JAMB Geography 2022 Past Questions & Answers

Overpopulation occurs when the number of people in an area exceeds the available resources and carrying capacity. While a large population might provide a large labour force or facilitate socialization, insufficient food is a direct and severe consequence (disadvantage) of overpopulation, not an advantage. The question asks for what is NOT an advantage, making 'Insufficient food' the correct answer.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'Large labour' as an advantage, overlooking that the question asks for the option that is NOT an advantage of overpopulation.

The question defines the movement of people from one area to another for residence, which is the exact definition of migration. Migration is a key aspect of population studies, influencing how populations grow, shrink, and are distributed across different regions. Understanding migration helps us analyze demographic changes and their impacts on societies.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'Transportation' because it involves movement, but transportation refers to the means of moving goods or people, not the act of changing residence itself.

Population density is a measure of how many people live per unit area. It is calculated by dividing the total population by the total land area. If the population of country Y was 4,000,000 and the land area was 200,000 km², then the population density would be 4,000,000 / 200,000 = 20 persons per km². This calculation yields option D.

Common mistake: A common mistake is to incorrectly perform the division or to confuse the formula, leading to incorrect values like 50 or 200.

The question asks which factor does NOT increase the birth rate. Encouraging early marriages, less work hours, and polygamy are all policies or societal norms that can lead to more births. Legislation against abortion prevents the termination of pregnancies, thus preventing a *decrease* in the birth rate, but it does not actively *increase* the number of conceptions or births that would naturally occur.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'legislation against abortion' as a factor that increases birth rate because it leads to more live births than if abortion were permitted, overlooking that it prevents a reduction rather than actively promoting more conceptions.

The question asks about the level of industrialization in different zones within Nigeria, which directly relates to the economic development and resource utilization of these regions. Among the given options, the Lokoja-Ajaokuta zone, despite having the Ajaokuta Steel Complex, has historically been less developed industrially compared to the highly industrialized Lagos-Ikeja, Port Harcourt-Aba, and Kaduna-Zaria corridors. Therefore, it is considered the least industrialized of the choices.

Common mistake: Students might incorrectly choose another option if they are not familiar with the relative industrial development of different Nigerian cities and regions, or if they confuse industrial potential with actual current industrial output.

The question tests knowledge of Nigeria's physical relief. The Chad Basin, the Coastal Plain, and the Niger-Benue Trough are all prominent lowland regions in Nigeria. The Eastern Scarpland, on the other hand, is an area characterized by escarpments and plateaus, making it an upland region rather than a lowland.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose one of the actual lowland areas if they do not have a clear understanding of the major physical features and relief regions of Nigeria.

The Tropical Maritime Airmass originates over the Atlantic Ocean, making it warm and very moist. As this airmass blows across Nigeria, it brings the heavy rainfall that characterizes the country's rainy season. This is a key factor in understanding Nigeria's climate patterns.

Common mistake: Students often confuse the Tropical Maritime Airmass with the Tropical Continental Airmass, which is responsible for the dry season and harmattan, not the rainy season.

The question tests knowledge of major river basins specifically within Nigeria. The South Atlantic Basin refers to a large oceanic basin, not a river basin located within the landmass of Nigeria. The other options listed are all significant river basins or sub-basins found within Nigeria's geographical boundaries.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose one of the actual Nigerian river basins if they are not familiar with the country's hydrography, or confuse the oceanic basin with a coastal river basin.

The question directly addresses the impact of an economic activity, tin mining, on the environment within a specific region of Nigeria. Tin is an economic resource, and its extraction leads to environmental degradation, which is a key aspect of development challenges in Nigeria. The Jos Plateau is historically known for extensive tin mining and its associated environmental issues.

Common mistake: Students might confuse the Jos Plateau with other Nigerian plateaus like the Obudu Plateau, but the Jos Plateau is the primary location for tin mining activities in Nigeria.

The high cost of lumbering in tropical forests is mainly due to the absence of pure stands of trees. Tropical forests are characterized by high biodiversity, meaning many different tree species grow together, rather than large areas dominated by a single type. This makes it difficult and expensive to locate, fell, and extract only the commercially valuable timber, as loggers must navigate through a dense mix of non-commercial species.

Common mistake: Students might incorrectly choose 'B. Absence of many rivers' thinking about transportation costs, but the primary challenge and cost driver for the actual lumbering operations within the forest is the scattered distribution of valuable timber species.

Pastoral farming is a type of agriculture that involves the rearing of livestock, such as cattle, sheep, and goats, for products like meat, milk, and wool. This method is common in grasslands like the savanna, where extensive grazing is possible. The question specifically describes the rearing of *only* animals, which is the defining characteristic of pastoral farming.

Common mistake: Students might choose 'Animal farming' as it seems directly related to animals, but it is a broader term. 'Pastoral farming' is the precise term for the extensive rearing of grazing animals as described.

The Earth's outer structure primarily consists of the Atmosphere (the layer of gases), the Hydrosphere (all the water on Earth), and the Biosphere (the region where life exists). The Mesosphere, in the context of Earth's internal structure, refers to a deep, solid layer within the Earth's mantle, far below the surface. Therefore, it is not considered an outer structure.

Common mistake: Students might confuse the Mesosphere (a layer of the Earth's mantle) with the mesosphere (a layer of the atmosphere), or simply not know its location, leading them to choose another option.

The atmosphere is the gaseous envelope surrounding the Earth, and it contains vital gases like oxygen. Oxygen is absolutely essential for the respiration process in nearly all living organisms, including both animals and plants. Respiration is how organisms convert nutrients into energy, making atmospheric oxygen indispensable for sustaining life on Earth.

Common mistake: Students might incorrectly choose option A, confusing the atmosphere's role in the water cycle with directly providing water for industrial uses, which is not its primary importance to living organisms in the same direct way as oxygen for respiration.

The Earth is composed of several distinct layers arranged from the surface to the center. The outermost layer is the crust, which is divided into the upper, lighter continental crust called Sial (Silicon and Aluminium) and the lower, denser oceanic crust called Sima (Silicon and Magnesium). Below the crust lies the thickest layer, the Mantle, and at the very center of the planet is the Core. Therefore, the correct sequence from the surface moving inwards is Sial, Sima, Mantle, and then Core.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly place the Mantle between the Sial and Sima, not remembering that both Sial and Sima are sub-layers that together form the Earth's crust.

The scale of the map is 2cm to 1km, which means that 1cm on the map represents a distance of 0.5km on the ground. To arrive at the correct answer of 2.5km, a map distance of 5cm is required (5cm x 0.5km/cm = 2.5km). The question likely contains a typographical error, and the map distance should be 5cm, not 20cm, for the provided correct option to be valid.

Common mistake: A common mistake is to correctly calculate with the given numbers (20cm / 2cm * 1km = 10km) and be confused when the result is not in the options.

For map (a) with a scale of 1:100,000, 1 cm on the map represents 100,000 cm on the ground. Since 100,000 cm is equal to 1 km, a 10 cm map distance translates to 10 km on the ground. For map (b) with a scale of 1:400,000, 1 cm on the map represents 400,000 cm or 4 km on the ground. Therefore, a 10 cm map distance on this map is 40 km on the ground, making option A correct.

Common mistake: Students often make errors in converting units from centimetres to kilometres or misapply the scale factor, leading to incorrect ground distances like those in options B, C, or D.

The high volume of trade between Nigeria and developed countries is based on the exchange of different types of goods. Nigeria exports primary products, such as the valuable mineral resources found in the Sokoto Basin, to developed nations. In return, developed countries export manufactured goods to Nigeria, and this exchange of raw materials for finished products creates a high volume of trade.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'The Niger Basin' because they associate it with the Niger Delta, which is the source of crude oil, Nigeria's largest and most valuable export commodity.

The North Atlantic sea route is a major shipping lane that connects West Africa with Western Europe and North America. The ports of Antwerp (Belgium), Southampton (UK), and Rotterdam (Netherlands) are all major European seaports with established trade routes connecting to Lagos via the North Atlantic. Montreal, located in Canada, is not a primary port on this specific route from Lagos, making it the correct exception among the given options.

Common mistake: Students may not be familiar with the major European ports that trade with Nigeria and might incorrectly assume Montreal is a primary destination on the North Atlantic route from Lagos.

Weather is the day-to-day state of the atmosphere at a particular place and time. It describes conditions like temperature, rainfall, sunshine, and wind over a short period, such as a few hours or a day. Climate, in contrast, is the average weather pattern of a place recorded over a long period, typically $30-35$ years. Since the question asks for the condition over a short period, weather is the correct term.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'climate' because they confuse it with 'weather', but climate refers to atmospheric conditions over a long period, not a short one.

The question describes the method for calculating the diurnal range of temperature, which is a fundamental concept in meteorology. It is the difference between the maximum (hottest) and minimum (coldest) temperatures recorded within a 24-hour period. This measurement helps describe the daily temperature variation of a place.

Common mistake: Students might incorrectly choose 'Mean daily temperature' if they confuse 'difference' with 'average', but the question clearly asks for the difference between the extremes.

The question asks for the definition of the total surroundings or medium of an organism. This precisely defines the 'environment', which includes all living and non-living things around an organism. Understanding the environment is fundamental to studying environmental resources and their conservation.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'Ecosystem' (D) because it also involves organisms and their surroundings, but an ecosystem is a specific system of interacting components, whereas the environment is the broader total surrounding.

Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water. During this process, carbon dioxide is absorbed from the atmosphere, leading to a loss of carbon from the air. This is a fundamental part of the global carbon cycle, which plays a crucial role in regulating Earth's climate.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose options like combustion or respiration, as these are also biological or chemical processes, but they actually release carbon into the atmosphere, rather than removing it.

The correct answer is isohalines. In geography, lines used on maps to connect points of equal value are called isolines. The prefix 'iso-' means 'equal', and the suffix '-haline' comes from the Greek word for salt. Therefore, isohalines are the specific lines that join all places in the ocean having the same degree of salinity or saltiness.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'isosalines' because the word 'saline' is a more common word for salty, making it a very tempting but incorrect option.

When ocean water has high salinity, it means there is a lot of salt dissolved in it, making the water heavier and denser. Because it is dense, this salty water sinks to the bottom of the ocean. It then slowly moves or 'creeps' along the ocean floor towards areas where the water is less salty and less dense, creating a bottom current.

Common mistake: Students often choose option A because they correctly link high salinity to high density, but they mistakenly think the flow occurs at the surface instead of sinking to the bottom.

Field capacity refers to the amount of water that soil can hold after the excess water has drained away due to gravity. After a heavy rainfall, the soil becomes saturated, but gravity pulls the extra water (gravitational water) downwards. The water that remains held in the soil's small pores, which is available for plants, is known as the soil's field capacity.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'gravitational water', but this is the excess water that drains away, not the water that is left in the soil.