AQA 2024 Physical Fieldwork Booklet Tillingbourne V2
AQA 2024 Physical Fieldwork Booklet Tillingbourne V2
GCSE Geography
Paper 3 Geographical Applications: B Fieldwork
Part 1: Physical Geography Fieldwork Investigation.
“To investigate downstream change on the River Tillingbourne’
Welcome to your GCSE Geography Paper 3 (Geographical Investigation) Physical Fieldwork Booklet.
Your GCSE Geography course has 3 main components:
Paper 1—Living with the Physical Environment (1.5 hour exam & 35% of course)
Paper 2—Challenges in the Human Environment (1.5 hour exam & 35% of course)
Paper 3—Geographical Applications (1.5 hour exam & 30% of course)
Paper 3 is split into 2 separate parts that are assessed in the same exam.
Human
Physical Fieldwork
In order to complete the physical fieldwork component you are required to carry out an investigation that is based on a named
example river. This will take the form of you investigating characteristics of the River Tillingbourne in Surrey. This is a vital part
of the GCSE Geography course, where you will consider many areas of planning an executing geographical fieldwork including,
risk assessment, planning and collecting geographical field data, presentation methods and evaluating the methods that you
used.
Therefore this booklet is extremely important and directly informs your examination preparation.
The first stage of any geographical enquiry is selecting an appropriate areas to investigate; a question that you want to answer
by collecting the information yourself outside (in the field). However this requires careful thought and preparation.
Your fieldwork question to investigate must be linked to one of the core units of study within the GCSE course. For you this is
the River Landscapes in the UK part of the Living with the Physical Environment.
In order to answer this question you will complete measurements of the River Tillingbourne at various points along its course.
These are fully outlined in this booklet. However this aspect of the course not only requires you to complete the data
collection but you must know exactly how and why you are collecting data in that way, interpret the data (show your
understand what it may mean), present the data in a range of graphs or tables etc and then evaluate how accurate you think
your investigation was.
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Having studied the River Landscapes of the UK unit in class already you should have a good understanding of the theory
behind river changes downstream already.
Rivers erode (break down of rock - bed and banks) in two different directions; Vertical erosion and Lateral erosion.
____________ erosion occurs on the river b______ and makes the channel ____________
____________ erosion occurs on the river b______ and makes the channel ____________
____________ erosion descreases as a river flows downstream, whereas ____________
erosion increases as a river flows downstream.
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al-
so.
The river channel changes in this way because in in the u________ c________ nearer to
the s_________ the river has more g_______________ p____________ e_________
because it is flowing down a s__________ gradient. This means there is more v_________
erosion occurring which makes the river channel d_________ . As the gradient becomes
f_________ there is more l___________ erosion which makes the river channel
w__________ by e_________ the b________.
Therefore for my fieldwork investigation into downstream change of the River Tillingbourne I have the following
hypotheses:
Primary Data:
Fieldwork data that you collect yourself (or as part of a group) is called primary data. This is first hand
information that comes from you and people you have worked with. Primary data is the basis for most fieldwork
and provides empirical evidence - results that are not subjective or cannot be misinterpreted by different
opinions.
Secondary Data:
Fieldwork data that comes from information that another person, group or organisation ha collected. Secondary
data is very important in providing background information and a context for any enquiry or investigation. It
helps you to understand more about places and the kinds of questions that might be relevant.
Colour code the data collection methods below to categorise them as either Primary or Secondary sources of data for any type
of fieldwork.
80km 10km
For your investigation of the River Tillingbourneyou must first carry out some secondary data research in order to give the
study context and help you to understand and picture the field study area.
• The River Tillingbourne is a river found the county of S_________ in the S_____ of E________
• The source of the River Tillingbourne is _______________________________
• The River Tillingbourne is a tributary of the River ________which flows in to the River _______
• The River Tillingbourne is ______ km long.
• The River Tillingbourne has been managed in various places such as..
In this box record the websites where you found the information to complete the factfile above
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Key:
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To gain an understanding of the River Tillingbourne before you visit and collect data about how the width and depth changes
downstream it is useful to try to look at more characteristics of the river and its surrounding area.
The surrounding area of a river may have an impact on its characteristics such as how much water flows in the river, or
whether it is altered in other ways by either physical (natural) or human influences.
You will need to be mindful of how these factors may influence your results at each site. This is why you will be completing
annotated field sketches at each site where these will inform you of the possible influences on the river and therefore width
and depth changes of the river at that point.
To ensure you prepare to do this effectively, complete the table below and colour code which factors are physical and which
are human factors.
Geology
(Rock type or soil
type)
Relief
(steep slopes)
Urbanisation / Land
Use
Deforestation Trees store water on their leaves or branches. This is often evaporated, or Shorten!
trees use the water to carry out photosynthesis to grow. When trees are
cut down there is less interception of precipitation so water falls straight
onto the surface and will return more quickly to river increasing discharge
Agriculture
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In addition you can study the characteristics of the this area of the River Tillingbourne by using the National River Flow Archive
website: https://nrfa.ceh.ac.uk/. The River Tillingbourne at Shalford is gauging station 39029 on the website.
The sites you will be visiting are shown on the map above. The NRFA gauging station that measures the discharge of the River
Tillingbourne is further down the river from where we will be collecting our data. The discharge at Shalford (further West
along the river towards Guildford) is measured daily and the data can be found here:
https://nrfa.ceh.ac.uk/data/station/meanflow/39029
The hydrgraph below shows the average flow of the River Tillingbourne at Shalford in 2021. The black line indicates the dis-
charge measured over the year of 2021. The blue bars at the top are the maximum discharge ever recorded and the pink bars
are the lowest ever recorded discharge for each month.
In 2021 was the River Tillingbourne flowing higher than average or lower?
Which months did it have more discharge than it had ever before?
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The following information has been collated by the Field Studies Council (so is secondary background data).
You should consider how this information may influence your results when you analyse your data.
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Collecting primary data is essential, so must be carried out with precision and accuracy. This will allow you to confidently
compare your results to your hypothesis and what textbooks say you should find from carrying out your study,
It is important to consider what data you will need to collect when designing an investigation like this. Therefore we will need
to consider the following points:
1. Sample size - How many measurements will you be taking? More measurements will generally produce more reliable
data. However increasing sample size can be time consuming and we certainly have time restrictions for this study
being one school day to collect results.
2. Survey locations - Where will you collect data? How will you collect data? How will you choose locations?
3. Accuracy - How can you ensure that the measurements you are taking are accurate? What can you do when collecting
results to minimise any differences in the way in which you record or measure the data?
Data can be collected from two sources; Primary or Secondary. These are shown in the table below:
As you are restricted by time to only one day of data collection it would be impossible to record all of the changes in the River
Tillingbourne along its entire course from source to mouth into the River Wey. Therefore you have chosen to focus your study
on a 1.5km stretch of the River Tillingbourne from Abinger Hamer to Shere
You have also decided select 2 sites that are approximately 1km apart, and 1km down river from the source at Leith Hill from
which to collect measurements of the width, depth and velocity to see how the changes along this stretch. These are shown
below.
200m
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Quantitative methods - These are data collection methods that require the counting or measuring of something that provides
a numerical output or result. These need equipment such as metre sticks, tape measures, flow meters etc.
Qualitative methods - These do not require numbers or counting. They are subjective (can mean different things to different
people) so they are all about how you interpret or explain them eg: Field sketches.
Sampling Methods
As previously mentioned you are unable to visit or record the entire river so a sample must be taken. However any sampling
(where a selection of something is taken to be representative of the whole) needs careful consideration to ensure it is;
- An accurate representation of the feature or process you are aiming to measure ie: are there enough samples to come to a
conclusion about something larger or more general.
Therefore there are 3 major types of sampling that are available to geographers when conducting fieldwork data collection.
1. Random Sampling - where samples are chosen at random. For example taking measurements from anywhere along the
river course without prior selection or measuring the depth across a river channel at any points.
2. Systematic Sampling - where samples are chosen based on a system to collect data. For example choosing sites at set
distance intervals along a river course, or measuring the depth of a river every 50cms across its width.
3. Stratified Sampling - Deliberately introducing bias to ensure the sample that you take addresses the question you are
investigating. For example, if investigating why a river may flood, study sites may be concentrated in areas along a river
that have previously experienced flooding.
Each type of sampling has its advantages and disadvantages. You must be aware of the different types and be able to
recognise them.
Systematic
Stratified
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Each group will need to complete a full set of the following data recording at each of the study sites.
• 2 ranging poles
• Tape measure
2. Place and hold one ranging pole into the ground as close
to the edge (where the water meets the bank) as possible.
3. Using your best judgement stretch the tape measure across at a direct right angle (90°) across the river channel to the
other side.
4. Place the other ranging pole directly opposite and hold the tape measure at each ranging pole.
5. The tape measure should be as tight as possible and as close to the surface of the water as possible without it making
contact as this will pull the tape measure and distort how straight it is and potentially give an inaccurate result.
6. The measurement should be recorded on the recording table provided in this booklet.
• 2 ranging poles
• Tape measure
1. Once you have measured the width, ensure the tape measure is continued to be held tight and stable in a straight line
at 90° to the river bank.
2. Place the metre stick upright in the water at 90° to the surface of
the water (straight down) until it rests on the river bed as close to
the bank as possible - the point where the water touches the
back.
3. Measure and record the height of the water level against the me
tre ruler as accurately as possible. Where this is very small you
may need to use a smaller perhaps 30cm ruler
4. Repeat this measurement at 5 equidistant intervals along the width of the river channel until your reach the other
bank. (you may want to start from the middle point of the channel. Then record the depth at each point along the tran
sect (tape measure line) in the recording sheets in this booklet.
5. For each site you can add up all the 5 interval depths your recorded and divide them by 5 to give you the mean depth
for the river at this study site.
1. Using the tape measure stretched across the channel (how you used it
to measure width), divide the width into the same 5 equidistant points
you used for depth measurements.
2. At each of the 5 points, hold the hydroprop in the water and time how
long it takes for the impeller to get to the end of the stalk as it rotates
due to the flow.
You will need to consider which of these is more reliable (provides accurate data), any potential issues of accuracy, and how
these may be overcome.
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Risk Assessment.
For any fieldwork a comprehensive risk assessment must take place to ascertain any risks that conducting this field-
work may have and outline the mitigation strategies (things you will do to minimise the likelihood of the risk factor
actually occurring)
Therefore you should consider any of the serious, and potential risks and how you will mitigate these in the table
below. One has been started for you.
What is the hazard? What are the risks this hazard How can you reduce the risk these hazards pose? (Control
poses? measures)
Contaminated Water Weil’s disease when water • Ensure all cuts, open wounds are covered with water-
enters open cuts or wounds, or proof plasters as minimum.
via mouth.
• Sanitise hands after having been in the river.
Slippy / uneven
surfaces
Outside for
prolonged periods of
time.
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1. Abinger Hammer
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2. Gomshall
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3. Shere
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Data Presentation
For the section you must present that data that you have collected in various ways (graphs), understand what the data shows,
how it relates to your hypothesis and the reasons why you have used particular graphs to present the data in this way.
You will be using 2 different presentation methods for the data you have collected about the changes in width and depth
along the River Tillingbourne
1. Scatter graphs / Line graphs & lines of best fit to present how the average depth changes downstream.
2. Cross section graphs to present how the width, depth and capacity (size) of the river channel changed downstream.
Over the next pages you must now use the data you have collected from the trip to complete the graphs accurately and ana-
lyse the results you have presented.
Remember:
0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Source (Leith Hill) Cross Ways Farm Abinger Hammer Gomshall Shere Albury*
Distance Downstream (km)
River Tillingbourne Scatter Graph to show change in average width with distance downstream.
Average River Depth (cms)
0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Source (Leith Hill) Cross Ways Farm Abinger Hammer Gomshall Shere Albury*
Distance Downstream (km)
1. Describe the overall trends in of your scatter graph to show the changes in average depth downstream
(Did the river depth change overall across the 2 sites? / What does your line of best fit indicate? / Do these results agree or disagree with your hypothesis? /
Were there any results that seemed really different from the others—which ones? / why might they have been different - do your field sketches or secondary
GIS data suggest why? / Are you discounting any anomalies?
2. Describe the overall trends in of your scatter graph to show the changes in average width downstream
(Did the river depth change overall across the 2 sites? / What does your line of best fit indicate? / Do these results agree or disagree with your hypothesis? /
Were there any results that seemed really different from the others—which ones? / why might they have been different - do your field sketches or secondary
GIS data suggest why? / Are you discounting any anomalies?
Greenshaw
Surbiton High
High
School
School
The geographical theory would be that the river channel should get larger as you travel downstream as a result of both vertical
and lateral erosion. Therefore the cross sectional area should also increase over the study sites.
The results taken from the width and depth measurements can be used to create to scale diagrams showing how the shape
and size of the river channel changes downstream. You will use this as a type of presentation method during this fieldwork.
- Sharp pencil
1. Draw the axis of a graph, choosing an appropriate scale. The x axis should only extend to the measured width of the
river at that location in metres. The y axis should be drawn vertically down from the x axis where the values of the y axis
will be negative showing depth in metres.
2. Move across/along the x axis plotting the measured depth at each of the 5 intervals with a small cross. Complete this
for all the depth measurements.
3. Once you have completed the points, join them up free hand with a smooth line. This line should represent the shape
of the river bed.
4. You can then count the squares that the river channel occupies if necessary to compare cross sectional areas at
different sites. In addition you can add colour (blue) to your diagram. This will enable you to compare both the size and
shape of the river channel between different study sites.
According to your hypothesis and geographical theory what should happen or what should you see change with
cross sectional area diagrams?
River Tillingboure Cross Section Graph. Site 1: Abinger Hammer
River Width (m)
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1m 1.25 1.5 1.75 2m 2.25 2.5 2.75 3m 3.25 3.5 3.75 4m
10
20
30
River Depth (cms)
40
50
Explain the shape of the cross section. (Is it what you would expect at this stage of the river’s course?, Why is it that shape / symmetrical?,
What factors could have influenced the shape of the cross section?
River Tillingbourne Cross Section Graph. Site 2: Gomshall
River Width (m)
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1m 1.25 1.5 1.75 2m 2.25 2.5 2.75 3m 3.25 3.5 3.75 4m
10
20
30
River Depth (cms)
40
50
Site 2 Gomshall
Describe the shape of the cross section (eg: Symetrical etc),
Explain the shape of the cross section. (Is it what you would expect at this stage of the river’s course?, Why is it that shape / symmetrical?,
What factors could have influenced the shape of the cross section?
River Tillingboure Cross Section Graph. Site 3: Shere
River Width (m)
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1m 1.25 1.5 1.75 2m 2.25 2.5 2.75 3m 3.25 3.5 3.75 4m
10
20
30
River Depth (cms)
40
50
Site 3 Shere
Describe the shape of the cross section (eg: Symetrical etc),
Explain the shape of the cross section. (Is it what you would expect at this stage of the river’s course?, Why is it that shape / symmetrical?,
What factors could have influenced the shape of the cross section?
Greenshaw
Surbiton High
High
School
School
Conclusion.
Referring back to the question above summarise the main changes you recorded between site 1 and site 2 in the
spaces below. You should refer to specific data in your conclusions and explain WHY the observed changes may
have taken place., You should refer to geographical theory in your answers.
If the changes are unexpected or do not support geographical theory then you should suggest why this may have
happened? Think about external influences or issues with data collection methods.
1. Describe & Explain changes in width between site 1, site 3 and site 3.
2. Describe & Explain the changes in depth between site 1, site 3 and site 3.
3. Describe & Explain the change in average velocity recorded between site 1, site 3 and site 3.
Evaluation.
The last (and very important!) part of your fieldwork investigation is to think critically about the way it was
conducted. For this you must consider if the methods you used were planned and carried out accurately enough
and if there were any improvements you could have made to them that would have made your data more reliable
ie: representative to what is actually happening in reality along the river.
Method Potential issues identified and impacts on results. Improvements to improve accuracy and reliability
Width
Depth
Velocity
Choose one of the improvements you have suggested above and explain the expected outcomes if you conducted
the data collection method again with your suggested improvements.
Greenshaw
Surbiton High
High
School
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Greenshaw
Surbiton High
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Greenshaw
Surbiton High
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Greenshaw
Surbiton High
High
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Greenshaw
Surbiton High
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Greenshaw
Surbiton High
High
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