at hour 12. What is the lag time?

    • 4 hours
    • 8 hours
    • 16 hours
    • 12 hours

  12. A low starting discharge of 8 cumecs before a storm indicates what about the river?

    • Flowing gently
    • Frozen solid
    • Bursting banks
    • Dry channel

  13. At peak discharge of 38 cumecs, what is the best description of the river condition?

    • Fullest volume
    • Completely dry
    • Lowest flow
    • Frozen surface

  14. What is the time delay between peak rainfall and peak discharge called on a hydrograph?

    • Base flow
    • Peak time
    • Storm flow
    • Lag time

  15. What effect do urban areas with hard, paved surfaces have on a river's lag time?

    • Shorter lag time
    • Zero lag time
    • Longer lag time
    • No change

  16. Which hydrograph feature indicates that a flood is arriving very quickly?

    • Small peak discharge
    • Long lag time
    • Low base flow
    • Short lag time

  17. Why does river discharge continue to rise even after heavy rain has stopped?

    • Rain starts again
    • Evaporation increases
    • Groundwater freezes
    • Water still travels

  18. Which type of drainage basin catchment usually produces a longer lag time?

    • Steep catchment
    • Urban catchment
    • Large catchment
    • Small catchment

  19. On a storm hydrograph, which peak always occurs first?

    • Base flow
    • Peak discharge
    • Peak saturation
    • Peak rainfall

  20. What term describes the time gap between maximum rainfall and maximum river flow?

    • Flow interval
    • Storm time
    • Peak delay
    • Lag time

All KS3 Geography quizzes