Fig. 1 shows a simplified map used by students completing a fieldwork enquiry in the Thar Desert, India. They investigated how a new surfaced road and a sol...
Question 1 Report
Fig. 1 shows a simplified map used by students completing a fieldwork enquiry in the Thar Desert, India. They investigated how a new surfaced road and a solar-powered borehole changed access to water for three hamlets. Distances on the map are in kilometres. During interviews, residents said that some families had reduced the number of goats kept near the borehole.
(a) State which hamlet is nearest to the borehole. [1]
(b) Describe two advantages that the new road could bring to the settlement shown on the map. [2]
(c) Explain two environmental problems that may result if many livestock gather around one borehole. [4]
Answer Details
(a) Hamlet B is nearest to the borehole because the map gives its distance as 3 km, compared with 4 km for Hamlet A and 5 km for Hamlet C. [1]
(b) The surfaced road could provide quicker access to markets, allowing people to sell goods or buy supplies more easily. It could also make delivery of food, fuel, or building materials easier. Better access to schools or health care, and improved links for visitors, are also acceptable. [2]
(c) A large concentration of livestock can cause two linked environmental problems:
- Animals may eat vegetation faster than it can regrow. This leaves bare ground, which has less protection from wind erosion. [2]
- Trampling compacts the soil. Compacted soil has fewer pore spaces, so less water infiltrates and more runs off across the surface. [2]
Contamination of the water source by animal waste, making it unsafe, is another valid explained problem. [4]
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