BOMET COUNTY JOINT EXAMINATIONS - 2015
312/1
GEOGRAPHY
MARKING SCHEMES
PAPER 1
1. a) Equinox is the time of the year when the sun is overhead position at noon over the equator while
solstice is the time of the year when the sun is overhead position over the tropic of cancer 23½
0
N or
tropic of Capricorn 23½ o
S. (2mks) b)

Extension boundary

Comprehensive boundary

Conservative boundary. 3mks
2. a)

Anabatic winds are local winds which ascend from valley bottoms to hill tops. Katabatic winds are local winds which descend from hill tops to valley bottoms. b) Factors hindering weather forecasting.

Inadequate data

Inaccurate or unreliable data
 intervening factors e.g. slope, nature of vegetation , soil , moisture and winds

Inadequate skilled personnel in most developing nations.

Use of defective / obsolete equipments.

Natural hazards e.g. Earthquakes and storms.
3. a) Occurrence of minerals
 veins and loads
 beds and seams
 weathered rocks
 alluvial deposits / places deposits b)
 layers of atmosphere which experience negative lapse rates
 stratosphere
 thermosphere
4. a) It is imaginary line drawn on maps or globes joining North and south poles, showing how far east or
wet a place is the green which prime meridian (O 0 ) b) 1
0
degree differences = 4mks
Difference in degrees = 40
Difference in time = 40x4 = 160 mins
60
= 2.67hrs
=

2hrs 40mins
Hola is 2hrs 40 minutes ahead of Accra.
Time in Hola = 3+2hr 40 mins
= 5.40pm mks
5. a) - Amount of river discharge
 amount of local carried by rivers
 composition / size of load / nature of load carried by river b)

Abrasion
 solution
 hydraulic action
6. a)

scrub
 scattered trees b)


Availability of water shown by presence of rivers near the area which provide water for domestic and industrial use.

Topography – gently slopping land shown by contours far apart suitable for construction of building.

Transport connected to many roads used to move goods and passengers into and out of town.

Availability of land shown by few settlements, land is used to expand the town.
Any first 3 @ 2mks. Factor can score alone.
c) i) Title – 1mk start point ½ - end point
1mk vertical scale trend
1mk
1mk cross section
road
water pipeline
any river
ii) V.E vertical scale
1mk
1mk
1mk
Horizontal scale
1
=
10000

1
50 , 000
= 5 time d) Areas of towns e.g Mtitu densely settled
Steep slopes – few settlements
Gentle slopes to the south – sparsely settled.
North of northings 71 few settlements e) Latitude 1 o 15’ S longitude 38 or 1 o 05’E o 15’S 38 o 05’E f) Transportation – roads
Trading – markets / shops
Forestry – roads ending in the forests / Mutito forest.
7. a) i)
it is the accumulation zone for leached
mineral from horizon A
the soils are red / brown in colours / soils are generally dark in colours
the zone sometimes forms the hard pan / murram lateritic dun crust
it is divided into B
1
, B
2
2mks
ii) Other components of soil
air / soil air
water / soil water
rock particles / weathered materials / minerals particles
living organisms
iii)
it helps improve soil texture
it provides essential minerals to the soils from the decomposed plant matter / humification and nitrification.
it enables soils to retain moisture
it facilitates aeration of the soil
humus is source of food for micro organisms in the soil
b) i) Difference between soil structure and soil texture.
soil structure is the way the individual soil particles are arranged into aggregate compound particles while soil texture is the degree of fineness or coarseness of the soil particles.
ii) Topography
Valley bottoms encourage formation of deep fertile soils due to deposition / accumulation of weathered materials.
steep slopes encourage rapid removal of top soil thus slowing down formation of soil / they have thin soil / poorly developed soils.

flat areas may be saturated with waters / water logged at this slows down formation of soil / they may form peat. Gently sloping areas have well developed soils because they are well drained.
slopes influences the arrangement / sequence of soil/ soil catena causing variations in the types of soil profiles at different parts of the slopes
aspect / some slopes are more exposed to the sun / rain which enhances the rate of weathering of the parent / soil formation 2x3=6mks
Time
Where soil formation process takes a short duration the soils are generally immature / where the process takes a long period of time, soils are generally well developed.
(young soils retain the characteristic of the parent rock because they have not been exposed to the factors that may cause change / mature soils may not display the characteristics of the parent rock. c) i) Overgrazing
Any 1 = 2mks
it leads to removal of vegetation cover thereby exposing soil to agents of erosion which removes the top soil.
ii) Frequent ploughing
2mks
this weakens soil structure making it easy for agents of soil erosion to carry it away. (to fertile soil)
it increases oxidation which results in loss of organic matter.
it causes compaction of soil which reduces porosity preventing percolation of water. any 1x2=2mks
iii) Continuous irrigation
it causes leaking of soil nutrients making the top soil deficiency of soluble minerals / it causes salinity. 2mks
8. a) Plucking process
pressure from overlaying mass of ice cause freeze thaw – action
melting waters fills the cracks / joints in the bed rock.
as waters freezes, it exerts pressure on the cracks enlarging them
the enlarged cracks lead to disintegration of the rock.
the disintegrated rock eventually get embedded within the mass of ice.
-
as the ice moves, it pulls / gives out the embedded rocks from the parent rock. last point must be mentioned to score 4mks

max 4 points.
b)
rising temperatures lead to melting of ice thereby causing ice deposits its load.
change of gradient to relatively flat flat surface will reduce the velocity of the glacial movement which will subsequently lead to deposition of fluvial glacial materials.
alternatively warm and cold periods lead to seasonal melting of ice which allows materials embedded in the ice to be realized and deposited
obstruction/ stagnation / accumulation of glacier leads to pressure at the base of the glacier which in turn ` leads to melting of ice at the base causing embedded materials to be released and deposited
the melt water then carries and deposits – materials underneath which loosens the heavy materials beneath the mass of ice a subsequently deposited
friction at base and sides of glacier - under rough surface leads to melting of ice and deposition of materials causes 5max 3 explanation 5 max 3 // 6mks c) i)
cirque , areta , pyramidal peak, glacier trough ,, hanging valley , truncated spurs
ii)
moving ice carries solid materials
moving ice stagnates
ice at the snout melts
melting ice releases its load
gradually the load piles into a ridge

overtime the ridge forms a horseshoe shaped / block of solid materials called terminal moraine must be mentioned to score max 4
d)
some glacial till provides fertile soils which are suitable for arable farming
ice sheets in their scouring effects reduce the surface which may expose the materials making them easy to extract
some outwash plans plains comprise of sand and gravel which are used as building materials
glacial lakes found in low land areas can be exploited for various 1 economic uses such as fishing / transportation
glaciations forms features such as drumlins / eskers which are tourist attractions
glacited low lands are generally flat and ideal for establishment of settlement and development of transportation networks .
9. a) i) any 4x2=8mk
deficiency / insufficient rainfall in an area and high evaporation rate than the precipitation 2mks
ii)
sandy desert , stony desert , rocky desert / Hamada
b)
prolonged drought / low rainfall
increased temperatures and excessive evaporation
human activities like deforestation / overstocking
continentality
3mks
rain shadow effect of high mountains any 2 1mk each 2mks
c) - speed and force of wind . faster wind cause more erosion and greater load it can carry
nat5ure of load . fin e materials are easily picked up and blown than heavier materials
obstacles – on the path of wind reduces speed and wind deposits some of the materials 3x2=6mks d) i) Rock pedestal
a rock outcrop made of alternatively hard and soft rock layers protrudes in a desert horizontally
abrasion attacks the rock on trap wearing away the soft rock layers. The hard layers protrudes out horizontally
it leads to formation of a mushroom shaped rock feature called rock pedestal 3mks
ii) Zeungen
a zeugen is formed in desert where alternating horizontal layers of hard and soft rock occurs
the top layers of hard rock is jointed / has rocks
weathering opens up the joints
wind abrasion erodes the joints deepening and widening them to reach the soft layer of rocks
deflation blows away the loose broken materials
furrows are formed and gradually widened as abrasion continues into the soft rock
the hard resistant rock forms ridges separating the furrows. The process creates a ridge landscape called zeungen.
last point must be mentioned to earn 3mks e)
water from oasis is used for irrigation and domestic purposes
desert land forms are ideal for military training / testing weapon
loess form fertile soils for agricultural purposes
some desert features like rock pedestal zeugens and yadangs are fascinating and attract tourists, earning foreign exchange
desert features like badlands hinder transport network
hot sun in deserts provide large atefacts for solar energy
sand dunes migration may destroy rich agricultural farms and interfere human and animal life any 6

6mks
10. a) i)
the circum pacific belt
the tethyn / Mediterranean belt
the Great Rift Valley belt
mid atlantic ocean belt

ii)
Extrusive volcanic features is formed when magma flows out as lava solidifies on the earths surface
intrusive volcanic feature is formed when magma solidifies inside the earth’s crust.
b) i)
composite volcano
ii) B – conelets / parasitic cone/ subsidiary cone
C – layers of ash / pyroclasts iii)
composite volcano
formed a central vent
when a fault occurs that extends to the mantle, magma is forced out under pressure
the materials constructs a mountain i.e. the ash comes out in one season and lava in the next season
the lava is acidic hence flow through short distance before cooling / lava cools around the vent
the top of the volcano is blown off to form a crater
c)
cone lets are formed due to blockage on the main vent 4mks
active volcano – known to have erupted in recent times (frequently )
dormant volcano –not known to have erupted . I but show signs of eruption
Extinct volcano – it does not have signs of future eruption over along period of time . Inactivity.
6mks
d)
vulcanicity has produced fertile soils for agricultural activities
vulcanicity has offered good / ideal sites for geothermal power station used in industry
vulcanicity has produced well watered mountainous slopes that has produced base for forests where lumbering is undertaken
some volcanic features attract tourists who bring foreign exchange
volcanic mountains are sources of rivers which produce water for irrigation / settlement in the lower regions
volcanicity has yielded volcanic rocks which are used for building and construction e)
i) to find out the effects of volcanicity on the physical and human environment
to identify the different features which have resulted from vulcanicity
to find out the negative effects of vulcanicity on economic activities (2mks)
ii) hostile weather conditions
attack by dangerous wild animals
accidents in the field
problems in crawling or inaccessibility of zones / due to thick vegetation