In a morphometric analysis of a river basin, a hydrologist counts 32 first-order streams a… — JAMB UTME

In a morphometric analysis of a river basin, a hydrologist counts $32$ first-order streams and $8$ second-order streams using Strahler's stream ordering system. What is the bifurcation ratio between the first-order and second-order streams?

Answer: 4

Answer

The bifurcation ratio between the first-order and second-order streams is 4.

The bifurcation ratio (

R_b

) is obtained by dividing the number of streams of a given order (

N_1 = 32

) by the number of streams of the next higher order (

N_2 = 8

). Therefore,

R_b = \frac{32}{8} = 4

Step-by-Step Solution

Identify the number of streams of order

u

and order

u+1

N_1 = 32

and

N_2 = 8

The bifurcation ratio measures the ratio of the number of stream segments of a given order to the number of segments of the higher order.

Calculate the bifurcation ratio using

R_b = \frac{N_1}{N_2}

R_b = \frac{32}{8} = 4

Dividing the count of first-order streams by the count of second-order streams gives the ratio of stream branching.

Key Concept

Bifurcation Ratio in River Basin Morphometry

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