Ica Gh Syslabus

Goals and Expected Performance Outcome of each part THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS (GHANA) Syllabus for ICAG Qualifying Examinations ACCRA 2009 Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana 1 Proposed Sylabus for ICAG Qualifying Examinations Contents Introduction Features and Inovations of the New Scheme Objectives and Expected Performance Outcomes of Each PART 1. 1. 2 1. 3 1. 4 Financial Accounting Fundermentals Business Management Economics Management Information Systems PART 2. 1 2. 2. 3 2. Quantitative Tools in Business Audit and Internal Review Business and Corporate Law Principles and Practice of Taxation PART 3. 1 3. 2 3. 3. 4 Financial Reporting Public Sector Accounting Cost and Management Accounting Financial Management PART 4. 1 4. 2 4. 3 4. 4 Advanced Financial Reporting Advanced Audit and Professional Ethics Corporate Strategy and Governance Advanced Tax Planning and Fiscal Policy Review of Qualifying Examinations Syllabus May 2010 Proposed Transitional Arrangements 1 2 3 4 11 17 25 32 37 42 50 55 61 68 73 80 86 98 108 115 116 2 Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana Financial Accounting FundamentalsINTRODUCTION After almost four years of sorting out assessments on the current prospectus of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (Ghana), proficient program, the first was held in May 2005, it is presently viewed as fitting and convenient to change and update it so as to align it with current condition of information and to make it progressively applicable to the current requests of managers and customers. The activity of the Chartered Accountant has become progressively advanced as a result of the impacts of globalization, improvements in data innovation and the multifaceted nature of the cutting edge business organisation.The current sanctioned bookkeeper, for example, not just communicates a supposition on the exactness and reasonableness of fiscal reports, yet in addition informs the executives on the practicality with respect to speculatio n ventures, charge matters and renders specific warning administrations, and so forth. By and large, he is called upon to serve the country as an individual from an uncommon examination board. So as to play out these capacities respectably, he needs to have gained capability in bookkeeping hypothesis and practice. The new prospectus would be analyzed in May 2010. The new schedule endeavors to meet the double objectives of the plan through the subject structure and coverage.The 16-subject, 4-level-structure assessment joins subjects which address the handy aptitudes necessities of the expected proficient bookkeepers with others which are predominantly of the hypothetical or reasonable nature and along these lines fills in as a decent establishing for the Professional Accountant. Rundown OF NEW STRUCTURE Exhibit 1: Chart of New Examination Scheme 1. 1. 2 1. 3 1. 4 Financial Accounting Fundamentals Business Management Economics MIS and Business Systems 3. 1 3. 2 3. 3. 4 Financial Repor ting Public Sector Accounting Cost and Management Accounting Financial Management PART 1PART 3 PART 2 PART 4 2. 1 2. 2. 3 2. 4 Quantitative Tools in Business Audit and Internal Review Business and Corporate Law Principles and Practice of Taxation 4. 1 4. 2 4. 3 4. 4 Advanced Financial Reporting Advanced Auditing and Professional Ethics Corporate Strategy and Governance Advanced Taxation and Fiscal Policy Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana 1 Proposed Sylabus for ICAG Qualifying Examinations FEATURES AND INNOVATIONS OF THE NEW SCHEME This new plan was created on a settled setting for a survey and change. The accompanying new highlights and advancements stick out. A four-section structure of 16 papers altogether. †¢ Fusion and mix of certain courses. This is intended to energize an integrative learning approach and to limit the negative of the â€Å"tunnel vision† subject-by-subject preparing. The mix of related courses is consequently intended to infer all the more significance and cooperative energies. For instance, it isn't extraordinary to discover fundamentally the same as questions and necessities on â€Å"Budgeting and Variance Analysis† in both the old [i. e. Current] Management Accounting and Cost Accounting papers. †¢ Clearly characterized and feasible taking in results from Part to Part.This ought to mostly resolve the issues related with the situation of halfway qualified up-and-comers in industry and on different projects. †¢ An increasingly discerning, simple to-fit and actualize, graduate transformation and exclusion plot has been fused. It is trusted that this will rouse higher evaluation applicant entrantsâ€degree and certificate holders â€to gain adequate bookkeeping fitness and accelerate their inevitable expert capability. †¢ All understudies have ten (10) years from the date of enlistment inside which to finish all the assessments of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (Ghana).After the ten (1 0) years time frame any understudy who has not finished the assessments of the Institute won't be qualified to take the assessments. †¢ Better spotlight on business [financial] procedure and revealing or relational abilities, along these lines empowering possibility to value the general real factors of the business condition and to utilize warning aptitudes all the more adequately. †¢ Introduction of some increasingly significant projects and fitting titles †the New Business Strategy is progressively about administration, settling on bookkeepers key choices producers. Expanded accentuation on business warning abilities at the last Part 4. 2 Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana Financial Accounting Fundamentals OBJECTIVES AND EXPECTED PERFORMANCE OUTCOME OF EACH PART Each of the 4 Parts of this assessment plot has an expansive goal and expected execution result as expressed beneath. Also, inside each subject at any Part, the prospectus inclusion just as the defini te yet explicit targets and learning results are expressed. The wide goal and learning results of the four (4) Parts are as per the following: PART 1 †¢ 4 essential/establishment papers. Arrangement of essential standards and information required to comprehend the Business Environment. Section 2 †¢ Four (4) customary center papers. †¢ Test of specialized ability expected of a cutting edge bookkeeper. †¢ Acquisition of foundation information and aptitudes fundamental for viable execution at center administration level. Section 3 †¢ Four (4) center papers. †¢ Emphasis on business cases, procedure and warning abilities. Section 4 †¢ Four (4) center papers. †¢ Emphasis on business cases, methodology and warning aptitudes. Result and Interpretation The pass mark is half. The outcomes will be distributed as â€Å"pass† or â€Å"fail.A applicant who comes up short has the alternative of revamping this paper in resulting assessments till his/h er candidature lapses. Establishment of Chartered Accountants, Ghana 3 Proposed Sylabus for ICAG Qualifying Examinations PROFESSIONAL PART 1 PAPER 1. 1: Financial Accounting Fundamentals 1. Destinations AND LEARNING OUTCOMES This paper is intended to empower up-and-comers get and acknowledge major bookkeeping information in associations. Toward the finish of the course, the up-and-comer ought to have the option to: Demonstrate sound information and comprehension of bookkeeping standards, ideas and their application in the planning of monetary statements.To guarantee that understudies have a sound comprehension of the strategies of twofold passage bookkeeping and can apply its standards in recording exchanges, modifying budgetary records and getting ready non-complex fiscal summaries. Ready to recognize and address exclusions and mistakes in bookkeeping records and budget reports. Ready to determine the segments of budget reports and get ready and present non-complex records for sole merchants, organizations and constrained organizations. Indicate why an element keeps up monetary records and gets ready money related statements.Identify the wellsprings of data for the planning of bookkeeping records and budget summaries. Record and record for exchanges and occasions bringing about pay, costs, resources, liabilities and value as per the proper premise of bookkeeping and the laws, guidelines and bookkeeping measures material to the budget reports. Set up a preliminary parity from bookkeeping records and recognize the employments of the preliminary equalization. Get ready records and budget reports from fragmented records. Comprehend the various bases of planning fiscal reports. Apply some worldwide budgetary revealing standards.Define the subjective attributes of money related data and the essential bases of bookkeeping FORM OF EXAMINATION The assessment will be a three-hour paper comprising of five necessary inquiries. (All the five inquiries must be replied. ) 3 . Schedule WEIGHTING GRID This framework shows the general weightings of points inside this subject and should control the relative investigation time spent on each. The imprints accessible in the evaluation will liken to the weightings underneath. 4 Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana †¢ 2. Money related Accounting FundamentalsHowever, there may be slight varieties in certain occurrences as they fill in as a guide in particular. Prospectus COVERAGE Conceptual Framework of Accounting, Maintaining Financial Records Principles of Double Entry and Books of Prime Entry Adjustments to Accounting Records and Financial Statements Accounting for non-current Assets (effects and intangibles) Preparation of Financial Statements including Cash Flow Preparation of Financial Statements for Non-benefit Making Organizations, Preparation of Financial Statements from Incomplete Records Accounting for particular exchanges Introduction to fiscal reports investigation TOTAL WEIGHTING (%) 0 15 20 15 10 100 Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana 5 Proposed Sylabus for ICAG Qualifying Examinations PAPER 1. 1 Financial Accounting Fundamentals MAIN TOPIC SYLABUS CONTENT (Cont

The Great Gatsby: What Makes Daisy So Attractive?

â€Å"Her voice is brimming with money† (Fitzgerald, 120). This statement, said by significant character Gatsby, clarifies Daisy’s character and air. Daisy Buchannan is one of the fundamental characters in the novel The Great Gatsby. The spouse of Tom Buchannan and the fantasy of Jay Gatsby, Daisy epitomizes the indecent and shallow estimations of the privileged East Egg. In spite of the fact that she isn't extremely genuine, to most Daisy is alluring, excellent, and hot. What makes Daisy so welcoming? She causes a man to improve for her so as to get what they need, she has gauges and she needs the best, and simply the best. Since the start, Jay Gatsby has been frantically infatuated with Daisy, or the idea of Daisy. Gatsby just knew Daisy for one month before he was conveyed to war. Is it accurate to say that one is month enough to begin to look all starry eyed at somebody? After five years, Gatsby still accepted that he was infatuated, and he considered another persona to make Daisy return to him after she wedded Tom. â€Å"You're acting like a little boy†¦. † (Fitzgerald, 88). This was a statement that the storyteller, Nick Caraway, said to Gatsby about how he was acting around Daisy. Jay Gatsby knew to get Daisy back he would need to turn into the most flawlessly awesome, the most extravagant, the most attractive, and the most enchanting. It may have been the test of being better than the rest that was so engaging Gatsby or it could have been Daisy’s dead-as-a-door handle character. The genuine inquiry is, Is Daisy justified, despite all the trouble? What makes Daisy so speaking to savvy men, for example, Gatsby? Is it the test of turning into the best, or is it something different? Jay Gatsby wasn’t the one in particular who thought Daisy was worth more than saw. Her significant other, Tom Buchannan additionally accepted that Daisy was a prize. To Tom, it appeared, that Daisy was a trophy spouse, somebody he could flaunt, not care about, return, and she would at present be there. What united them was cash, what the two of them adored and shared practically speaking. Scratch summarized her adoration for cash well, â€Å"She needed her life molded now, immediatelyâ€and the choice must be made by some power, of money†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Fitzgerald, 151). Daisy didn’t care about who she cherished more when she needed to pick Tom or Gatsby; she thought about the cash while she was settling on perhaps the greatest choice of her life. To Tom, Daisy was a delightful lady who he couldn't want anything more than to have for his better half. Tom and Daisy were indistinguishable in that manner, neither of them thought about character or qualities; they thought about their notoriety. It wasn’t Daisy’s manner that caused Tom to wed her; it was her looks and notoriety that he discovered appealing. Daisy Buchannan wasn’t probably the most splendid blue-blood in East Egg no doubt. Her ditzy nature may have been charming to a few, however clearly it was something beyond a sweetheart quality. Daisy had no sound judgment, if a man was searching for just looks (like Tom), Daisy was the young lady to go to. Her remark to Gatsby, â€Å"I’d like to simply get one of those pick mists and put you in it and push you around† (Fitzgerald, 94) made perusers reconsider why Jay Gatsby would be so far in adoration with her. â€Å"She never adored you, do you hear? She just wedded you since I was poor and she was worn out on sitting tight for me. † (Fitzgerald, 130). There more likely than not been something extraordinary about Daisy for Tom Buchannan and Jay Gatsby to have such solid affections for her. Regardless of whether it was her looks, her imbeciles, or her cash she had what other ladies would kick the bucket for, two of the most extravagant and most known men in East Egg battling about her. What makes Daisy Buchannan so appealing? To a few, it’s her looks, the idea of what she may resemble, to others it’s her cash or her blameless ditz, and certain individuals may even locate her terrible. The perusers of Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby will take solid stands on Daisy and her character.

Internet Scavenger Hunt free essay sample

Level Material Appendix B Internet Scavenger Hunt Search Statement: I am keen on overhauling the RAM in my PC with the utilization of new RAM modules. Search Keywords: slam module overhaul Search Engines Name and hyperlink to web index 1: http://www. google. com/†¢ Number of results: 11 †¢ First Web connect http://www. pcworld. com/article/18024/upgrade_guide. html †¢ Second Web connect http://www. critical. com/introduce/sodimm. aspx †¢ Third Web connect http://www.nap. com/pro_RAM. asp †¢ Boolean utilized, for example, and, or, or not: memory redesign and RAM modules †¢ Number of results for Boolean hunt: 11 Name and hyperlink to internet searcher 2: http://www. yippee. com/†¢ Number of results: 12 †¢ First Web interface http://www. bizrate. com/slam memory-overhauls/memory-modules/†¢ Second Web interface http://www. bizrate. com/smash memory-updates/slam memory-module/†¢ Third Web connect http://www. speicherbauer. com/ Boolean utilized, for example, and, or, or not: memory overhaul and RAM modules †¢ Number of results for Boolean pursuit: 11 Name and hyperlink to web crawler 3: http://www. We will compose a custom paper test on Web Scavenger Hunt or on the other hand any comparative subject explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page lycos. com/†¢ Number of results: 10 †¢ First Web connect http://www. bizrate. com/smash memory-overhauls/memory-modules/†¢ Second Web connect http://www. bizrate. com/slam memory-overhauls/smash memory-module

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and Profit Margin Percentage Free Essays

Spot your name and the date at the highest point of the page, and answer the accompanying inquiries ensuring you SHOW YOUR WORK. 1. A tool shop purchased a gross (12 dozen) of mallets, paying $602. We will compose a custom paper test on Proper accounting rules and Profit Margin Percentage or on the other hand any comparable theme just for you Request Now 40 for the complete request. The retailer assessed working costs for this item to be 35% of deals, and needed a net benefit of 5% of deals. The retailer expected no markdowns. What retail selling cost ought to be set for each sledge? [Hint: The best approach to deal with this issue is to state that the Gross Profit Margin needs to cover the 35% of costs appropriate to the item in addition to the 5% of net benefit needed. Furthermore, when you know the GPM%, you know the Cost level of the Selling Price. ] 2. Rivalry in a line of outdoor supplies confines the selling cost on a specific thing to $25. In the event that the storekeeper feels an edge of 35% is expected to cover costs and return a sensible benefit, what is the most the proprietor can pay for this thing? [Hint: Remember, on the off chance that you know the edge rate, at that point you know the cost rate. ] 3. A retailer with yearly net deals of $2 million keeps up a markup of 66. 67% dependent on cost. Working costs normal 35%. What are the retailer’s net edge and net benefit in dollars? [Hint: A Markup on Cost is comparable to what Gross Profit Margin rate? ] 4. The expense to a producer of level board shows for delivering its recently structured TV Display 1000 is $250. 00. The expense for Research and Development of their new item being offered to OEMs as a part item has been one million dollars. The deals and limited time financial plan is $600,000, and all other fixed costs add up to $200,000. The Marketing Director and his staff have evaluated interest for the new showcase to be somewhere in the range of 50,000 and 75,000 units throughout the following year. They additionally have chosen to value the new Display 1000 at $450 to their OEM clients. (a) what number Display 1000s does the maker need to sell so as to breakeven? (b) What is the manufacturer’s unit commitment to benefit in rate? (c) What is the manufacturer’s markup on cost in rate? Step by step instructions to refer to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and Profit Margin Percentage, Papers

Required Reading Ray Bradburys Last Essay

Required Reading Ray Bradburys Last Essay The release of The Best American Nonrequired Reading anthology is always a highlight of my  reading year. This year, its more exciting than usual because Ray Bradbury wrote the introduction, an essay called The Book and the Butterfly, that, it turns out, would be his last. Just when I thought I couldnt love the man moreIm planning a tattoo of a  favorite line from Fahrenheit 451 as my 30th birthday gift to myself later this yearhe nails the essence of being a reader. And because hes ass-kickingly awesome, he does it in just a couple hundred words. The Huffington Post has the full essay. You should read it, and then  you should buy a copy of this years Best American Nonrequired  Reading and  join me in underlining ALL THE SMART THINGS. Ive read The Book and the Butterfly through a dozen times now. Here are a few of the best, most delightfully bookish sections (emphasis mine). On the  librarian who doubted he could, at seven years old, read 10  books a week: And she said, You cant possibly read all of those before they are due back. I said, Yes, I can. And I came back the next week for ten more  books. In doing so, I told that  librarian, politely, to get out of my way and let me happen. Thats what  books do. They are the building blocks, the DNA, if you will, of you. _________________________ On the effects of being well- and widely-read: I pondered all of these things because of  books. I asked big questions because of  books. I dreamed because of books.  I started to write because of  books.   _________________________ On being changed by  reading and  writing: I am told the editorial process for this series is rooted in the involvement of high school students selecting the stories and assembling each years editionI would have loved to work on this series. I imagine each young person who has poured his or her heart into this edition has been changed as a result. The caterpillar sprouts wings. And I know that, as with  reading any book, you, dear reader, will change too. Sign up to Unusual Suspects to receive news and recommendations for mystery/thriller readers. Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox.

Women in Early America Coursework - 2200 Words

Women in Early America (Coursework Sample) Content: Author:Instructor's name:History04 May 2014Women in Early AmericaWomen have played an important role in any form of society. They have changed the community in many aspects. Overtime, the roles of women in the community have changed depending on race, period and geography. America had three groups of women. These were the Africans, Native Indians and the Europeans. These groups of women played completely different roles in the community (Harris 66).Even in the 16th century, women had an important role in the community. They were performing traditional roles such as weaving, rearing of children, pottery and kitchen roles. Women also worked on the farms. In the colonial period, tobacco farming became a booming business for the colonialists. Women had no choice but work as servants in the tobacco fields.According to Kamensky (75), increase for labor in the tobacco fields led to slavery in America. The indentured servitude became less attractive. African female slaves w ere brought as an investment to the plantation owner. Female slaves could work like men. In addition, they could give birth to native born slaves. It meant more property to the plantation owner. Female slaves were allowed to marry with fellow slaves secretly. At that time, British colony did not recognize marriage between slaves.The role of the European women was also affected by slavery. Those who could not afford slaves were permanently held back doing household chores. There chores were starting fire, milking the cows, cooking, making cream and taking grains to the miller. Only if the family was wealthy, could they hire a slave to do these chores.Even after 1776 when the United States was founded, slavery in America was still limited to Africa natives. The status of women was still dictated by race, wealth of the family and religion. The constitution drafted in 1787 protected the slave trade until 1808 (Davis 99). This led to freeing of many women slaves, especially in North Amer ica.The rights of women in the early America were governed by the state law rather than the federal law. In the North where slavery was banned after the American Revolution, black women gained rights to marry. They could own property. They also gained custody of their children. Theoretically, their rights were almost identical to those of white women. In the South, women continued to be denied these rights. Racial prejudice still existed against both Native American women and black women.In most states, the marital status of women dictated the legal status of free women. Women, who were not married, had the legal right to live where they wanted. They could also join any profession that did not require any designation for males. They could enter into contracts to acquire or dispose property. This was called personalty (Kamensky 69). Personalty consisted of any movable properties such as cattle, cash and bonds. As long as they remained single, women could sue or be sued. They could serve as guardians as well as act as executors of states. After the revolution war, there was improvement in equality of inheritance status of women. State lawmakers, abolished the inheritance law that favored the eldest son. They advocated equal inheritance for all children. This favored the girl child as this was not the case earlier on. The legal status of women after marriage was different. She had legal rights, but no autonomy. On most occasions they depended on their husbands. The law called this coverture (Shields 89). Through marriage, the husband and the wife became one by law. It meant that the woman was incorporated as part and parcel of the man. Corveture assumed that the family worked better if the husband was the head of the family and had the control of the assets. A married woman could own property jointly with her husband. She could not own property on her own unless she signed a marriage settlement with her husband. Any property that a woman came with in the marria ge could be used by the husband in any manner without consulting her.Under the law of coverture, a woman had a right to be maintained in line with the status of the husband. If the husband refused this, the woman had a right to sue the husband. During the waiting period of the judgement, the woman could run up charges at the taverns and the husband was obligated to pay for them. However, women had no protection if their husbands proved irresponsible. In case, debtors confiscated the husbands properties, the woman was entitled to hold on to the necessities only. These were two dresses, a bed and cooking utensils (Weatherford 66).In terms of real property, there was a stricter law that governed women when compared to personalty. The husband could not sell realty that the wife brought into the marriage. He could use it, but not sell it without the consent of the wife. The woman also had realty rights to the real properties bought by the husband after their marriage. He could not mortga ge or sell them without her consent. Few buyers were ailing to enter into an agreement without the consent of the wife. They knew the wife had the right to retain the property in case of the death of her husband (Salmon 125).Women were entitled to dower rights after the death of their husbands. They could inherit a third of their husbands real property. The husband could leave more than this if he desired to. He could leave her the entire real estate. However, he could not leave her less of the share of the real estates.The dower legal tradition was carried over from the colonial time. These rules were meant to support the family as a whole. They worked when the families stayed together and fewer properties were being sold. They did not work in a society which was developing rapidly in terms of industrialization. In this era, lands changed hands frequently. In response to this, states began passing legal rights that equated married women to single ladies. These laws would favor a ca pitalistic economy whose basis is movable wealth (Shields 25).In terms of exercising democratic rights in voting, women were particularly discriminated on the basis of their gender. It assumed that if a married woman voted, this would be like the man voted twice. The assumption was that a married woman would vote in the same way as the husband. These discriminatory laws kept women away from seats of leadership.Men did not want to share power with women. No matter how a woman was, she could not vote. They assumed her vote would be influenced by the husband. In New Jersey, women who had property were allowed to vote. However, in 1807, lawmakers retracted this right. Women could not vote just as the freed black men. After the independence, women were given bigger freedom from abusive and idolatrous husbands. During the colonial period, divorce was almost impossible. However, after independence the state saw the need to end abusive marriages. Some states granted divorce while others li ke the south, permitted separate residence divorce. In the south, it was difficult to grant an absolute divorce because of the adulterous state of the husbands with the slave women.After the Revolution, child custody also changed. The courts surpassed the colonial laws that favored men in child custody disputes. They placed young children and daughters under the care of the mothers. The concept gave women power in their homesteads. On the other hand, men were given power in the market place. Women gained strength in the social status, which they used in the struggle for equality in the next century.Political, economic and social change that impacted women in turnThe most radical struggles in America are the struggle for full equality of women. The American Revolution ideas raised the expectations of women. It inspired demands for equality and establishment of female academies that would improve their education.By early 20th century women were now able to train for professionals and attend to college, though the number was not the same with men. Women began getting into professions that were male dominated like medical, corporate, law and clergy. Women were also able to initiate several institutions.The women economic rule increased drastically in the society because of the educational opportunities. The education women got helped them enroll in professional careers that were meaningful in the society. The women's salaries and wages increased although not as much as men. It was a success for them because it was a huge step from what was there before Revolution. Women resistance to vote also began to fall down as the women were granted the right to vote in 1869Women who made a Difference in the colonial societySome of the important women in the colonial society included Judith Sargent Murray. She was born in 1751 and died in 1820. Unlike other women, she neither taught in school nor was she an educational philosopher. However, she wrote wittingly in a plethora o f essays ranging from ethics, politics and equality. She is considered among the first women in America to advocate for the rights of women. Although she came from a wealthy family, she never had a chance of getting a decent education. Most of her knowledge was self acquired. This had happened to many girls at that time (Salmon 25). She wrote an essay, "On the Equality of the Sexes(Salmon 24). In her essay she challenged the fact that men were viewed to have a greater intellectual capacity than women. She argued that perceived difference in intellectual capacity was as a result of discrimination and prejudice. She said the perceived difference was because of the way the girl child was raised. Boys were given more opportunities to go to school while girls were not. Murray was of the opinion that the order of nature demanded equality among men and women. Men had corrup...

Pacific Ocean Overview Formation, Topography, and More

The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the worlds five oceans with an area of 60.06 million square miles (155.557 million square kilometers.) It stretches from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south. It also sits between Asia and Australia as well as between Asia and North America and Australia and South America. With this area, the Pacific Ocean covers about 28% of the Earths surface and it is, according to the CIAs  The World Factbook,  almost equal to the total land area of the world.  The Pacific Ocean is usually divided into the North and South Pacific regions with the equator serving as the division between the two. Because of its large size, the Pacific Ocean, like the rest of the worlds oceans, was formed millions of years ago and has a unique topography. It also plays a significant role in weather patterns around the globe and in todays economy. Formation and Geology It is believed that the Pacific Ocean formed about 250 million years ago after the break-up of Pangaea. It formed out of the Panthalassa Ocean that surrounded the Pangaea landmass. However, there is no specific date on when the Pacific Ocean developed. This is because the ocean floor constantly recycles itself as it moves and is subducted (melted into the Earths mantle and then forced up again at ocean ridges). Currently, the oldest known Pacific Ocean floor is about 180 million years old. In terms of its geology, the area encompassing the Pacific Ocean is sometimes called the Pacific Ring of Fire. The region has this name because it is the worlds largest area of volcanism and earthquakes. The Pacific is subject to this geologic activity because much of its seafloor sits above subduction zones where the edges of the Earths plates are forced down below others after a  collision. There are also some areas of hotspot volcanic activity where magma from the Earths mantle is forced up through the crust creating underwater volcanoes, which can eventually form islands and seamounts. Topography The Pacific Ocean has a highly varied topography that consists of oceanic ridges, trenches, and long seamount chains that are formed by hotspot volcanoes under the Earths surface. An example of these seamounts that are above the oceans surface are the islands of Hawaii.Other seamounts are sometimes below the surface and they look like underwater islands. The Davidson Seamount off the coast of Monterey, California is just one example. Oceanic ridges are found in a few places in the Pacific Ocean. These are areas where new oceanic crust is being pushed up from below the Earths surface. Once the new crust is pushed up, it spreads away from these locations.  In these spots, the ocean floor is not as deep and it is very young compared to other areas that are farther from the ridges. An example of a ridge in the Pacific is the East Pacific Rise. By contrast, there are also ocean trenches in the Pacific that are home to very deep locations. As such, the Pacific is home to the deepest ocean point in the world: the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench. This trench is located in the western Pacific to the east of the Mariana Islands and it reaches a maximum depth of -35,840 feet (-10,924 meters.) The topography of the Pacific Ocean varies even more drastically near large landmasses and islands. Some coastlines along the Pacific are rugged and have high cliffs and nearby mountain ranges, such as the west coast of the United States.Other coastlines have more gradual, gently sloping coastlines.Some areas, such as the coast of Chile, have deep, quickly dropping trenches near the coasts, while others are gradual. The northern Pacific Ocean (and also the northern hemisphere) has more land in it than the South Pacific. There are, however, many island chains and small islands like those in Micronesia and the Marshall Islands throughout the ocean. The largest island in the Pacific is the island of New Guinea. Climate The climate of the Pacific Ocean varies greatly based on latitude, the presence of landmasses, and the types of air masses moving over its waters. The sea surface temperatures also play a role in the climate because it affects the availability of moisture in the different regions. Near the equator, the climate is tropical, wet and warm throughout most of the year.The far North Pacific and far South Pacific are more temperate and have greater seasonal differences in weather patterns. Seasonal trade winds impact climate in some regions. The Pacific Ocean is also home to tropical cyclones in areas to the south of Mexico from June to October and typhoons in the South Pacific from May to December. Economy Because it covers 28% of the Earths surface, borders many nations, and is home to a wide variety of fish, plants, and other animals, the Pacific Ocean plays a major role in the worlds economy. It provides an easy way to ship goods from Asia to North America and vice- versa through the Panama Canal or the northern and southern ocean routes.A large portion of the worlds fishing industry takes place in the Pacific.It is a significant source of natural resources, including oil and other minerals. Which States the Pacific? The Pacific Ocean forms the western coast of the United States. Five states have a Pacific coastline, including three in the lower 48, Alaska and its many islands, and the islands that comprise Hawaii. AlaskaCaliforniaHawaiiOregonWashington Environmental Concerns A giant patch of floating plastic debris, known as the Great Pacific garbage patch or the Pacific trash vortex, is actually made up of two giant patches of plastic garbage, some of it decades old, floating in the Northern Pacific between California and Hawaii. The plastic is thought to have accumulated from fishing vessels, illegal dumping and other means over the decades from countries in North and South America and Asia. Currents have trapped the ever-growing debris in a vortex that varies in size. The plastic isnt visible from the surface, but some pieces have killed marine life who have become trapped in netting. Other pieces have become small enough to become digestible to animals and have entered the food chain, affecting hormone levels, which can eventually lead to an effect on humans who consume seafood. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration notes, however, that there is currently no evidence that the human harm from microplastics from ocean sources is worse than that from other known sources, such as plastic containers. Sources Central Intelligence Agency. CIA - The World Factbook Pacific Ocean. 2016.Dianna.parker. â€Å"Garbage Patches: ORRs Marine Debris Program.†Ã‚  11 July 2013.