B. E. C. E. – 1990
ESSAY TYPE QUESTIONS
PART 1
MAP SKILLS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

 

QUESTION 1
a) Write notes on contours and illustrate with diagrams:
i) a valley
ii) a ridge
iii) plateau
iv) conical hill

 

a) Contours are lines drawn on maps to show
places of equal height above sea level.
They also show relief features. The
distances between contour lines are known
as vertical distance or vertical intervals
(i.e. 100, 200, 300, etc). Examples are :

IMAGES

b) How are the following features shown on topographical maps?
i) railway line
ii) a bridge
iii) farm
iv) footpath
v) an area liable to flood

SYMBOLS

QUESTION 2
a) i) What is the name of the major river shown on the map?
ii) What is the main tributary of this
river?

a) i) The name of the major river shown on
the map is River Great Scarcies or
Kolente.
ii) The main tributary is River Matune

b) i) Measure the distance from X to Y in kilometers (Scale= 1 cm : 2 km).
ii) Which type of road is from Rokupr to Kabaranka?

b) i) Distance from X to Y = 7.5 cm (on
map). But scale = 1 cm : 2 km.Distance from X to Y = 7.5 x 2 km = 15.0 km
Distance on the ground in kilometres
from X to Y = 15.0 km
ii) The road from Rokupr to Kabaranka is second class road.

c) i) Which type of settlement is at Kabaranka?
ii) What is the height of Maser in feet?

c) i) The settlement at Kabaranka is linear
settlement.
ii) The height of Moseri is 50feet.

PART II
NATIONAL COMMUNITY

QUESTION 3
What are the importance of festivals in Ghana?

Festivals are traditional customs observed or celebrated by the same tribe of ethnic group. For example, Odwira, Homowo, Aboakyir, Kundum, Akwasidae.

Reasons for celebrating festivals in Ghana
are:
i) to mark the beginning of the year: Festivals are celebrated to mark the beginning of a new year and to give thanks to the supreme being for His protection and guidance.
ii) to thank the ancestors and -lesser gods: Festivals are used to thank the ancestors and lesser gods and ask for their blessing for the coming year.
iii) to pay homage to the chiefs: Homage is
paid to chiefs and there is renewal of loyalty to chiefs during festivals by the subjects
iv) to bring various family members together: Festivals help to bring families together after a long separation by geographical locations.
v) to settle disputes and litigations: Family
disputes, litigations and misunderstandings
are settled during periods of the festivals.
vi) to pJan deveJopmentaJ projects:
Festivals help chiefs and their subjects to
plan and budget towards developmental
projects.

QUESTION 4
Write an essay on one of the following:
a) The achievement of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
b) The achievement of Sir Gordon Guggisberg.

a) Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the founding father and the first president of Ghana made
remarkable achievements for Ghana.
The following are some of achievements:
i) He · led Ghana to independence on 6th March 1957.
ii) The Akosombo Dam, started in 1961 and completed in 1965 to generate electricity
for Ghana and her neighbours was built by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah
iii) The Adomi Bridge was constructed under his administration.
iv) He built the Peduase Lodge at Aburi to serve as an official government resort.
v) He provided major medical infrastructure, for example, Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi.
vi) He built educational infrastructure including the country’ s public universities
i.e Kwame Nkrumah’ University of Science and Technology and Cape Coast University.
vii) He built Tema Harbor

b.b) Being the governor of Gold Coast between 1919 and 1927 the following ‘are some of the achievements of Sir Gordon Guggisberg:
i) He built Takoradi Harbour, started in 1921 and completed in 1928.
ii) The Korie-bu Teaching Hospital, started in 1920 and completed in 1923 was built by Guggisberg to meet the health needs of the people.
iii) He built many schools and colleges, notable among them is the Achimota College and encouraged the teaching of local languages and history of the country.
iv) He constructed roads and railways. e.g. Accra-Kumasi rail line which was completed in 1923
v) He introduced the Ten-Year Development
Plan to meet the socio-economic needs of
the people of Gold Coast
vi) He encouraged the growing of cocoa, groundnuts, sisals and cotton in the country. Ghana was the leading producer of cocoa worldwide during his time.

QUESTION 5
What four major benefits do West Africans derive from their rivers? Give specific examples where necessary.

The people of West Africa derive the following benefits from rivers:
i) Hydro electric power: Rivers are used to generate hydroelectric power for both industrial and domestic use. Examples are: Volta River in Ghana and River Niger in Nigeria.
ii) Irrigation: Rivers are used for irrigation
purposes. The Volta River at Akosombo is
used to irrigate cereal and cotton fanns
whilst River Niger in Mali is also used for
fanning activities.
iii) Transport: Rivers serve Bl! means of
transport. Examples are, River Volta and Gambia River
iv) Fish food: Volta, Densu, Afram rivers provide fishfor people.
v) Tourism: Rivers provide beautiful and
attracttve sceneries which serve as sites for tourism.

QUESTION 6
What are some of the problems facing The Organization of African Unity (OAU)?

The Organization of African Unity (OAU) was formed on 25th May 1963 by 32 independent
African States in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The OA U is faced with the following problems:
i) Lack of a common language which hinders the development of a true sense of
unity.
ii) Political upheaval and coup d’etats in most African countries. These affect decision making in the organization. New leaders lack the political will to obey the rules of the organization.
iii) Distrust among member states due to political and ideological differences
iv) The absence of a standing armry to enforce or implement political decisions, especially in times of civil wars and conflicts.
v) Financial constraints resulting from failure of some member states to pay dues or contributions on time.
vi) Inter-state border disputes between some member countries, for example, Ethiopia and Sudan, Mauritania and Morocco posed great challenge to the organisation in conflict resolution.
vii) Lack of economic freedom as a result of allegiance owed to colonial masters by African nations. This most often made it impossible for them to unilaterally take decisions on trade, politics and general administration of the respective countries. Francophone countries in Africa are typical examples.