DEPARTMENT FOR CURRICULUM,

LEVELS
LIFELONG LEARNING AND EMPLOYABILITY
Directorate for Learning and Assessment Programmes
5–6–7–8
Educational Assessment Unit
Annual Examinations for Middle Schools 2019

YEAR 8 GEOGRAPHY TIME: 1 hour

Name: _____________________________________ Class: _______________

Answer all questions.

Question 1

a. The table below shows some plant adaptations in order to survive in the desert.
Write the numbers 1 to 6 to link column A with column B.

Column A Column B
that can tap water from
1. The cactus can store thousands of
underground rocks.
The seeds of some plants can remain
2. quickly absorb rainwater.
dormant

3. The cactus has a thick and shiny bark in the soil until it rains.

4. Many desert plants have deep roots in their bulbous roots.

Some plants spread their roots just to reduce any water loss
5.
under the surface to by evaporation.

6. Some plants store water underground litres of water.

(6)

b. Name two ways how the leaves of desert plants adapt to a hot and dry climate.

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________
(4)

Geography – Year 8 – L5 to L8 – 2019 Page 1 of 8

Question 2

a. Write whether these sentences about the camel are True or False.

True/False

i. The camel is adapted to live in the desert.

ii. The camel has a big nose to breathe in a lot of sand.

The camel has thick eyelashes so that it can see far

iii.
away.

The camel has a rough leatherly mouth because water

iv.
in the desert is very hot.

The camel has wide flat feet so it does not sink into the
v.
sand.
The camel has long legs so that it is not close the hot
vi.
sand and therefore it keeps cool.
The camel has a hump so that people are more
vii.
comfortable when they travel long distances.
(7)

b. Why do you think that many desert animals find shelter under the sand during the
day and are active at night?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________
(2)

c. Draw a circle around three animals that live in the Sahara desert.

bear scorpion snake tiger mouse

(3)

Page 2 of 8 Geography – Year 8 – L5 to L8 – 2019

Question 3

Explain how an oasis is formed by filling the blanks in figure 1.

a. On the __________ mountains it

__________ a lot.

b. Rain water seeps into the

__________ and porous rock. In
the desert this water flows
under__________.

c. In some places __________ flows

naturally to the surface and forms
__________.

d. Where water flows next to the

surface, plants and __________
grow. People living in the desert
dig a __________ to pump the
water stored underground.

Figure 1

(8)

Geography – Year 8 – L5 to L8 – 2019 Page 3 of 8

Question 4
a. Figure 2 shows a desert oasis. Write five sentences about how people in an oasis
live.

Figure 2

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________
(10)

b. What are the people that travel in the desert called?

_______________________ (2)

Page 4 of 8 Geography – Year 8 – L5 to L8 – 2019

Question 5
In the desert water is scarse. Many countries have made projects to carry potable
water to areas where people live. Answer the following questions:

a. Name a country or area where such a project is found.

______________________________________________________________ (2)

b. Write two sentences about this project.

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________
(4)

c. Name two other resources, besides water, found in the Sahara Desert.

__________________________ _________________________
(4)

Question 6
Underline the correct answer.

A lot of (trees, resources, grass) can be found in the Sahara desert even though it is
a dry place. Among the resources we find (volcanoes, electricity, crude oil). Underneath
the Sahara desert we find large quantities of oil which we use to generate electricity.
This oil was formed millions of years ago when huge quantities of sea creatures were
deposited on the sea bed. Oil is found in the pores of the porous rocks found
underground. Oil collects on (impermeable, permeable, porous) rocks. Two other
natural resources found in the oil well are natural gas and (fossils, water, lava).

Gas and oil are pumped up by digging huge boreholes. Afterwards oil is pumped up by
the (oil rig, strong camels, wind pump) and this is refined. The cheapest way to
transport refined oil to the ports is by using huge (trains, pipes, trucks). It is then
exported from the ports to foreign countries including Malta by (tankers, aeroplanes,
helicopters).
(7)

Geography – Year 8 – L5 to L8 – 2019 Page 5 of 8

Question 7

Imagine that you are a tourist visiting the desert for the first time. Mention four places
that you would like to visit or activities that you would like to do.

Places or activities in the desert

(8)

Question 8
Study carefully figure 3 and work out the following exercise.

Figure 3

a. Mark with a √ the correct type of rainfall shown in figure 3.

convectional rain
relief/orographic rain
frontal rain
(2)

b. Explain how this type of rain is formed by writing the numbers 1 to 6 in the
correct order in the first column.

When air rises, it cools.

On the other side of the mountain there is less rain because the
air is dry.
The sun evaporates water from the sea.
More clouds form and it rains.
Moist air blows inland and is forced to rise over the mountain.
Air condenses and clouds are formed.
(6)

Page 6 of 8 Geography – Year 8 – L5 to L8 – 2019

Question 9
a. Fill in the blanks by choosing the correct word.

salty two sea permeable Globigerina limestone

fresh three Blue Clay impermeable Upper Coralline
Limestone

i. In the Maltese Islands there are __________________ underground sources

of water.

ii. One of these underground sources of water is found on the ____________.

iii. This rock is __________________.

iv. The other underground source of water lies on __________________ water.

v. If too much water is pumped from this source, water can be ____________.

(5)

b. Briefly explain how farmers get water from underground sources.

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________ (2)

c. Why does the amount of underground water increase in winter and decrease in
summer?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________ (3)

Question 10
More than half of the potable water produced in Malta comes from reverse osmosis
plants.

a. What is a Reverse Osmosis plant?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________ (3)

Geography – Year 8 – L5 to L8 – 2019 Page 7 of 8

b. State an advantage and a disadvantage of using reverse osmosis plants in the
Maltese Islands.

Advantage ____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Disadvantage__________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________(4)

c. Why is it important to safeguard our water supply and not waste water?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________ (2)

d. We should use tap water properly and when possible use well water. According to
the law every house should have a well. If this were so, each family would save
25% on water consumption.

Mention three other ways how we can reduce water consumption and avoid
wasting water at home.

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________ (6)

END OF PAPER

Page 8 of 8 Geography – Year 8 – L5 to L8 – 2019