Question Booklet

2016 australian geography competition

I N S T R U C T I O N S

1 Use a 2B pencil to complete the answer sheet.

2  efore the start of the test, fill in the information about yourself and your
B
school. Where required you must fill in the ovals, not just write the letters
and numbers, as the answer sheet is computer marked and only ovals are
recorded. For example, a filled in First name for a person named Gail would
look like the sample on the right. Also, fill in an oval in the school assigned
column if instructed to do so by your teacher. Otherwise leave it blank.

3 If you are in Year 7, Year 8 or less complete Questions 1-30.

4 If you are in Year 9 or Year 10 complete Questions 1-40.

5 If you are in Year 11 or Year 12 complete Questions 16-50.

6 
Answer each question by filling in only one oval that corresponds to the most
appropriate choice for that question. If you change your mind, you must
erase the wrong answer completely so that only one oval is filled in for each
question.

7 
Do not mark the front or back of the answer sheet in any other way as this can
lead to errors in the computerised marking, or to you not getting a result.

8 You have 35 minutes to answer the questions.



Sponsored by
Australian Geography Competition 2016

Figure 1. Flood hazard potential in Australia Courtesy of the Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

3 Based on Figure 1, which of these states

Start at Question 1 if you are in Year 10 experiences the least risk of long duration
or less. Start at Question 16 if you are in floods?
Year 11 or 12. A New South Wales
B Queensland
1 Which type of hazard is flooding? C South Australia
A biological D Victoria
B chemical E Western Australia
C geomorphic
D hydrological 4 The Great Dividing Range (see Figure 1) is
E tectonic an example of a:
A catchment
2 From Figure 1, which of these towns is B drainage basin
most at risk of short duration floods? C meander
A Alice Springs, NT D watershed
B Charleville, Qld E watertable
C Kalgoorlie-Boulder, WA
D Launceston, Tas
E Nyngan, NSW

Page 2
 Australian Geography Competition 2016

7 From Table 1, which state or territory had

Floodplains are important to Aboriginal people the largest number of interstate migrants
because wetland resources, such as food, tools and from 2010 to 2011?
medicinal items are abundant during floods. Places
and objects on the floodplain contribute to Aboriginal A Australian Capital Territory
customary law, traditions, history and current B New South Wales
practices.
C Northern Territory
D Queensland
Figure 2. Aboriginal use of floodplains
Source: NSW Office of Environment and Heritage
E Victoria

8 Based on Table 1, which statement best

5  he quote in Figure 2 demonstrates that:
T
describes the overall movement of people
A Aboriginal peoples knew how to avoid in Australia?
flood-prone areas
A Australia’s external immigration is more
B flooding only has negative consequences significant than its internal migration.
C floods were less severe before European B Australia’s internal migration is less than
settlement 2% of its total population.
D people can have different perspectives on C Australia’s population grew by 3,203,887
flooding from 2010 to 2011 through migration.
E all of the above D Movement within states and territories
is the largest component of internal
6 From Table 1, in the 12 months before the migration.
2011 Census, how many people moved to E Queensland has the highest incidence of
South Australia from overseas? internal migration.
A 2,437
B 17,545 9 Which of these is least likely to be a factor
C 20,107 in a newly retired person’s choice of where
to move?
D 174,941
A close to shops
E 215,030
B employment opportunities
C excellent transport links
D safe area
E sense of community

Table 1. Place of usual residence 1 year ago by state/territory of usual residence (for those who have moved),
2011 Census Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Place of usual residence Place of usual residence 1 year ago

at 2011 Census Internal migration Overseas Not stated Total
Same state/ Elsewhere in
territory Australia
New South Wales 771 843 70 239 11 077 92 847 946 006
Victoria 595 782 58 009 7 106 78 563 739 460
Queensland 616 281 75 238 9 989 63 184 764 692
South Australia 174 941 20 107 2 437 17 545 215 030
Western Australia 286 941 32 777 3 659 45 823 369 200
Tasmania 53 427 10 412 685 3 368 67 892
Northern Territory 23 045 12 834 574 3 364 39 817
Australian Capital Territory 36 373 17 104 461 7 471 61 409
Other Territories 80 263 0 38 381
Total 2 558 713 296 983 35 988 312 203 3 203 887

Page 3
 Australian Geography Competition 2016

A B C D
6501000

6501000
466000 467000 468000 116°40´E 469000 470000

1 1
6500000

6500000
2 2
6499000

6499000
3 3
6498000

6498000
4 4
6497000

6497000

5 5
31°40´S
6496000

6496000

6 6

466000 467000 468000 469000 470000

A B C D
Figure 3. Map of Northam and Avon River, Western Australia
Reproduced by permission of the Western Australian Land Information Authority (Landgate), 2016

Page 4
 Australian Geography Competition 2016

Legend 10 How long is Gordon Street (grid squares C4

to D4, Figure 3)?
A 0.9 km
B 1.2 km
C 4.7 km
D 6.1 km
E 8.5 km

11 If you were travelling along Gordon Street

(D4) away from the river, in which direction
would you be going?
A northeast
B north-northwest
C northwest
D southeast
E southwest

12 Which of these is found in the area shown

in grid square B2?
A main road
B multiple rail line
C powerline
D road footbridge
E trotting track

13 Which of these grid squares shows the

steepest terrain?
A A3
B B1
C C5
D D2
E D4

14 Which landform is located at Point X on the

map (B1)?
A escarpment
B hill
C mesa
D peak
E saddle

15 Northam’s development depended to

a large extent on its transport links, in
particular:
A an important railway junction
B a major highway through the town
C a river that is navigable beyond Northam
0 0.25 0.5 1 Grid North D a safe port
Kilometres
E all of the above

5 metre contour interval

Page 5
 Australian Geography Competition 2016

19 The map (Figure 3) shows most of the town

Open this page out to see the map at the of Northam. Based on that, what is the
same time. approximate population of Northam?
A 700
Start at Question 16 if you are in Year 11 or B 7,000
12. Others continue with questions. C 70,000
D 700,000
E 7,000,000
16 Why is the land in the bend of the Avon
River (C2) used for a racecourse? 20 Northam, WA, has hot dry summers and
A It has good views of the town centre. cool wet winters. This is typical of which
B It is a floodplain. climate?
C It is close to a railway station. A equatorial
D It is close to the TAFE college. B Mediterranean
E It is too far from the town centre to be used C semi-arid
for residential development. D temperate
E tropical

60
Index scores (100=most favourable)

59
58
57
56
55
54
53
52
51

2012 2013 2014 2015

Year

Overall index Availabilty

Figure 4. Satellite image of part of Northam, WA
© CNES 2015 Distribution AIRBUS DS Quality & safety Affordability

17 The satellite image (Figure 4) is of which Figure 5. Global food security index scores, 2012-15
grid square in the map (Figure 3)? Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit
A B2
B B4 21 Which of these statements is supported by
C C2 the data in Figure 5?
D C3 A Between 2014 and 2015 the quality and
safety score improved by 59.
E C4
B Food affordability has the most variability
over time.
18 I n which general direction is the Avon River
flowing in the area shown in grid square B2? C Overall food security improvements are
becoming smaller each year.
A east
D Overall food security is getting worse.
B north
E Worsening food availability slowed overall
C northeast improvement between 2012 and 2013.
D south
E west

Page 6
Australian Geography Competition 2016

Table 2. Global food security index scores, 2015 (100=most favourable) Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit

Region Availability Affordability Quality and safety

Asia and Pacific 58.5 56.4 56.6
Central and South America 56.7 58.6 59.9
Europe 71.5 79.2 78.5
Middle East and North Africa 60.2 62.0 60.7
North America 78.3 82.9 81.8
Sub-Saharan Africa 45.2 29.6 38.1

22 From Table 2, what is Europe’s food

affordability score?
A 58.6
B 62.0
C 71.5
D 78.5
E 79.2

23 From Table 2, which region experiences

the lowest level of food security?
A Asia and Pacific
B Europe
Figure 6. Spiny forest, Madagascar
C Middle East and North Africa
© MeegsC; CC-BY-SA-3.0
D North America
E Sub-Saharan Africa 26 Look at all three maps in Figure 7. In which
part of Madagascar was the photo in
24 Based on your analysis of Table 2, and Figure 6 taken?
your own understanding, Australia’s food A centre
security scores are most similar to those
B east
of:
C north
A Asia and Pacific
D south
B Central and South America
E west
C Middle East and North Africa
D North America
27 From Figure 7, in 1953 which biome
E Sub-Saharan Africa dominated the area marked by the box?
A cleared land
25 Based on your own understanding, which
B forest
of these indicators contributes to the food
security index’s quality and safety score? C grasslands
A agricultural import tariffs D mangroves
B dependency on food aid E savannah
C nutritional standards
28 From Figure 7, between 1990 and 2000
D proportion of population under global
in which part of the island did most
poverty line
deforestation occur?
E sufficiency of supply
A centre
B northeast
C northwest
D southeast
E southwest

Page 7
 Australian Geography Competition 2016

Figure 7. Forest cover of Madagascar 1953 - 2000: changes from 1973 to 2000 are shown in the main map, and
forest cover in 1953 is shown in the lower-right map Reproduced by permission of Grady Harper

29 Which environmental impact of 30 I n Figure 8, which type of river is depicted?

deforestation is evident in the Betsiboka A alluvial fan
Estuary (Figure 8)?
B braided stream
A increasing greenhouse gas emissions
C meandering stream
B loss of canopy vegetation
D meltwater channel
C reduced biodiversity
E straight channel
D salinization
E soil erosion

Page 8
 Australian Geography Competition 2016

33 From Figure 9, which country is a known

source of the e-waste arriving in Thailand?
A Australia
B European Union
C Japan
D South Korea
E United States of America

34 Using Figure 9, what is an accurate

description of most e-waste transfers?
A between developed countries
B between developing countries
Figure 8. Satellite image of Betsiboka Estuary,
Madagascar © NASA C from developed to developing countries
D from developing to developed countries
E internally in developed countries
Stop at Question 30 if you are in Year 7 or
8. Others continue answering questions. 35 Which of these is a significant reason for
the global trade in e-waste?
A lack of demand for recycled components in
31 In Figure 8, the river water is red due to developing countries
high levels of which component in the
B low wages in developed countries
surrounding lateritic soils?
C poor enforcement of environmental
A iron oxides
protection laws in developing countries
B limestone
D strong workplace health and safety laws in
C organic matter developing countries
D quartz E technically advanced recycling facilities in
E sand developed countries

32 From Figure 9, which country receives the 36 The global trade in e-waste best matches
most e-waste? the geographic concept of:
A China A change
B European Union B interconnection
C India C place
D Mexico D scale
E United States E space

• KNOWN SOURCE
• KNOWN DESTINATION
• SUSPECTED DESTINATION • SIZE OF DOT INDICATES VOLUME
Figure 9. Known and suspected routes of e-waste dumping Source: Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition

Page 9
Australian Geography Competition 2016

Figure 10. GDP per capita and total fertility for all countries Source: Gapminder; CC-BY-SA-3.0

37 From Figure 10, which region of the world 39 Total fertility fits within which category of
typically experiences high total fertility and indicator?
low GDP per capita? A demographic
A Australia B economic
B Europe and Central Asia C educational
C North Africa and the Middle East D environmental
D North and South America E social
E Sub-Saharan Africa
40 
The arrow in Figure 10 points to the dot for
38  hich generalisation about total fertility is
W Equatorial Guinea. What would explain why
correct, based on the data in Figure 10? this country falls outside the general pattern?
A As GDP per capita increases, total fertility A Corruption has meant that increased
decreases. revenue from oil resources has not
B The higher a country’s total GDP, the improved general living conditions.
smaller total fertility will be. B Increased spending on the education of
C The larger the population, the higher total girls has resulted in women deciding to
fertility will be. have more children.
D Total fertility increases with GDP per C Increasing poverty has meant people have
capita. large families to support them in old age.
E Total fertility rates are similar in different D Women have increasing numbers of
regions of the world. children because of religions traditions.
E Worsening income inequality has meant
people can only afford small families.

Stop at Question 40 if you are in Year 9 or

10. Others continue answering questions.

Page 10
 Australian Geography Competition 2016

40 000 (Age)
90+

80-84
30 000
Population (thousands)

70-74
20 000

60-64

50-54
10 000

40-44

30-34

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 20-24
Year
10-14
Beijing Delhi Dhaka Jakarta
Men Women
Shanghai Shenzhen Tokyo Mumbai 0-4
5 4 3 2 1 0 0 1 2 3 4 5
Figure 11. Population of selected Asian cities from
(Percentage)
1980 to 2025 Source: United Nations Population Division
Figure 12. Population pyramid, 2015
41  he most accurate description of a
T Source: Metropolitan Bureau of Policy and Information
megacity is:
A a capital city with a population of over 4 44 If the predicted growth rates between 2020
million and 2025 (as shown in Figure 11) continue
B a centre of global economic and cultural for the following ten years, which city will
authority have the largest population by 2035?
C a conurbation with a population of over 7 A Delhi
million B Dhaka
D a metropolitan area with a population of C Mumbai
over ten million D Shanghai
E a rural agglomeration with a population of E Tokyo
over 15 million
45 The population pyramid in Figure 12 is of
42  rom Figure 11, which of these cities had
F which city in Figure 11?
the fastest growth rate between 1995 and
A Delhi
2000?
B Dhaka
A Delhi
C Jakarta
B Mumbai
D Mumbai
C Shanghai
E Tokyo
D Shenzen
E Tokyo
46 If the city in the population pyramid (Figure
12) was represented in the graph in Figure
43 From Figure 11, approximately how 10, where would its dot most likely be?
many people were added to Shanghai’s
A lower left quarter
population between 2000 and 2015?
B lower right quarter
A 10,000
C upper left quarter
B 23,000
D upper middle
C 2.3 million
E upper right quarter
D 10 million
E 23 million

Page 11
Australian Geography Competition 2016

1970 1980 1990 2000

Java Sea

Tangerang
Bekasi

Depok

0 10
Rivers Wetland Open space and farmland Urban area
Kilometer

Figure 13. Land use change in Jakarta Special Capital Region, 1970-2000 Source: World Bank

Figure 14. View of Jakarta Figure 15. East Cipinang, Jakarta

© Jonathan McIntosh; CC-BY-2.0 ©Jonathan McIntosh; CC-BY-2.0

Table 3. Jakarta Region (Jabotabek) population by jurisdiction, 2000-2010 (in millions) Source: W. Cox, Demographia

2000 2010 % Change

Core
Jakarta Special Capital Region 8.36 9.59 15%
Inner periphery
City of Tangerang 1.33 1.80 36%
City of Tangerang Selatan 0.80 1.30 63%
City of Depok 1.14 1.75 53%
City of Bekasi 1.66 2.38 43%
Outer periphery
City of Bogor 0.75 0.95 27%
Bogor Regency 2.92 4.78 64%
Tangerang Regency 2.02 2.84 41%
Bekasi Regency 1.62 2.63 63%
Jabotabek total 20.60 28.02 36%

Page 12
 Australian Geography Competition 2016

350 49 A correct observation of the spatial

expansion of Jakarta, based on the
300
evidence in the sources, is that it has:
A been contained within the Special Capital
Population (millions)

250
Region
200 B not occurred in low-lying areas
150 C occurred predominantly along the Java
Sea
100 D preserved Jakarta’s surrounding natural
environments
50
E recently occurred mainly outside the core
0 area of Jakarta
1950 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2050
Year 50 Which of the following is not evidenced in
urban rural the photographs (Figures 14 and 15)?
A Demand for housing is outstripping the
Figure 16. Urban and rural population in Indonesia resources available to planning authorities.
Source: United Nations Population Division
B Inadequate waste disposal services
contribute to poor water quality.
To answer Questions 47-50, use C Informal settlements are located in flood-
prone areas.
Figures 11, 13-16, Table 3, and your own
knowledge. D Investments have been made in high-rise
apartments and offices.
E Open space and park areas increase
liveability in urban areas.
47 Which statement about Jakarta’s
population growth is best supported by the
information in the sources?
A It has been reversed by implementing
population policies.
B It has resulted in a large agglomeration.
C It is a result of the high birth rate.
D It is a result of the low death rate.
E It is a result of urban-rural migration.

48 Socioeconomic dualism exists in

Indonesia. Which source best supports
this?
A Figure 13 (maps)
B Figure 14 (Jakarta photo)
C Figure 15 (East Cipinang photo) Thank you for taking part in the 2016
D Figure 16 (urban/rural graph) Australian Geography Competition.
E Table 3 (statistics)

Front cover photo: Indian street vendor hands displaying green

chickpeas, Varanasi, India; © Jorge Royan / www.royan.com.ar /
CC-BY-SA-3.0; celebrating the International Year of Pulses

Page 13