Lesson Note

Subject: Social Studies

Class: JS3

Topic: World Transportation System

Lesson Objectives: by the end of the lesson, the learners should be able to:
1. Define the term transportation.
2. State two main methods of transportation.
3. Explain the human-powered form of traditional transportation.
4. Mention and explain the three main methods of modern transportation.
5. Mention the various types of ships.

Lesson Discussion

Definition of transportation
Transportation is the movement of people and goods from one location to another either by land, air or by water.

Methods Of Transportation

There are basically two methods of transportation namely;
traditional method and modern method
A. Traditional Method
The traditional method takes forms such as:
i. Human-powered transportation – this involves carrying goods either on the head, shoulder or back from one place to another. It is usually cost- saving and also a means of exercising the body physically, especially in under developed communities.
ii. Beast of burden/ animal- powered transportation – this is the use of working animals to carry goods and people from one place to another.


B. MODERN TRANSPORTATION EXPLANATIONTypes Of Modern Method Of Transportation
The modern methods of transportation are our key focus in this lesson. These modern methods include:

  • Land transport
  • water transport
  • air transport

  • Land transport
  • water transport
  • air transport
    • Land transport
    • water transport
    • air transport

    1. Land Transport
    Transportation by land involves the movement of people and goods from one place to another on land.
    It can come in the form of Road or Rail transport. For road transport, automobiles such as buses, car, trunks, motor cycles, and lorries etc convey people and goods on the trunk A, B, C of the Nigerian roads. The trunk A roads are maintained by the federal government, trunk B roads by the state government and trunk C roads by the local government.
    Rail transport employs the use of trains which are usually powered by locomotive engines using steam, diesel or electricity. A train can also be powered by cables, horses, gas turbines and gravity pneumatics. Rail transport is the lowest and cheaper means of land transport.
    Going by history, the first railway line in the world was opened in England in 1825 and is located between Darlington and Stockton. Many countries have since then developed their rail system and Russia owns the world’s longest single railway line between Vladivostok and Moscow.
    In Nigeria however, there were two major railway lines before now. These are:
    a. The western railway line from Lagos to Kano and Guru in Yobe state.
    b. The eastern railway line from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri.

    2. Water Transportation
    Water transportation is the process of moving people & goods from one place to another using water craft, such as boat ,ship, ferries etc course or a body of water. Water transport encourages intra- national and international trade. The body organization that manages our water transport in Nigeria is the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA).

    TYPES OF WATER TRANSPORT
    There are two basic type of water transport system namely.
    i. The ocean navigation nor is by ship on ocean or sea.
    ii. The inland water ways.
    Movement of goods and people is through creeks, canals, lagoons and lake within a nation’s Boarder using canoes and boats. They are not deep enough for ships to travel on.
    The Nigeria water has remained underdeveloped and under-utilized.

    TYPE OF SHIPS
    • Cargo ships – these are used for carrying bulky goods.
    • Tanker ship for carrying only crude oil.
    • Passenger ship for carrying humans.
    • General ship for carrying different types of goods apart from liquids and frozen foods.
    • Refrigerator ships for carrying only frozen foods such as fish, fruits, meat and vegetables.
    • Multi- purpose ships for all kinds of goods.
    Water transport is advantageous in the sense that it is not as expensive as air transport and bulky goods are conveniently transported.

    3. AIR TRANSPORT
    This is a system of transport that allows goods and passengers to be moved through the use of aircraft such as aeroplanes, jets, helicopters. Aircraft is the second fastest means of transport after the rocket. Aeroplane was invented and flown in 1903 by the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur of The United State of America but the world’s First airline started in 1914 by Tonny James.
    It can be said that air transportation is very fast, comfortable but expensive. The places specially built for airplanes to land or take off are called airports or aerodromes. In Nigeria, we have both local and international airport and many organizations are responsible for the management of our air transport operation. These organizations are:
    • Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN),
    • Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA),
    • NCAA (Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority),
    • Nigerian Metrological Services.
    These methods of transportation discussed above are not the only system. There are other types such as pipeline transportation which involves the conveyance of liquids, oil and gases through pipelines which are laid or constructed underground.

    ADVANTAGES OF ROAD TRANSPORT

  • It is the most universal means of transport
  • It compliments other means of transport
  • It employs a large number of people
  • It is the only means of transport that can take passengers to their doorsteps
  • It facilitates the movement of people within short distances
  • It connects places very well
  • Unlike air transport, road transport allows children to travel to school using a door to door service
  • Roads can be built to remote locations as well as to busy urban areas unlike rail and air routes
  • Road transport offers high flexibility in terms of transport jobs and changed plans.

    • ADVANTAGES OF RAIL TRANSPORT
  • Trains conveys more passengers than most vehicles
  • It is safe
  • It offers the cheapest and most convenient way of transporting bulky goods
  • It reduces road traffic congestion
  • It operates on schedule
  • Canteen services are provided

    • ADVANTAGES OF WATER TRANSPORT
  • The inland water ways promote easy transportation among communities in the riverine.
  • It also helps to convey bulky goods
  • It is not as expensive as air transport travel
  • It supports international trade
  • Accident is relatively low.

    • ADVANTAGES OF AIR TRANSPORT
  • It offers the fastest means of transport
  • Usually very reliable since travels are on schedule
  • It provides a very good means of long distance travel
  • It is a major contributor to global economic prosperity.
  • It is the most comfortable and luxurious means of transport

  • It is the most universal means of transport
  • It compliments other means of transport
  • It employs a large number of people
  • It is the only means of transport that can take passengers to their doorsteps
  • It facilitates the movement of people within short distances
  • It connects places very well
  • Unlike air transport, road transport allows children to travel to school using a door to door service
  • Roads can be built to remote locations as well as to busy urban areas unlike rail and air routes
  • Road transport offers high flexibility in terms of transport jobs and changed plans.

    • ADVANTAGES OF RAIL TRANSPORT
  • Trains conveys more passengers than most vehicles
  • It is safe
  • It offers the cheapest and most convenient way of transporting bulky goods
  • It reduces road traffic congestion
  • It operates on schedule
  • Canteen services are provided

    • ADVANTAGES OF WATER TRANSPORT
  • The inland water ways promote easy transportation among communities in the riverine.
  • It also helps to convey bulky goods
  • It is not as expensive as air transport travel
  • It supports international trade
  • Accident is relatively low.

    • ADVANTAGES OF AIR TRANSPORT
  • It offers the fastest means of transport
  • Usually very reliable since travels are on schedule
  • It provides a very good means of long distance travel
  • It is a major contributor to global economic prosperity.
  • It is the most comfortable and luxurious means of transport
    • It is the most universal means of transport
    • It compliments other means of transport
    • It employs a large number of people
    • It is the only means of transport that can take passengers to their doorsteps
    • It facilitates the movement of people within short distances
    • It connects places very well
    • Unlike air transport, road transport allows children to travel to school using a door to door service
    • Roads can be built to remote locations as well as to busy urban areas unlike rail and air routes
    • Road transport offers high flexibility in terms of transport jobs and changed plans.

    ADVANTAGES OF RAIL TRANSPORT
  • Trains conveys more passengers than most vehicles
  • It is safe
  • It offers the cheapest and most convenient way of transporting bulky goods
  • It reduces road traffic congestion
  • It operates on schedule
  • Canteen services are provided

    • ADVANTAGES OF WATER TRANSPORT
  • The inland water ways promote easy transportation among communities in the riverine.
  • It also helps to convey bulky goods
  • It is not as expensive as air transport travel
  • It supports international trade
  • Accident is relatively low.

    • ADVANTAGES OF AIR TRANSPORT
  • It offers the fastest means of transport
  • Usually very reliable since travels are on schedule
  • It provides a very good means of long distance travel
  • It is a major contributor to global economic prosperity.
  • It is the most comfortable and luxurious means of transport
    • ADVANTAGES OF ROAD TRANSPORT
  • It is the most universal means of transport
  • It compliments other means of transport
  • It employs a large number of people
  • It is the only means of transport that can take passengers to their doorsteps
  • It facilitates the movement of people within short distances
  • It connects places very well
  • Unlike air transport, road transport allows children to travel to school using a door to door service
  • Roads can be built to remote locations as well as to busy urban areas unlike rail and air routes
  • Road transport offers high flexibility in terms of transport jobs and changed plans.

    • ADVANTAGES OF RAIL TRANSPORT
  • Trains conveys more passengers than most vehicles
  • It is safe
  • It offers the cheapest and most convenient way of transporting bulky goods
  • It reduces road traffic congestion
  • It operates on schedule
  • Canteen services are provided

    • ADVANTAGES OF WATER TRANSPORT
  • The inland water ways promote easy transportation among communities in the riverine.
  • It also helps to convey bulky goods
  • It is not as expensive as air transport travel
  • It supports international trade
  • Accident is relatively low.

    • ADVANTAGES OF AIR TRANSPORT
  • It offers the fastest means of transport
  • Usually very reliable since travels are on schedule
  • It provides a very good means of long distance travel
  • It is a major contributor to global economic prosperity.
  • It is the most comfortable and luxurious means of transport


    • IMPACT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ON WORLD’S
    TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
    The modern means of transportation such as water craft, air crafts, vehicles etc are manufactured and maintained through science and technology.
    The construction of good and motorable roads, railways, airways and bridges are the brain work of scientist and technologist.
    Science and technology has improved air transport through fabrication of faster and bigger aircraft like airbus A380, Double- decker Behemoth etc.
    Done studying? See previous lessons on Social Studies.

    Take a quick test for this lesson


    1. Define transportation.
    2. State two main methods of transportation.
    3. What are the two traditional methods of transportation?
    4. Explain the human-powered form of traditional transportation.
    5. Mention the three main methods of modern transportation.
    6. Mention the various types of ships.
    7. Give the full meaning of these acronyms:
    • FAAN
    • NCAA
    • NAMA

    8. State the advantages of road transportation over the other means of transportation.
    9. List three major advantages of road transport.
    10. State the importance of water transport. This also means advantages.

    11. Mention two impacts of science and technology on world’s
    transportation system.
    Test answered correctly? Bravo! Do stay connected to itsmyschoollibrary.com for more educational contents.