WAEC Commerce 2009 past questions

Checked by the Skolra question team · Last updated 23 October 2026

Ten questions from the 2009 WAEC Commerce paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 50 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.

WAEC Commerce 2009 questions and answers

1. 1.A document through which the public is invited to subscribe to the shares of a company is a
   1. A
      Memorandum of association
   2. B
      Share certificate
   3. C
      Articles of association
   4. D
      Prospectus
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   The prospectus is the document a public limited liability company issues to invite members of the public to subscribe for its shares or debentures. It contains details such as the company's objectives, financial position, directors, and terms of the share offer, so that intending investors can decide whether to buy shares.

2. 2.For overstaying in a port, a ship is charged a fine called
   1. A
      Demurrage
      Correct
   2. B
      Wharfage
   3. C
      Dispatch
   4. D
      Lighterage
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   Answer: A

   Demurrage is the correct answer. In shipping practice, every charterer or ship is allowed an agreed period (called laytime) within which to load or discharge cargo and leave the port. Where the ship overstays this allowed period, the shipowner charges a penalty fee known as demurrage for the extra time used.

3. 3.The internal regulations of a limited company are stated in the
   1. A
      Prospectus
   2. B
      Memorandum of association
   3. C
      Certificate of incorporation
   4. D
      Articles of association
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   The articles of association is the document that contains the internal regulations of a limited company — the rules governing how the company runs its own internal affairs, such as the rights and duties of directors and shareholders, procedure for meetings, voting rights, issue and transfer of shares, and appointment of officers.

   So, for internal regulations specifically, the correct document is the articles of association.

4. 4.A stale cheque is one on which the date for payment is
   1. A
      more than six months old
      Correct
   2. B
      altered without the drawer's consent
   3. C
      less than three months old
   4. D
      yet to arrive, making the cheque post-dated
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   Answer: A

   A stale cheque is one that has been in circulation too long without being presented to the bank for payment. In banking practice, a cheque is only valid for six months from the date written on it; once that date is more than six months old and the cheque still has not been presented, the bank will refuse to honour it because it has gone "stale".

   So the correct description of a stale cheque is that the date for payment is more than six months old.

5. 5.Which of the following would be used when goods are sent through independent carriers?
   1. A
      Debit note
   2. B
      Consignment note
      Correct
   3. C
      Delivery note
   4. D
      Advice note
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   Answer: B

   The consignment note is correct. When a trader does not use his own vehicle but hands goods over to an independent carrier (a transport company, haulage firm, or railway) to move the goods to the buyer, the carrier issues a consignment note. It states the sender (consignor), the receiver (consignee), a description and quantity of the goods, and the agreed terms of carriage. It is the carrier's evidence of the contract to transport the goods and the sender's proof that the goods were handed over for delivery.

6. 6.The letters R/D on a cheque shows that the cheque is
   1. A
      Post-dated
   2. B
      Dishonoured
      Correct
   3. C
      Stale
   4. D
      Crossed
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   When a bank stamps R/D (Refer to Drawer) on a cheque and returns it unpaid, it is telling the payee that the bank will not honour the cheque — in other words, the cheque has been dishonoured. This usually happens because the drawer's account lacks sufficient funds, or because of a problem such as a signature mismatch, and the bank is directing the payee back to the drawer (the one who issued the cheque) to sort out payment.

   So the correct reading of R/D on a cheque is that it has been dishonoured.

7. 7.Stocks, shares and debentures traded in the stock exchange are called
   1. A
      Equities
   2. B
      Commodities
   3. C
      Securities
      Correct
   4. D
      Liabilities
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   Answer: C

   Securities is the correct term. Stocks, shares and debentures are all documents of title that represent an investor's claim on a company (or government), and the general name for this whole group of tradable financial instruments on the stock exchange is securities.

   The other options each describe only part of the picture or the wrong market entirely:

   Equities refers only to ordinary shares (ownership capital) — it leaves out debentures, which are loan capital, not ownership. A candidate who forgets that debentures are debt, not equity, picks this by mistake.

8. 8.If a country devalues its currency, there would be
   1. A
      a fall in the cost of imported goods
   2. B
      a reduction in the volume of exports
   3. C
      an increase in exports
      Correct
   4. D
      an increase in the value of the naira against other currencies
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   Answer: C

   Devaluation is when a country's government or central bank officially lowers the value of its own currency relative to other currencies (for example, the naira being made to exchange for fewer dollars than before).

9. 9.The police and the army are engaged in
   1. A
      indirect service
   2. B
      direct service
      Correct
   3. C
      industry
   4. D
      commerce
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   Answer: B

   Direct service is correct. In Commerce, occupations are grouped into three broad classes: industry (producing or extracting goods), commerce (trade and the aids to trade, also called indirect services, such as banking, insurance, transport, warehousing and advertising), and direct services (personal services given straight to the public, not tied to the buying and selling of goods).

10. 10.The authority given to a bank to make regular payments on behalf of a customer is
    1. A
       Letter of credit
    2. B
       Credit transfer
    3. C
       Direct debit
    4. D
       Standing order
       Correct
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    Answer: D

    Standing order is the correct answer. It is a written instruction a customer gives to his bank, authorising the bank to pay a fixed amount of money at regular intervals (weekly, monthly, yearly) to a named person or organisation, such as rent, subscriptions or loan instalments, until the customer cancels it.

The questions come from past JAMB, WAEC and NECO papers. We use software to help write the answer options and explanations, and every answer is checked twice before it goes on the site. How we check

Spotted a wrong answer? Tell us from the app or on the contact page and we check it.

Practise all 50 questions we hold from the 2009 paper, on a timed CBT screen

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