Kiribati KCSE / KSCE cheat sheet

Word class is decided by function in the sentence, not by the word alone: 'water' is a noun in 'the water rose' and a verb in 'water the plants'.

A clause contains a subject and a finite verb; a phrase does not. 'Because the tide rose' is a subordinate clause; 'at high tide' is a phrase.

Active to passive: the object becomes the subject, the verb becomes be + past participle, and the agent is kept with 'by' only if it matters.

Direct to reported speech: shift the tense one step back (present to past, past to past perfect), change pronouns, and change time words (now to then, today to that day, tomorrow to the next day).

Third conditional form: if + past perfect, would have + past participle, e.g. 'If the boat had left earlier, we would have reached Betio.'

Punctuation: a comma separates items in a list and marks off non-defining clauses; a semicolon joins two independent clauses; an apostrophe marks possession or a contraction, never a plural.

Figures of speech to name: simile (like/as), metaphor, personification, alliteration, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, irony.

Essay paragraph shape: topic sentence stating one idea, then evidence or example, then a comment linking back to the question.

Quadratic formula: for ax^2 + bx + c = 0 (a not 0), x = [-b +/- sqrt(b^2 - 4ac)] / 2a.

Discriminant b^2 - 4ac: positive gives two distinct real roots, zero gives one repeated root, negative gives no real roots.

Pythagoras: c^2 = a^2 + b^2 for a right-angled triangle with hypotenuse c. Trig ratios: sin = opposite/hypotenuse, cos = adjacent/hypotenuse, tan = opposite/adjacent.

Area and volume: triangle 1/2 x base x height; trapezium 1/2 (a+b)h; circle pi r^2; cylinder pi r^2 h; cone 1/3 pi r^2 h; sphere 4/3 pi r^3.

Interest: simple interest I = PRT/100; compound amount A = P(1 + r/100)^n where n is the number of periods.

Index laws: a^m x a^n = a^(m+n); a^m / a^n = a^(m-n); (a^m)^n = a^(mn); a^0 = 1; a^(-n) = 1/a^n.

Averages: mean = sum of values / number of values; median = middle value of ordered data; mode = most frequent value; range = largest minus smallest.

Probability: P(event) = favourable outcomes / total possible outcomes; P(not A) = 1 - P(A); for independent events multiply the probabilities.

Photosynthesis: 6CO2 + 6H2O -> C6H12O6 + 6O2, using light energy absorbed by chlorophyll in chloroplasts.

Aerobic respiration: C6H12O6 + 6O2 -> 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy released. Anaerobic respiration in yeast gives ethanol and carbon dioxide.

Plant cells have a cellulose cell wall, chloroplasts and a large permanent vacuole; animal cells have none of these.

Food tests: iodine turns blue-black with starch; Benedict's solution heated gives a brick-red precipitate with reducing sugar; Biuret turns purple with protein.

pH: below 7 acidic, 7 neutral, above 7 alkaline. Red litmus turns blue in alkali; blue litmus turns red in acid.

Atom particles: proton charge +1, mass 1; neutron charge 0, mass 1; electron charge -1, mass negligible. Atomic number = number of protons.

Electrical formulas: Ohm's law V = IR; power P = VI; in series the current is the same, in parallel the voltage is the same.

Mechanics formulas: density = mass/volume; pressure = force/area; speed = distance/time; acceleration = change in velocity/time; F = ma.

Kiribati became independent from Britain on 12 July 1979; the Gilbert Islands were renamed Kiribati, from the local pronunciation of 'Gilberts'.

The republic has 33 islands in three groups: the Gilbert Islands, the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands. Kiritimati (Christmas Island) is the largest atoll by land area.

The Equator crosses Kiribati, and the Line Islands lie east of the International Date Line, so Kiritimati is among the first inhabited places to enter a new day.

Banaba (Ocean Island) was mined for phosphate from 1900 to 1979, which stripped most of its surface; many Banabans were resettled on Rabi Island, Fiji.

The Battle of Tarawa was fought in November 1943, when United States forces landed on Betio against Japanese defenders to capture the airstrip.

The maneaba is the community meeting house; people sit in inherited boti (seating blocks), and unimwane (elders) lead discussion.

Atoll geography: low coral islets surround a lagoon; land is a few metres above sea level; the freshwater lens is thin and vulnerable to drought and salt water.

Population and economy: the 2020 census recorded about 119,940 people, over half on South Tarawa; copra and fishing licence fees are the main foreign exchange earners.

The Kiribati alphabet has 13 letters: A, B, E, I, K, M, N, Ng, O, R, T, U, W. 'Ng' counts as one letter and can begin a word.

Te taetae ni Kiribati is a Micronesian (Oceanic) language; its usual word order is verb-subject-object, and the article 'te' marks a singular noun.

Greetings: 'Mauri' serves as hello and welcome; 'Ko rabwa' means thank you; 'Ti a boo' is said on leaving.

Maneaba etiquette: enter quietly, sit cross-legged in your boti, do not walk across the floor in front of elders, and let the unimwane speak first.

Te mwaie is traditional Kiribati dance, performed seated or standing with rhythmic body and hand movements, usually with singing and clapping.

Te bwiro is preserved breadfruit, peeled, wrapped in leaves and fermented in a pit for weeks or months as a stored starch food.

Staple foods: babai (giant swamp taro) grown in lens pits; coconut in the form of toddy, te kava, and copra; breadfruit, pandanus and reef fish.

Canoe culture: traditional navigation used stars, swell patterns and stick charts; the outrigger canoe (te wa) remains a cultural symbol on the national flag.

Accounting equation: Assets = Liabilities + Capital. Expanding for a period: Assets = Liabilities + Capital + (Revenue - Expenses) - Drawings.

Double entry rule: every transaction has equal debits and credits. Debit = left side, credit = right side; debits increase assets and expenses, credits increase liabilities, capital and revenue.

A trial balance lists debit and credit balances; if the totals disagree there is an error, but agreeing totals do not prove the books are correct (compensating errors cancel out).

Depreciation: straight line = (cost - residual value) / useful life; reducing balance = fixed percentage x book value at the start of the year.

Working capital = current assets - current liabilities; current ratio = current assets / current liabilities; a ratio below 1 signals a short-term liquidity problem.

Market rules: supply curve slopes upward, demand curve slopes downward; equilibrium is where quantity demanded equals quantity supplied; a price ceiling below equilibrium creates a shortage.

National income: GDP = C + I + G + (X - M). Inflation is a sustained rise in the general price level, measured by changes in the consumer price index.

Kiribati economy: very narrow export base (copra, fish), heavy dependence on imports, and budget support from fishing licence fees and the Revenue Equalisation Reserve Fund built from past phosphate earnings.

Atoll soils are calcareous coral sand, usually pH 7.5-8.5, low in nitrogen and potassium and poor at holding water; add compost and mulch to improve them.

The freshwater lens is rainwater floating on denser salt water; dig wells only to the top of the lens, and avoid over-pumping, which pulls in salt.

Babai (Cyrtosperma merkusii) is grown in pits dug down to the lens, filled with leaves and compost; it is the main staple starch and tolerates brackish conditions better than taro.

Copra is dried coconut kernel, made by husking, splitting, and drying the nut for several days; it is the main traditional cash crop.

Compost making: alternate green (nitrogen-rich) and brown (carbon-rich) layers at roughly 25-30:1 carbon to nitrogen, keep it moist, and turn it to add air.

Propagation: coconut from seed nuts 11-12 months old; babai from suckers and corms; breadfruit from root cuttings; pandanus from suckers.

Livestock: pigs and poultry are fed coconut, copra meal and surplus bwiro; provide shade, clean water and pens away from wells to protect the lens.

Pests and problems on atolls: rats and coconut crabs attack nuts and stored food; rhinoceros beetle damages palms; salinity, drought and erosion are the main production limits.