English Language Keypoints

This post aims at revealing the necessary English Language Keypoints for ease of understanding for students and teachers. 

(1) ADVERBS: Modify a verb, adjective or another adverb in a sentence. To modify it to add to the meaning of verb, an adjective, another adverb or a preposition e.g Jide studied hard. (hard modify the verb studied)

Formation of Adverbs

(a) Some adverbs can be formed by adding ‘-ly’ to adjective e.g. honest = honestly, bad = badly.

(b)Some are formed with ‘-wise’ suffix e.g. healthwise, educationwise.

© Some adverbs are formed with ‘-wards’ suffix e.g. Northwards, eastwards.

Adverbs Comparison

Positive Comparative Superlative

Much more Most

hard harder Hardest

little less least

(2) PREPOSITION: These are words that show relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence. e.g. on, beneath, over, under, from, at, of, into, in, near, beside.

(3) CONJUNCTIONS: Words that tie two or more words, phrases, clauses or sentences together are called conjunctions.

Types of Conjunctions

(a) Correlative Conjunctions are used in pairs e.g. either the principal or the vice principal is around. Others are both …and, neither …nor, not only …but also.

(b) Subordinating Conjunctions connects a subordinating clause to the main clause e.g. He had come before we left. Others are where, when, after, while, since, although, than, though.

© Co-ordinating Conjunctions are nor, or, yet, and, but, etc. example we came but we left early.

(d) Semi-Co-ordinating Conjunctions are more than, as much as, along with, as well as, rather than.

(4) INTERJECTION: Word that expresses joy, anger, surprise, etc. it is always followed by an exclamation mark e.g. Ah! The car has been stolen.

(5) VERBS: These are words that tell us what someone or something does in a sentence. it is an action word.

Kinds of Verbs

(a) Transitive Verb needs an object to make it meaningful e.g. I read a novel. (a novel is an object)

(b) Intransitive Verb does not need an object before it is meaningful. E.g. he smiled.

© Auxiliary Verb: This is also known as helping verb. It helps another verb to complete its meaning. There are primary and modal auxiliary verbs. Primary auxiliary verbs: To Be (am, is, was, are, were which are in finite form) and (be, being, been, which are in infinite form). To Have (has, have, had, which are in finite form) and (have, having, which are in infinite form). To Do (do, does, did) and (be, being, been, which are in infinite form). To Have (has, have, had, which are in finite form) and (have, having, which are in infinite form). To Do (do, does, did). Modal auxiliary verbs: may, might, will, shall, can, could, would, should, ought to, must, used to, dare, need.

Forms of Verbs

Present Tense Past Tense Past Participle

Accept, accepts accepted Has, have, had accepted

Beat, beats beat Has, have, had beaten

Bear, bears bore Has, have, had borne

Begin, begins began Has, have, had begun

Bleed, bleeds bled Has, have, had bled

Blow, blows blew Has, have, had blown

Buy, buys bought Has, have, had bought

Cast, casts cast Has, have, had cast

Choose, chooses chose Has, have, had chosen

Come, comes came Has, have, had come

Cut, cuts cut Has, have, had cut

Vital Rule: Singular verbs should be used with singular nouns or pronouns and plural verbs should be used with plural nouns or pronouns. NOTE: Letter “s” must be added to verb in the present tense form when used with the third person singular nouns or pronouns. Example: Mary sings (correct usage) but Mary sing (wrong usage)

Singular Pronoun/Noun Singular Present Tense Singular Past Tense

I, Sing: I sing Sang: I sang

You Sing: You sing Sang: You sang

He (John), She (Mary), It (Dog), sings : He sings (John sings) Sang: He sang (John sang)

Plural Pronoun/Noun Plural Present Tense Plural Past Tense

We Sing: We sing Sang: We sang

You Sing: You sing Sang: You sang

They (John, Mary and Dog) Sing: They sing (John, Mary and Dog sing) Sang: They sing (John, Mary and Dog sing)

Tenses in Verb

i. simple present tense: The dog barks on Sunday

ii. present continuous tense: He is teaching now

iii. present perfect tense: he/she has taught the class or they have taught the class

iv. present perfect continuous tense: he/she has been teaching the class or they have been teaching the class

v. simple past tense: he passed with distinction

vi. past continuous tense: he was sleeping then

vii. past perfect tense: he had slept

viii. past perfect continuous tense: he had been sleeping

ix. future present tense: the family will attend tomorrow

x. future present continuous tense: I shall be eating

xi. future perfect continuous tense: they would visit your house

(6) Prefixes and Suffixes

Prefix Meaning Example

anti against antibiotic

auto self automobile

bi two bicameral

de down dethrown

dis not disclose

ex Out of expose

fore before forecast

in not inconvenience

ir not irreversable

il not illegal

     

Suffix Meaning Example

an Connected with African

er One who plumber

less without useless

ous Known for glorious

     

(7) Grammatical Structure

Phrase: A phrase is a group of words without finite verb; which means that a phrase can contain non-finite or infinitive verb.

Types of non-finite verb are infinitive (to sing, to dance, to buy, etc); gerund (singing, dancing, buying, etc)

Kinds of Phrase and Their Grammatical Functions

1. Noun Phrase: it performs the functions of noun such as subject of verb (To cry aloud is a crime), object of verb (They climb the tree), complement of a verb (Richard is the senior boy), apposition of a noun (Joy, the hostess, entered the cabin), object of a preposition (he thought about travelling abroad). 

2. Adjectival Phrase: it qualifies a noun or pronoun (The girl with chocolate teeth kissed me).

3. Adverbial Phrase: it modifies a verb, adjective or another adverb. We have adverbial phrase of time (I saw the boy during the break time), adverbial phrase of reason (he cried in the face of frustration), adverbial phrase of place (the baby is sleeping in the room), adverbial phrase of purpose (Bayo worked in order to succeed), adverbial phrase of result (having left the room, I locked the door), adverbial phrase of condition (to pass the exam, the student must prepare well), adverbial phrase of concession (although fierce in outlook, Mr. Olaniran is kind).

Clause: a clause is a group of words which often has a subject, a finite verb and forms a single part of a sentence. Clause can either be main clause or subordinate clause. The main clause is the main point in the sentence and it can stand alone while subordinate clause relies on main clause to make complete sense.

Kinds of Clause and Their Grammatical Functions

1. Noun Clause: it performs the functions of noun such as subject of verb (what you told us is true), object of verb (kola said he would travel), complement of verb (the principal’s decision was that the senior should stay), apposition to noun (the assumption that students fail English Language is logical), object of preposition (Tolu thought about how he would travel abroad).

2. Adjectival Clause: it qualifies a noun or pronoun it immediately follows (this is the dog that bit her).

3. Adverbial Clause: it modifies a verb, adjective or another adverb in a sentence. Adverbial clause of time (I saw him when he came in), adverbial clause of condition (the boy will not sleep unless you feed him), adverbial clause of reason (the teacher failed because she was not serious), adverbial clause of purpose (Obi went to school in order that he might acquire formal education), adverbial clause of place (Americans can stay wherever they like), adverbial clause of manner (he talked as if he sponsored my education), adverbial clause of result (she cried that she could not close her eyes), adverbial clause of concession (although she studied hard, she failed Chemistry).

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Government Keypoints

This aims at discussing the topics vital in the subject government in terms of government Keypoints. 

• Government is a machinery through which the will of the state is formulated and attained. As an art, it is a body vested with the power and authority for maintaining security, peace, and stability by making and enforcing laws of the state. As an academic field, it is the study of agencies, political institutions and dynamics of the state. Its attributes are law, revenue, public supports, welfare services, political power. It performs the functions of law making, defence, administration of justice, maintaining internal and external relationships, economic and political responsibilities.

 

• IMPORTANCE OR WHY WE STUDY GOVERNMENT
• STATE AND THE CHARACTERISTICS OF STATE
• Power is the ability to control the actions of others through the possession of means of sanctions.  The types or forms of power are political, military, economic and physical power. It can be acquired through charismatic acts, coercion, political authority, inheritance or constitution.
• Authority is the power or right to give orders and enforce obedience. It therefore gives one the right to command others to obey as a duty. The types or forms of authority are political, coercion, charismatic, delegation, technical, traditional, positional, or constitutional. Political authority can be acquired via legal, charismatic, or traditional means.
•  Legitimacy is a situation of being lawful or the general acceptance of the political system as the most appropriate and being in line with the laws of the land. There are some factors that affect legitimacy such as existence of good governance, popular support by the citizens, foreign diplomacy adopted by the government, political participation (pressure groups, political parties, etc)
• Sovereignty is the absolute power of the state to exercise supreme legal authority over its own affairs within its territory without any form of external control. The types or forms of sovereignty are legal, political, internal, external, de facto, de jure. The features of sovereignty are absoluteness, indivisibility, inalienability, comprehensiveness, permanence, absence of foreign control. Sovereignty suffer the following limitations; external help, coup d’etat, international laws, influence of pressure groups, customs and traditions, supremacy of the constitution, membership of international organisations, influence of powerful nations
• Political culture is the attitudes, sentiments, beliefs, ideas and norms that guide the behaviour of the people in a political system. Its components or features are cognitive orientation (people’s knowledge about the political system), affective orientation (people’s feelings towards the political system), evaluative orientation (people’s level of assessment of the political system).
• Political Socialization is a process in which the citizens are educated on the values, attitudes and beliefs of the political system. There are agents of political socialization which are the family, the school, the peer group, political parties, the mass media, religious group, pressure groups.
• Democracy is a system of government in which all qualified adult citizens share the supreme power directly or through their elected representatives. It is also defined as government of the people, by the people and for the people. Types of democracy are direct democracy (where all citizens are able to participate) indirect democracy which is also called representative democracy (through election, representatives are chosen). The functions of democracy are periodic elections, majority vole rules the country, the press has freedom, existence of separation of power, free and fair election, equality before the law, party system, independence of the judiciary, maintenance of the rule of law, reliable fundamental human rights, opposition government, no intimidation of the voters during election, etc.
• Oligarchy is the system of government where power of governance is with few privileged people.  It comes in form of aristocracy, plutocracy, theocracy or even military rule.
• Communism is an economic system where the means of production and distribution is totally controlled by government. It is characterized with classless society, the use of force, one party dominance, authoritarian rule, forceful acquisition of private properties, central planned economy, attainment of communism is mostly via revolution.
• Totalitarianism is a form of government where one supreme authority controls everything with no form of opposition. It is characterized by absence of opposition, one party dominance, limitation of the press, use of force, absence of rule of law, existence of single ideology and philosophy, suppression of initiatives, censorship of information.

 

• Fascism is an aggressive control through an anti-communist dictatorship. It is characterized by anti-communist movement, aggressive nationalism, avoidance of capitalism and socialism, motivation for war, absence of rule of law, absence of democracy, absence of popular view, absence of religious principles, total control of industrial activities.
• Feudalism is a system of government based on hierarchical order of ownership of land. Its features are leadership based on land ownership, lands are very vital, bond between landlord and serfs, existence of fief, feudal duties are performed in order to have access to land benefits.
• Communalism is a system of collective ownership among members of a community. Its features are collective ownership, strong co-operation, existence of communal societies, absence of private land ownership, absence of individual ambitions, high degree of cohesion, presence of common cultural belief, etc.
• Unitarianism is a system of government where the power is concentrated in the hand of a single authority or central government. It has its features as centralized power, use of unitary constitution, central interference into regional affairs, lack of constitutional division of power, the constitution is not supreme, presence of power delegation, lack of local legislative assemblies, parliamentary supremacy, etc. The reasons for Unitarianism are lack of tribal differences, political expediency, lack of minority groups, no fear of dominance, single language and culture, no economic inequality. Unitarianism has the following merits; stable government, low cost of management, quick decision making, unity persists, simplicity in operation, less bureaucratic, lack of human and material resources, no double loyalty. Unitarianism has the following demerits; encouragement of dictatorship, lack of local initiatives, it does not suit large territories, it does not encourage expansion, it keeps the government away from the people, it may lead to the central government bearing huge burdens.
• Federalism is a government system that shares power between all arms of the government and each arm is legally and constitutionally independent and autonomous. The features of federalism are rigidity of constitution, supremacy of constitution, bicameral legislature, constitutional repudiation of secession, regions possess residual power, central government is supreme, existence of written constitution, power comes according to constitution, matters in exclusive lists are reserved to the central government. The reasons for federalism are tribal difference, size of the country, absence of marked inequalities, possible expansion of the markets, fear of dominance, desire for union, protection of the interest of minority groups. The merit of federalism are rapid development, enjoyment of economies of scale, greater political strength, more employment opportunity, lack of emergency of dictator, existence of checks and balances, guaranteed human rights, the local dwellers are cared for, room for experimentation, greater participation of the people in government, etc. The demerits of federalism are inter-state friction, fear of dominance, unhealthy rivalry, enthronement of mediocrity, causes dual loyalty, disparity in the level of development, too expensive to manage, problem of wealth sharing, it also create a weak centre.
• Confederation is a political arrangement in which autonomous or sovereign states or republics come together to form a union in which almost the major functions of government are reserved exclusively for the component states with a weak centre. Its features are autonomous states, power is with component states, weak centre, constitution empowers the component states, right to secede, less politically stable, flexible constitution, and citizens have to obey only one government. The merit of confederation are growth encouragement, component states has the ability to make diverse laws, caters for local differences, enjoyment of economies of scale, bridge the gap between strong and weak states, prevents one state riding over another, no fear of dominance. The demerits of confederation are lack of even development, flexible government, power resides in the component states, it doesn’t assure political unity, and component states have their own armed force.
• Presidential system of government is when power of the state is vested on the president as the executive and legislature are separate arms. The presidential system is characterized with the rule of law, supremacy of the constitution, judicial review and interpretation, limited term of rule, checks and balances, executive power is performed by the president, president and his ministers are not members of the parliament. The merits are checks and balances, fixed tenure of office, separation of power, void of dictatorship, independence of the president, absence of collective responsibility, political stability, democracy, absence of conflict, effective executive arm, absence of official opposition party. The demerits are arbitrary dismissal by the president, long impeachment process, corruption, absence of official opposition, too expensive to manage, frequent frictions occur between executive and legislature.
• Duties and Responsibilities of the President
• Parliamentary system of government where the Head of State is different from Head of Government executive and legislature are somewhat similar. Characteristics are lack of strict separation of power, prime minister and cabinet ministers are members of legislature, prime minister is the head of government while president or queen is the head of state, executive arm gets authority from legislature, prime minister and cabinet minister are chosen from the legislative arm. Advantages of cabinet system of government are cooperation, discipline, stable government, efficiency of the executive, reduction of dictatorial tendencies, absence of frequent friction, collective responsibility and there is free flow of information. Disadvantages are frequent changes in government and policies, treat of coalition government, encouragement of arbitrary dismissal, no personal accountability, less democratic, and the fusion of powers does not encourage specialization.

 

• Duties and Responsibilities of the Prime Minister
• Collective Responsibilitymeans that all members of the cabinet are collectively accountable or responsible for all decisions and actions taken by the cabinet.
• Monarchy is a form of government under the rule of a king, queen or emperor known as the monarch. There is an absolute monarchy which possesses unlimited powers and does not derive power from the constitution and rules by divine rights. The other form is constitutional monarchy where the power is limited to the constitutional provisions.
• Republican is that which the Head of State is elected by the people of the state. The features are the Head of State known as the president is elected, rule of law, political and legal equality, officials perform government functions, politically independent, popular sovereignty, and the republican constitution is entirely home-made.

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Chemistry Keypoints

1. INTRODUCTION TO CHEMISTRY

Chemistry is an experimental science which can be studied through experiments. Scientists apply scientific methods like observation, hypothesis, experiments before a particular law can be established. Chemistry being a subject that is fundamental to all science, makes every substance indeed a chemical substance.

The products of some of the chemical processes are polythene bags from plastic industry, creams and perfumes from pharmaceutical industry etc. chemistry is used in so many industries like fertilizer, insecticides, cement, paints, etc.

2. NATURE OF MATTER

Two types of change in chemistry are physical and chemical changes. The physical change is easily reversible e.g. the dissolution of sodium chloride (common salt) in water. Chemical change is not reversible and a new substance is formed e.g. burning of magnesium ribbon in a Bunsen burner.

States of matter: matter exists in three states: solid, liquid and gas. Matter changes from one state to another. Water when heated or cooled undergoes the following changes:

[Diagram]

ELEMENTS, MIXTURES AND COMPOUNDS

Element: an element is a substance which cannot be split up into simpler substances by any chemical means. Examples are sodium, aluminium, copper, silver and gold.

Compound: a compound is a substance formed by two or more different elements which and chemically joined together e.g. calcium trioxocarbonate (iv) called marble (CaCO3), salt (sodium chloride NACI), and glucose (C6H12O6).

Mixture: a mixture is a substance formed when two or more substances are physically joined together. Examples are air, blood, sea water, brass, etc.

3. SEPARATION TECHNIQUES

The method to be used to separate a mixture involves only physical means and this depends on the physical properties of the components of that mixture. The following method can be used to separate mixtures.

Filtration: is a method of separating an insoluble solid from a liquid by the use of porous materials like filter paper or pig bladder. Example is the filtration of water containing sand.

Evaporation: is a method of obtaining a soluble solid from solution by heating. Example is common salt and water.

[diagram]

Distillation: solvents are obtained from solution by heating in order that the solvent should vaporize and condense later. Example is two miscible liquids e.g. ethanol and water with different boiling points. Ordinary water can be distilled to make it pure.

Fractional Distillation: this involves the separation of two or more miscible liquids with close boiling points e.g. fractional distillation of crude oil into paraffin petrol, diesel, cooking gas, etc.

 Separating Funnel: immiscble liquids such as water and oil can be separated by using separating funnel as illustrated below. The liquids must have different densities.

[diagram]

Sublimation: solid substances change straight to gaseous state when heated. Examples are iodine and ammonium chloride.

[diagram]

Magnetization: is applied to separate magnetic substances e.g. iron filings from a non-magnetic substances e.g sulphur powder in a mixture.

Decantation: is used to separate a mixture of liquid and a denser substance e.g. a mixture of sand and water.

[diagram]

Chromatography: is a method used to separate mixtures by taking advantage of their different rate of movement in a solvent over an adsorbent material  e.g. paper. It is used to separate the dyes in black ink.

[diagram]

Precipitation: this is carried out by mixing two different solutions which react to produce one soluble compound and insoluble substance called precipitate e.g. copper (ii) tetraoxosulphate (vi) and an insoluble copper (ii) hydroxide which is the precipitate.

CuSO4+2NaOHàCu(OH)2+Na2SO4

Centrifugation: the spinning of materials in a centrifuge, tends to make the heavier solids to settle first, leaving the lighter ones on top. Example is found in blood where red and white blood cells settle down leaving plasma as supernatant.

Test for purity: the purity of a substance is determined by its melting and boiling points. The temperature is affected if the substance contains impurities. Capillary tube can be used to determine the melting point of a solid.

[diagram]

4. FORMULAE AND VALENCY

Valency: is the combining power of any element. It serves as the key point or the most important factor required for writing the correct formula of a compound e.g. calcium chloride.

[diagram]

Radicals: a radical is a group of atoms which behave as one unit. Radicals are divide into two parts namely cations and anions. The cations are the positive or metallic radicals e.g. Ca2+, Na+, while anions are negative or non-metallic radicals e.g. CI–NO3–, SO42-.

5. PARTICULATE NATURE OF MATTER

CONCEPT OF ATOMS AND MOLECULES

Atom: An atom is the smallest amount of an element which can take part in chemical reaction. It is made up of tiny particles called protons, neutrons and electrons.

Molecule: A molecule is the smallest particle of a substance, either are element or compound which can exist in a free state.

Ions: An ion is any atom or group of atoms which possesses an electric charge. There are two types, the positively charged ions known as cations and the negatively charged ions known as anions.

ATOMIC STRUCTURE

An atom contains three types of particles, protons, neutrons and electrons. It consists of centrally placed nucleus, which is made of protons and neutrons. The nucleus is surrounded by a cloud of electrons.

[DIAGRAM]

Atomic Mass: The mass number A, is the sum of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of the element, e.g. sodium has mass number 23; protons 11 and neutrons 12.

Atomic Number: Atomic number Z is the number of protons in an atom of the element.

ORBITALS

Each shell or orbit that surrounds the nucleus is subdivided into orbitals which are called s, p, d, f orbitals.

Each orbital has a maximum number of electrons it can hold.

S = 2 electrons

P = 6 electrons

D = 10 electrons

R = 14 electrons

Orbital types in a shell

[DIAGRAM]

The sequence of filling up the orbitals with electrons is as follows:

1s 2s 3s 3p 4s 3d

4s is filled before 3d because 4s energy level is lower than 3d energy level.

e.g. calcium = 1s2, 2s2, 2p6, 3s2, 3p6, 4s2

ISOTOPY

Isotopy is a phenomenon whereby atoms of an element exhibit different mass numbers but the same atomic number e.g. chlorine atom has

[DIAGRAM]

RELATIVE MOLECULAR MASS

The relative molecular mass of a compound is the mass of the correctly written formula or one molecule of that compound, obtained by adding together the appropriate relative atomic masses of all the atoms of the element present in the molecule.

The molecular mass and relative molecular mass are the same except that relative molecular mass has no unit

Relative molecular mass of sodium trioxocarbonate (iv) Na2CO3 is

2 x Ar of Na + 1 x Ar of C + 3 x Ar of O

(2 x 23) + 1 x 12 + 3 x 16

     46     +    12    +    48

        Rmm = 106

EMPIRICAL FORMULA AND MOLECULAR FORMULA

Empirical formula of a compound is the simplest formula of that compound, which shows the simplest ratio of the number of atoms present in it.

Molecular formula: The molecular formula of a compound shows the actual number of atoms of the different elements in one molecule of it.

Compound    Empirical Formula       Molecular Formula

Ethyne            CH                                   (CH)n = C2H2

Benzene         CH                                   (CH)n = C6H6

6. CHEMICAL LAWS
Law of conservation of mass: The law of conservation of mass states that matter can neither be created nor destroyed in the course of chemical reaction.

Law of multiple proportion: The law of multiple proportion states that if two elements A and B combine together to form more than one compound then the several masses of A which separately combine with a fixed mass of B are in a simple ratio.

Law of definite proportion: The law of definite proportion states that all samples of the same chemical compound contain the same elements combined in the same proportion by mass.

7. CHEMICAL COMBINATION

Two main types of chemical combinations are:

(i) Electrovalent Combination

(ii) Covalent Combination

Electrovalent Combination: This involves a transfer of electrons from one atom to another giving rise to electrovalent bond between ions.

[diagram]

Covalent Combination: This involves the sharing of electrons between atoms such that each atom in the molecule has the electron arrangement of a noble gas. Consider two chlorine atoms each having electronic structure 2, 8, 7.

[diagram]

CHARACTERISTIC PROPERTIES OF ELECTROVALENT BOND

(i) Compounds form ions in water

(ii) ions conduct electricity

(iii) high melting and boiling points

(iv) occurs in inorganic compounds                              

COVALENT BOND

(i) Compounds consist of molecules

(ii) do not conduct electricity

(iii) occurs mainly in organic compounds

(iv) low melting and boiling points.

.

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Commerce Keypoints

INTRODUCTION TO COMMERCE

Meaning of Commerce:

Commerce is the study of production, distribution and exchange of goods and services aimed at satisfying human wants and in order to earn a living. These production, distribution and exchange of goods and services are aided by such commercial activities like trade, transport, insurance, warehousing, advertising and banking and finance.

 

IMPORTANCE AND FUNCTIONS OF COMMERCE

(1) Commerce is the life blood of a nation.

(2) It helps to improve the standard of living of people.

(3) It makes exchange of goods and services possible.

(4) It aids movement of goods and services.

(5) It encourages inter-dependence among nations since no nation is self- sufficient.

(6) Provides employment opportunities.

(7) It makes storage of goods possible.

(8) It encourages specialisation.

(9) It makes people of a country to enjoy goods not produced in the country.

(10) It provides fund for business activities.

 

FACTORS THAT DELAYED THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMERCE IN WEST AFRICA

The development of commercial activities was delayed in West Africa till twentieth century when compared with, commercial activities that were going on in Europe even before the nineteenth century. Even till today, commercial activities in West Africa seem to be at the incipient stage as a result of the following factors;

[1) Lack of enough capital

(2) Political instability

(3) Low national income

(4) Low savings.

(5) Lack of true entrepreneurship

(6) Absence of developed markets.

(7) Inadequate and inefficient means of transport and communication.

(8) Inadequate infrastructural facilities.

 

FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE GROWTH OF COMMERCE

(1) Warehousing

(2) Development of modem techniques of production.

(3) Development of efficient means of transport and communication.

(4) Insurance

(5) Development of financial institutions

(6) Advertising

(7) Political stability.

 

CHAPTER 2

DMSIONS OF COMMERCE

Commerce is divided into six main divisions known as commercial occupations engaged mainly in the movement of goods. These six divisions or branches are: Trade, Transport and Commurications, Banking, Insurance, Advertising and Warehousing.

 

Trade: It is the exchange, buying and selling of goods and services. Trade is divided into Home Trade and Foreign Trade. Home Trade (also known as domestic or internal trade) is the exchange, buying and selling of goods and services within a country. Foreign Trade (also called international or external trade) is the exchange, buying and selling of goods and services between two or more countries. While Home Trade is divided into wholesale and retail trade, Foreign Trade is divided into Import and Export.

Transport and Communication: They involve movement of goods and services and sending of messages from one place to another. Major means of transport and communication are land, water and air transport; and oral, non-verbal and written communication.

Banking: A bank is an institution set up purposely for safe keeping of money, valuable goods and documents like wills and others. The existence of banks had been a big boost to business activities the world over.

Insurance: It is a provision made for the protection of persons or objects against risks. It includes motor vehicle, fire, accident, burglary, etc.

Advertising: It is a means of bringing the existence or production of new goods and services to the knowledge of members of the public and to persuade them to buy and use the goods and services. The media of advertising include: Radio, Television, Newspapers, Magazines, etc.

Warehousing: This is the act of storing goods produced ahead of demand until the time they will be needed. Warehouses are divided into: Ordinary, Bonded and State.

 

CHAPTER 3

OCCUPATIONS

Occupations refer to activities which people engage themselves in order to earn a living.

 

CLASSIFICATION OF OCCUPATIONS OR CLASSES OF PRODUCTIVE OCCUPATIONS

Occupations are divided into the following groups:

1. Extractive Occupation: This occupation involves people whose activities are directed at bringing out natural resources from the soil and sea. Things extracted by people in this occupation are known as raw materials E.g. farming, fishing, mining, hunting, etc.

2. Manufacturing Occupation: Workers involved in this occupation engage in changing the form of the raw materials extracted from soil or sea by the extractive industry workers.

3. Constructive Occupation: Workers involved in this occupation engage in assembling different components extracted and manufactured by both the extractive and manufacturing industrial workers to construct them into organized whole.

4. Commercial Occupation: This involves the activities of those who work in different groups as a team in order to make production of goods and services possible and available to who needs them. Examples are insurance, transport, advertising, etc.

5. Direct Services: These include those whose economic activities involve giving satisfaction, amusement, enjoyment and rendering personal services to others. They include actors, singers, dancers, cooks, drivers, barbers etc.

6. Indirect Services: These involve those who earn their living by rendering one type of service or another to members of the public. They include: Police, Armed Forces, Teachers, CMI Servants, etc.

 

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE OCCUPATIONS

(1)Level of education

(2) Level of training

(3) Remuneration

(4)S3x

(5) Life ambition

(6) Talent

(7) One’s interest.

(8) Family background

(9) Government policy

(10) Country’s level of development

(11) Environmental factor

(12) Peer group.

 

CHAPTER 4

PRODUCTION, SPECIALISA11ON AND EXCHANGE

Production is the transformation of raw materials into finished goods and the distribution and provision of goods and services in order to satisfy human wants. Production also refers to the creation of utility, while utility is the ability of any commodity or service to satisfy human wants.

 

TWO MAIN TYPES OF GOODS

1. Consumer Goods: These are goods and services that can satisfy the consumer’s immediate wants. Examples are beer, milk, bread, the services of a teacher lawyer, barber etc

2. Capital Goods: These are goods and services meant for the production of further goods and services. They are for instance machines cars, lorries, raw materials, etc.

 

TWO MAIN TYPES OF HUMAN WANTS

(a) Material Wants: These are wants that may be satisfied with the use of the gift of nature.

(b) Immaterial Wants: These are wants not meant to increase our material wealth but to make our lives worth living and are satisfied with personal service. These wants may include education protection health, amusement, etc.

 

TYPES OF PRODUCTION

1. Primary Production: This involves the extraction of raw materials from the soil or sea e.g. mining, farming, fishing etc.

2. Secondary Production: This is a stage where raw materials are processed and transformed into finished goods

i.e. utility is added to the raw materials of the primary production

3. Tertiary Production: This is the stage where the goods and services made available at the two stages are taken to those who are in need of them.

 

FACTORS OR AGENTS OF PRODUCTION

There are four main factors of production and they are:

1. Land: Land as a factor of production is a free gift of nature and is fixed, e.g. water, forest, minerals, etc.

2. Capital: It is wealth reserved or set aside for the production of more wealth.

 

TYPES OF CAPITAL

1. Fixed Capital Refers to durable assets of a business such as building, machinery furniture, etc.

2. Circulating Capital: This refers to those materials that change their form in the process of production into finished products e.g. raw materials.

3. Current Capital: Refers to those things needed for day to day running of the business, e.g. money, and is also known as liquid capital.

4. Social Capital: They refer to infrastructural facilities provided by government that aid e.g. roads, electricity, railways, sea and airports etc.

5. Labour: Refers to both physical and mental efforts of man directed at production. Labour is divided into unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled.

6. Entrepreneur: Refers to the factor of production that co-ordinates other factors of production for more productive purposes.

 

FUNCTIONS OF THE ENTREPRENEUR

1. Risk bearing.

2. He takes decisions.

3. Co-ordination of other factors of production.

4. Efficient management

5. Organisation of research.

6. Provision of capital.

7. He maintains good communication

 

Division of Labour: It is a system of breaking down production processes into different stages so that each stage is undertaken or handled by an individual.

Specialisation: Refers to the act of an individual or a firm or a country concentrating its resources and efforts in the production of relatively few commodities.

 

ADVANTAGES OF DIVISION OF LABOUR AND SPECIALISATION

(1) Time saving

(2) Increase in production
(3) They are less fatiguing

(4) Increase in leisure

(5) They economise tools

(6) Improvement in the quality of goods

(7) Division of Labour loads to specialisation

(8) They increase the skill of workers

(9) Creation of employment opportunities.

(10) They lead to Innovation and invention.

(11) They make the use of machine in production possible.

 

DISADVANTAGES OF DIVISION OF LABOUR AND SPECIALISATION

(1) They make work monotonous

(2) They cannot work in agricultural economy

(3) The use of machines reduces employment opportunities.

(4) They bring about decline of craftsmanship.

(5) They bring about immobility of labour

(6) Increase in interdependence among individuals and industries.

 

LIMITATIONS OR FACTORS THAT ENCOURAGE OR DISCOURAGE DIVISION OF LABOUR

(1) The size of the market.

(2) The availability of Iabour

(3) Availability of capitaI.

(4) Nature of the product produced.

(5) Technical difficulties.

(6) Technological development.

 

CHAPTER 5

HOME TRADE - THE RETAIL TRADE

Who Is A Retailer? A retailer is that trader who buys goods in small quantity from the wholesaler or directly from the manufacturer and sells in units to the public or final consumers.

 

CHARACTERISTICS OF RETAIL TRADE

(1) The retailer sells in units.

(2) The retailer stocks a wide variety of goods.

(3) It involves selling directly to the consumers.

(4) It involves buying in small quantity.

(5) Consumer goods are mainly involved.

(6) A large number of small shops are involved.

(7) Majority of the goods come mainly from wholesalers.

(8) It involves bringing the goods nearer the consumers.

 

FUNCTIONS OF THE RETAILER

1. He stocks variety of goods.

2. He sells in units.

3. Brings the goods nearer the consumers.

4. He gives credit facilities to consumers.

5. The retailer advises the consumers.

6. He advises both the manufacturer and the wholesaler.

7. He completes the process of production.

8. The retailer advertises the goods.

9. He performs the function o weighing, measuring an packaging.

10. He opens at convenient hours.

11. He renders after - sales services.

 

FACTORS THAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WHEN STARTING A RETAIL BUSINESS

(1) Capital

(2) Experience

(3) Hours of business

(4) Source of supply

(5) Methods of advertising.

(6) Means of transport

(7) Terms of trade

(8) How to please customers.

(9) The site of the business.

 

FACTORS THAT LEAD TO FAILURE OF MANY RETAIL SHOPS

(1) Wrong purchases

(2) Over-spending

(3) Lack of experience

(4) Avoidin3nsurance

(5) Lack o advertisement

(6) Lack of fore-sight.

(7) Credit facilities offered

(8) Lack of book of account.

 

FACTORS A RETAILER SHOULD TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN MAKING HIS PURCHASES

(1) Quality

(2 Quantity

(3) Terms of payment

(4) Packing of goods

(5) Methods of delivery

(6) Terms of trade

(7) The extent o credit facilities offered.

 

CHAPTER 6

HOME TRADE - SMALL- SCALE RETAIL TRADE, HAWKING

Hawking involves carrying of goods from one place to another, either on the head, by carts or by canoes.

 

ATTRIBUTES OF HAWKING

1. Hawking is a form of small scale retail trade.

2. It involves movement of goods from one place to another.

3. Goods are carried and displayed either on the head, by carts or by canoes

4. Popular consumer goods like food items are involved.

5. Hawking requires small capital outlay.

6. It involves advertising with the use of horn, bell, trumpet, shouting, etc.

 

ADVANTAGES OF HAWKING

1. Hawking is carried out with small amount of capital.

2. It provides door to door services to consumers.

3. Hawking serves as a medium of advertising.

4. Hawkers help to complete production of goods.

5. Running expenses like rents and wages don t exist.

6. Goods sold by hawkers are relatively cheap.

7. It provides employment opportunities.

8. Hawking serves as a stepping stone to bigger business.

9. Hawking business is easy to start.

 

DISADVANTAGES OF HAWKING

1. Hawking goods along major road is very risky.

2. It causes traffic hold-up in big cities like Lagos.

3. Young girls who hawk fall easy prey to sex maniacs.

4. Hawking constitutes environmental nuisance.

5. Food items are exposed to health hazards by hawkers.

6. In hawking by canoe, death may result if the canoe capsizes.

7. Hawking deprives some children their education.

8. Hawkers expose themselves to bad weather conditions.

 

STREET RETAILING: These are retail traders who display their rods alonq.mor streets in urban areas.

MARKETPLACE RETAILING: This is a method whereby retail traders agglomerate in a common meeting place - local market to buy and sell goods.

SMALL STORES: These are small stores where goods are retailed in front of residential houses of the retailers or in buildings rented purposely for that type of business.

MOBILE SHOPS: These are small retail shops that are moved from one place to another in motor vans or lorries.

TIED SHOPS: These are shops that confine whatever they sell in single commodity which their producers supply directly to them.

VENDING MACHINES: These are forms of small scale retail trade in which customers obtain self- service from automatic vending machines that sell goods like tea, hot and cold soft drinks, coffee, cigarettes, sweets, etc.

 

WHY THERE ARE MANY SMALL SCALE RETAIL TRADE IN WEST AFRICA

1. Lack of sufficient capital used in establishing large business.

2. Low savings as a result of low per capita income.

3. Majority of people of West Africa fall into the low income group who can only afford to buy goods in units.

4. Unemployment forces many to buy goods in units.

5. Lack of true entrepreneurship.

6. Absence of developed markets in West Africa.

7. Inadequate and inefficient means of transport and communication.

8. Low production of goods.

9. Running expenses is lower in small business than large ones.

10. Small scale retail trade requires small capital.

11. It is more flexible than large one.

 

WHY SMALL SCALE RETAIL TRADE CONTINUES TO EXIST DESPITE STIFF COMPETITION FROM LARGONES

1. Because it requires small capital.

2. It provides door-To-door services.

3. Their owners show more personal interest and attention to the business.

4. Customers are highly respected.

5. It is carried out with flexible policies, rules and regulations.

6. It opens early in the morning till late in the night, on Saturdays, Sundays, and even on public holidays.

7. Prices of goods sold in small scale retail trade are low

8. Customers obtain more credit facilities in small scale retail trade than in large ones.

9. Owners are &ways willing to replace defective products.

10. Popular goods like food items are sold in them.

 

ADVANTAGES OF SMALL SCALE RETAIL TRADE

1. Small scale retail trade requires small capital.

2. It is located near customers’ residential houses:

3. Customers are highly recognized and respected.

4, It opens for longer hours.

5. It provides employment to those who could not secure white collar jobs.

6. It does not require high running expenses.

7. It can be combined with other forms of businesses.

8. It is a popular field for new enterprises.

9. It serves as a good medium for advertising goods.

10. It serves as a stepping stone to bigger business.

11. It is closely supervised and it renders efficient service.

 

DISADVANTAGES OF SMALL SCALE RETAIL TRADE

1. This type of trade faces the problem of inadequate capital

2. Limit expansion as a result of lack of sufficient capital.

3. It does not enjoy economies of scale.

4. It makes low profit compared with large ones.

5. It cannot compete favourably with large ones.

6. It is denied both trade and cash discount.

 

CHAPTER 7

HOME TRADE - LARGE - SCALE RETAIL TRADE DEPARTMENT STORES

Department stores are large - scale retail units in which different stores are housed in a large building under the same roof. Examples are A.G Leventis, Kingsway Stores, S.C.O.A., UT. C., Chellarams, etc.

 

FEATURES OF DEPARTMENT STORES

1. They are housed in large buildings.

2. They are divided into different departments or stores.

3. Each department specialises in the sale of a particular type of product.

4. Every department has and is under the control of a departmental manager.

5. Each department is independently run and is self-accounting strategic business centres.

6. Each department has floor supervisor, cashiers and sales attendants under the departmental manager.

7. Every department store has a General Manager who co-ordinates the activities of all sectional managers.

8. Department stores deal in wide range of goods.

9. Goods sold in department stores carry fixed price tags thereby making it impossible for bargaining by the customers.

 

ADVANTAGES OF DEPARTMENT STORES

1. Department stores have high and rapid rate of turnover.

2. They reap the benefit of large - scale buying.

3. Their prices are low because they buy directly from manufacturers.

4. They provide more employment opportunities.

5. Customers do their shopping under one roof.

6. They are located at strategic business centres.

7. Goods in one section help to advertise goods in other sections.

8. Profits of one department help to cover the losses of others.

9. Customers enjoy other services like restaurant, toilet etc.

10. They economise the use of land.

 

DISADVANTAGES AND CRITICISMS OF DEPARTMENT STORES

1. Department stores require huge amount of capital.

2. They give little or no credit to customers,

3. Their prices are high as a result of their expensive overhead cost like high rents.

4. Floor attendants do not recognise and show courtesy to their customers.

5. They do not open for business on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

6. Their self-service system denies many people employment opportunities.

7. They are not easily accessible to customers.

8. Department stores are elitist in nature.

9. Their fixed price tags are not in line with our bargaining instinct.

10. They do not allow customers to return goods.

 

SUPERMARKETS

These are large scale retail business units that deal mainly in household goods like fruits, fish, butter, bread, etc.

 

FEATURES OF SUPERMARKETS

1. They sell wide range of goods including food items.

2. They operate in spacious stores.

3. They are found mainly in urban areas.

4. Supermarkets involve in bulk purchases and sell in units.

5. Goods sold in supermarkets carry fixed price tags.

6. They operate the system of self - servicing.

7. Supermarkets require and use few sales attendants.

8. Their self - service system breed high cases of pilfering.

9. The goods sold in them are pre - packed.

10. Facilities that facilitate shopping are made available.

 

Supermarkets have close resemblance with department stores and therefore, have similar advantages and disadvantages.

 

MULTIPLE SHOPS

Multiple shops are also known as chain stores and they are large - scale business units with similar stores scattered all over a country.

 

FEATURES OF MULTIPLE SHOPS

1. They have similar stores scattered all over a country.

2. Multiple shops deal in one type of product in all their branches.

3. They have centralised administration.

4. The head office manufactures and purchases all goods.

5. The price of goods is predetermined by the head office.

They operate on the basis of cash and carry.

. Goods are displayed in open counter with fixed prices.

They are found mainly in urban and sub-urban areas.

9 When they do not manufacture the goods, they involve in bulk purchasing.

10 Multiple shops require large capital.

11 They embark upon nation-wide advertising.

12. A branch that suffers from shortages of stock can collect goods from a nearby branch for sale.

 

ADVANTAGES OF MULTIPLE SHOPS

1. They are easy to identify.

2. They are specialists in the sale of one type of product.

3. Their cash and carry system reduces the incidence of bad debts.

4. Losses in one branch can be absorbed by other branches.

5. Small profits made by different branches lead to large overall profits.

6. They save a lot of costs in advertising.

7. They manufacture their products at large - scale.

8. When they involve in purchases, they buy directly from manufacturers in bulk at reduced rates.

9. Staff and stock can easily be transferred from one branch to another.

10. They employ experts for administration, purchases, accounting, advertising, etc.

 

DISADVANTAGES OF MULTIPLE SHOPS

1. Branch managers are denied personal initiatives.

2. They do not take into accounts the prevailing local conditions.

3. Customers are denied opportunities of doing their shopping under one roof.

4. They require huge capital to establish and run.

5. Their cash and carry system denies customers credit purchases.

6. Their purchases and fixing of prices may not be aware of local needs and the prevailing prices.

7. They incur increases in transport costs.

8. Impersonal relationship exists between customers and sales attendants.

 

MAIL ORDER BUSINESS

This is a form of retail business conducted through the post office and it serves as the best example of the elimination of small - scale retailer by the wholesaler.

 

FEATURES OF MAIL ORDER BUSINESS

1. The business is conducted through the post office.

2. Its existence is made through intensive advertising.

3. C.W.O. and COD. are the main methods of payment.

4. It requires large warehouses.

5. It may also be conducted through agents.

6. Mail - order business requires few workers for its operation.

 

TYPES OF MAIL ORDER BUSINESS

1. Manufacturers Mail Order Business: In this type, manufacturers by-pass middlemen and sell directly to members of the public.

2. Department Stores Mail Order Business: Department stores involve in mail order business mainly to supplement.

3. Specialist Mail Order Business: This is when retail groups involve in mail order business.

 

ADVANTAGES OF MAIL ORDER BUSINESS

1. Goods are sold directly to consumers.

2. The business can operate from a warehouse.

3. It does not require expensive fittings and other costly equipment.

4. The business buys directly from manufacturers in bulk at reduced rates.

5. It does not require sales assistant.

6. Customers can be reached wherever the

7. The risk of bad debt is reduced through C.O.D. and C.W.O. The business guarantees quality through C.O.D.

 

DISADVANTAGES OF MAIL ORDER BUSINESS

1. It is very expensive to advertise mail order business.

2. It cannot function very well where postal services are inefficient like in West Africa.

3. The business is very expensive.

4. It attracts low patronage.

5. Mail order business is elitist in nature.

6. It breeds high cases of missing goods.

 

RETAIL CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY

This is also known as consumers co-operative society, and as the name indicates, is an association of consumers who pool their resources together in order to buy goods in bulk from manufacturers.

 

VARIETY CHAIN STORES

These are stores that combine the features of both multiple shops and department stores and can easily be baptized multiple department stores.

 

HYPERMARKETS

These are gigantic supermarkets that sell different kinds of goods at competitive prices.

 

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SUPERMARKETS AND HYPERMARKETS

	SUPERMARKETS	HYPERMARKETS
1	Occupy small space	Occupy large space
2	Located in strategic centres.	Located at the periphery in a town
3	May operate without parking spaces	Provide parking spaces
4	Deal mainly in consumer goods	Deal in both consumer and durable goods
5	Prices of goods are low	Prices of goods are lower
6	Provide luxurious shopping facilities	Do not have luxurious shopping facilities
7	Can operate in a single floor of a building.	Operate in complex building.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These comparisons between supermarkets and hypermarkets can equally apply to hypermarkets and department stores since department stores have close resemblance with supermarkets.

 

WHY RETAIL TRADE INCLUDES LARGE AND SMALL ORGANISATIONS

1. They want to stock variety of goods.

2. It requires relatively small capital.

3. They can afford the space to display variety of goods.

4. It gives room for faster and greater sales.                                                           

5. Selling variety of goods leads to high profits.

6. Retail business provides employment opportunities.

7. Our people cannot afford to buy goods in bulk but in units

8. It can be carried under one man management.

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