WAEC Commerce 2017 past questions

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

Ten questions from the 2017 WAEC Commerce paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 49 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.

WAEC Commerce 2017 questions and answers

1. 1.A business which becomes insolvent may result in
   1. A
      Amalgamation of the business
   2. B
      Liquidation of the business
      Correct
   3. C
      Merger of the business
   4. D
      Acquisition of the business
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   Answer: B

   Insolvency means a business can no longer pay its debts as they fall due, usually because its liabilities have grown bigger than its assets.

2. 2.The process of placing the right people in the right position in an organisation is?
   1. A
      Organising
   2. B
      Selection
   3. C
      Staffing
      Correct
   4. D
      Recruitment
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   Answer: C

   Staffing is the management function concerned with filling, and keeping filled, the positions in an organisation structure. It covers identifying workforce needs, and recruiting, selecting, training and placing the right people in the right position so that each job is matched with someone suited to it.

3. 3.One of the aims of ECOWAS is to?
   1. A
      promote co-operation and integration among member states to raise living standards
      Correct
   2. B
      form a political union that creates a single government for West Africa
   3. C
      set up a common currency to replace the naira and other national currencies immediately
   4. D
      build a joint military command to fight external aggression in West Africa
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   Answer: A

   ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) was formed in 1975 by the Treaty of Lagos. Its core aim, as stated in the treaty, is economic co-operation and integration among member states, with the goal of raising the standard of living of the people of West Africa, maintaining economic stability, and fostering relations among member states. It does this by promoting trade, removing trade barriers, harmonising policies, and encouraging free movement of goods and people — not by political or military unification.

4. 4.The most suitable channel for the sale of an aircraft is?
   1. A
      Manufacturer directly to the consumer
      Correct
   2. B
      Manufacturer to agent to wholesaler to retailer to consumer
   3. C
      Manufacturer to retailer to consumer
   4. D
      Manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer
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   Answer: A

   An aircraft is a highly technical, very expensive good that is bought by only a few specialised buyers, such as airlines or government agencies, and not by ordinary consumers in a shop. Goods like this are sold through a direct channel, where the manufacturer sells and delivers straight to the user without passing through any middleman.

5. 5.A machine supplied by a post office to an organisation to imprints stamps on their letters is?
   1. A
      Addressing machine
   2. B
      Duplicating machine
   3. C
      Franking machine
      Correct
   4. D
      Postal order machine
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   Answer: C

   The franking machine is correct. A post office supplies (on licence) a franking machine to business organisations that send out large volumes of mail. The machine imprints a stamp-like mark directly onto the envelope showing that postage has been paid, so the firm does not need to buy and stick individual postage stamps on every letter. The post office periodically checks and resets the machine's meter after the firm pays for more postage credit.

6. 6.The main purpose of branding is to?
   1. A
      protect the manufacturer's goods from being copied by competitors
   2. B
      eliminate the need for advertising a product
   3. C
      distinguish a producer's goods from those of other producers
      Correct
   4. D
      increase the selling price of a product above its competitors
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   Answer: C

   Branding means giving a product a name, sign, symbol, term or design (or a combination of these) so that buyers can recognise it. The main purpose of this is to distinguish one producer's goods from those of other producers in the same market, so that a satisfied customer can easily identify and repeat-buy that particular product instead of a rival's.

7. 7.Which of the following is not a factor of production
   1. A
      Capital
   2. B
      Labour
   3. C
      Money
      Correct
   4. D
      Land
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   Answer: C

   Money is not a factor of production. In Commerce and Economics, the factors of production are the four resources used to produce goods and services: Land (natural resources), Labour (human effort, physical or mental), Capital (man-made resources such as machines, tools and buildings used in production), and Entrepreneur/Organisation (the one who combines the other three and bears risk).

8. 8.A cheque could be dishonoured as a result of?
   1. A
      Crossing of the cheque
   2. B
      Insufficient funds in the drawer's account
      Correct
   3. C
      Proper endorsement by the payee
   4. D
      Correct signature of the drawer
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   Answer: B

   A cheque is dishonoured when the drawee bank refuses to pay it on presentation.

   So the only genuine cause of dishonour among the four is insufficient funds in the drawer's account.

9. 9.The facility which is not provide by the port authority is?
   1. A
      Berths where ships dock to load and discharge cargo
   2. B
      Insurance cover for goods passing through the port
      Correct
   3. C
      Cranes and other equipment for handling cargo
   4. D
      Warehouses and sheds for storing goods
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   Answer: B

   Insurance cover for goods passing through the port is correct because this is not a facility the port authority provides.

10. 10.An agreement between two people which can be enforced is?
    1. A
       Contract
       Correct
    2. B
       Deed
    3. C
       Covenant
    4. D
       Bargain
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    Answer: A

    Contract is correct. In Commerce, an agreement is simply when two or more parties reach the same understanding on something. It only becomes a contract once it satisfies the legal requirements of a valid contract — offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity of the parties, and intention to create legal relations. Once those conditions are met, the law will enforce it; that is what makes a contract different from a plain agreement.

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 49 questions we hold from the 2017 paper, on a timed CBT screen

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