Consumer Studies is not about shopping. It is about making good choices with what you have, from your plate to your wardrobe to the place you call home.The GOAT Notes™
Grade 10 Consumer Studies is one written paper of 200 marks in six questions, laid out as the CAPS table prescribes. In Grades 10 and 11 all assessment is internal, so your school or province sets the paper. There is no national Grade 10 paper.
No Grade 10 paper from 2022 on could be obtained. The questions, their marks and their order inside a question are therefore not read from a paper. A topic's planned marks are its question's total shared out by CAPS hours, which is why each carries a tilde (~). Housing is the exception: it is the whole of Question 5, so its 30 marks come straight from CAPS.
CAPS prints no Grade 10 time. One provincial revision booklet gives 3 hours, so treat that as a planning figure and take the real time from the cover of your own paper.
The same booklet shows a second layout: 40 + 40 + 40 + 20 + 20 + 40 = 200, with Questions 4 and 5 at 20 marks and Question 6 at 40. A school may use it. This guide follows CAPS.
One provincial booklet lists four forms for Question 1: multiple choice, matching items, one-word items and identification items. Its practice items (practice, not exam papers) also show:
CAPS requires paragraph-type responses in every test and examination.
Which question of the CAPS layout holds Housing, and how many marks is it worth?
Which topics make up Question 6, the smallest question at 20 marks in the CAPS layout?
Add the CAPS marks of Questions 4, 5 and 6. What share of the 200-mark paper is that?
Which two questions of the CAPS layout carry the same 40 marks as Question 1?
Which sum shows the CAPS marks for Questions 1 to 6 in order?
Who sets a Grade 10 Consumer Studies paper, according to CAPS?
Why does each planned mark in this guide carry a tilde (~)?
A classmate says Question 5 will hold exactly two 15-mark parts. What is the right response?
Housing alone has an exact planned figure of 30 marks. Why?
What do the guides say about Grade 10 papers dated 2022 or later?
What time does CAPS print for the Grade 10 paper?
How should you use the figure of 3 hours?
A second layout is 40 + 40 + 40 + 20 + 20 + 40. Which questions differ from CAPS?
Your paper's cover shows Question 6 at 40 marks. What do you do?
The CAPS layout is 40 + 40 + 40 + 30 + 30 + 20 and a second layout is 40 + 40 + 40 + 20 + 20 + 40. What stays the same in both?
How many marks is Question 1, and what does it draw on?
Which list gives the four forms of Question 1 named in one provincial booklet?
Which Question 1 item is an identification item?
Why is Question 1 a good place to start revising?
A learner revised only Food and nutrition. How does that affect Question 1?
Which split of thinking levels does CAPS give for every test and examination?
How many of the 200 marks are at the remembering level?
Which question is at the highest level?
Which verb and level are correctly paired?
What kind of answer does CAPS require in every test and examination?
Which assessment does CAPS Table 1a name as the test on the theory of the practical work?
Which parts of the Grade 10 year are school-based and not in the written paper?
No source read states a calculator rule for Grade 10. What should you do?
A costing question says to show all calculations. What does that mean?
A learner skips practical theory because the PAT is not in the paper. What is wrong?
Explain why each planned mark per topic in this guide carries a tilde (~).
The tilde means the figure is a planned estimate, not an exact count. No Grade 10 paper was obtained, so the marks are not read from a paper. Each question's total is shared between its topics. The share follows the CAPS teaching hours of each topic.
Name the four forms of item that one provincial booklet lists for Question 1.
Multiple choice items. Matching items. One-word items. Identification items.
Your paper's cover shows Questions 4 and 5 at 20 marks each and Question 6 at 40. Explain how this differs from CAPS and what you should do.
Question 6 is 40 marks, not the CAPS 20. Questions 4 and 5 are 20 marks each, not the CAPS 30. Check the cover and instructions of your own paper, because a school may use this layout. Move revision time toward entrepreneurship and costing, without dropping any topic.
Explain to a Grade 8 learner how the Grade 10 Consumer Studies paper is built and why nobody can say exactly what a question will look like.
Explain to a Grade 8 learner the three thinking levels and how the verb in a question shows which level it is.
Explain to a Grade 8 learner how to use the planned marks to decide what to revise first, and why you must still read the cover of your own paper.
Short items on this topic are define, identify and differentiate. A definition earns its marks in two parts: say what kind of thing it is, then give the key idea.
| Term | Kind of thing | Key idea (the second mark) |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer | A person | Buys goods or services for their own use |
| Need | Something basic | Must be had to survive |
| Want | A desire | Not necessary for survival, but the person would like it |
| Consumer Studies | A subject | Using money, time and energy wisely when buying and using goods and services |
Differentiate between a need and a want.
Write both halves. A sentence about only one earns one mark.
The practice items set this as a 5 + 5 + 5 table: for each of the five levels, the level name, a need and an example. Learn the level names word for word, because the name is the first mark of each row.
Fifteen cells, one mark each. A blank cell earns nothing, so fill every line.
Two forms are practised: name the right a scenario protects, and give the duty that goes with it. The verb in the scenario tells you the right. The four consumer responsibilities are critical awareness, social concern, environmental awareness and solidarity.
Name the consumer right in each case. (a) A bottle of drain cleaner carries a danger warning. (b) A shop refunds a cracked phone cover. (c) A bus company invites passengers to a meeting about fares. (d) A learner finds three brands of school shoes at different prices.
One word or name each. A sentence adds nothing.
The practice item is classify: three marks for the type, the clue quoted from the scenario and what the type means. Quote the clue in the scenario's own words.
Karen is shown two flats. She has not compared the rent or the distance to work, but she tells the agent the second one feels right and that she will take it. Classify the decision, quote one clue and say what this type means.
Quote from the story. “She chose a flat” is not a clue.
The practice item is give an account of the process in six marks: a mark for each step in order, applied to the buyer in the question, and a mark for the best option. The flow asks the question the buyer asks at each step.
| Mark | Step | Your sentence answers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Problem recognition | What has gone wrong or run out for this buyer? |
| 2 | Information search | Who does the buyer ask, and what does the buyer read or visit? |
| 3 | Evaluation of alternatives | Which options are compared, and on what? |
| 4 | Purchase decision | Which one is chosen, and why does it fit? |
| 5 | Post-purchase behaviour | What does the buyer check afterwards? |
| 6 | Best option | Name it and say it suits the need and the budget |
Items ask you to define sustainable consumption, name the principles and explain a decision. In an explain item the decision earns the first mark and its reason the second.
| Item | What the memo looks for | Write it like this |
|---|---|---|
| Define | Meeting needs while harming the environment less | Using goods and services to satisfy basic needs while reducing harm to the environment and natural resources |
| Name the principles | The three words | Reduce, reuse, recycle |
| Explain a decision | The decision, then the reason | Choose refillable bottles, so there is less packaging to throw away |
Explain TWO sustainable consumption decisions a family can make when it shops.
Decision plus reason, twice. A decision without its reason earns one mark.
Reuse is not recycle. Using an old tin as a plant pot is reuse; putting the tin in a bin so that it can be made into a new product is recycling. Write the one the scenario shows.
Naming items give one mark for each habit, so write exactly the number asked, each with a short reason.
Buying locally earns two marks together: the money and jobs stay in the community, and the goods travel a shorter way, which saves fuel.
The practice item is a paragraph on buyer behaviour from a story. For each clue, name the group, name the factor and quote the story. Age, gender and occupation look personal, so learners file them as psychological; CAPS lists them as personal factors under socio-cultural.
Zodwa, 16, saves for running shoes. She trains four days a week, her teammates all wear the same brand, and her aunt can pay only for a cheaper pair. Name the group and the factor for each of the three clues.
Two marks a clue: the group and the factor. Quote the words from the story.
Which person is acting as a consumer?
Which pair names one good and one service?
A need is best described as something that:
Siya says: "A data bundle is a want, so it cannot be a need." Which reply is correct?
Which sentence about wants is correct?
Which level sits at the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs?
Mandla puts a strong lock on his shop door and saves a little each month for emergencies, so that he feels protected. Which level is he meeting?
Which need sits on the same Maslow level as being hungry?
The conductor praises Anele's solo and asks her to lead the choir, and she feels proud and respected. Which level is she meeting?
Which learner's purchase is aimed at self-actualisation?
The right to consumer education gives a consumer:
Which duty goes with the right to information?
A municipality invites residents to a meeting before it decides on new taxi fares. Which consumer right is respected?
Lebo asks why two similar jerseys differ in price and checks the fabric label before she decides. Which responsibility is she showing?
Mr Zungu keeps his slip, returns a faulty toaster and explains the fault politely. Which right and which matching duty does this show?
Which type of decision is based on logical reasoning and facts?
In the queue at the till, Mia sees a display of sweets and adds three packets to her trolley, although they were not on her list. Which type of decision is this?
Pieter chooses a birthday gift for his aunt by taking the one that just seems right. He has read nothing about the gifts and compared none. Which type of decision is this?
Which statement describes a habitual decision?
Which pair of clues correctly separates an intuitive decision from a spur-of-the-moment decision?
Which step comes directly after information search in the rational decision-making process?
The last step of the rational decision-making process is:
After comparing three blazers, Sam picks the grey one and pays at the till. Which step is this?
Ntombi phones two shops for the price of a fridge and reads the guarantee on each model. Which step is this?
Which buyer is following the rational decision-making process correctly?
Which principle of sustainability means buying less, so that less waste is made?
Why should a consumer write a shopping list before going to the shop?
Zinzi needs a lunch container. Which choice is the most sustainable?
Which statement about buying second-hand clothes is correct?
Which shopper shows both sustainable consumption and good buying habits?
Which group of factors includes income, credit facilities and price?
Palesa buys a certain soap because her mother and grandmother use it and the whole family praises it. Which factor is influencing her?
Karabo refuses to buy goods that were tested on animals because she believes it is wrong. Which psychological factor is this?
A learner's choice of cell phone is influenced by her age and her occupation. These are:
Thulani loves hiking, buys the same boots as his hiking club and waits for a sale because the price was too high. Which row names one factor for each group?
Every Friday Mr Naidoo stops at the same garage and buys the same brand of airtime without looking at any other, just as he did last month. Classify his decision, quote ONE clue from the scenario and say what this type of decision means. (3)
Mr Naidoo makes a habitual decision. The clue is that he buys the same brand every Friday without looking at any other. It is a routine purchase of the same product, repeated each time.
Warren, 19, has finished his apprenticeship. His employer hands him a certificate in front of the staff and he feels proud and respected. Name the Maslow level this need belongs to, quote ONE clue from the scenario and give ONE other example of a need on the same level. (3)
The need belongs to the ego and self-esteem level. The clue is that he is handed a certificate in front of the staff and feels proud and respected. Another example is winning a prize or earning recognition for good work.
Thabo says: "I bought the first cell phone I saw because the shop assistant said it was good. That was a rational decision." Explain why Thabo is NOT correct. (4)
A rational decision is based on facts and logical reasoning. Thabo did not search for information: he relied on the shop assistant and read no reviews. He did not compare alternatives: he took the first phone and looked at no other model. So his choice was a quick one that may not suit his needs and budget, not a rational decision.
Explain to a Grade 8 learner the difference between a need and a want, using two things that you bought this month.
Explain to a Grade 8 learner how to tell a spur-of-the-moment, a habitual and an intuitive decision apart, using the clue you would look for in each.
Explain to a Grade 8 learner why each consumer right comes with a responsibility, using the right to information and the right to redress.
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| Date | Subject | Topic | Done |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 8 Jul | Life Sciences | Your weakest topic, notes + summary | ✓ |
| Tue 9 Jul | Life Sciences | Next topic + 10 practice questions | ✓ |
| Wed 10 Jul | Life Sciences | A full past paper under time | – |
| Thu 11 Jul | Life Sciences | Mark the paper, revise weak spots | – |
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Every need you can classify, every label you can read and every rand you can cost is a mark you have already banked. Go and collect them.