Hello professor @yousafharoonkhan I am @ononiwujoel and this is my first time of participating in the SteemitCryptoAcademy lectures. I really do hope my work meets your expectations.

Question 1: Write the definition of decentralization and centralization in your own words. Explain these two terms.

DECENTRALIZATION

Decentralization can be defined as the delegation or distribution of powers from a central authority to lower individuals and units. The major trademark of the decentralized system is the decision making privilege it gives to everyone in the blockchain from top to bottom. In this system, there is no central command or individual that pass orders, rules or permissions to the others so it can be likened to Socialism in government system where the production, distribution and exchange is owned by the community rather than by a person or group of people. The image below illustrate a decentralized system.

source

CENTRALIZATION

Centralization on the other hand is a direct opposite of decentralization just as their names portray.
Centralization can be defined as a system in which all the power is completely controlled by a central authority constituted by an individual or a group of individuals.
In this system, there is particular authority that dictates rules to others in the blockchain and there is no right to decision making or freedom of expression for individuals or units in the blockchain.
A Centralized system can be likened to a dictatorship style of governance in which rules are solely made by few persons and everyone then struggles to fit into their rules for survival.
The image below illustrates the centralized system.

source

Question 2: Explain the difference between decentralized and centralized systems or compare them

Now the differences between decentralized and Centralized systems are very pronounced in that they are both a direct opposite of each other just like color white and black.
Firstly, in decentralized system power is transferred directly to every individual and unit and so everyone has the right to make decisions that suites his business and everyone can also trade at his own terms and conditions. But in a centralized system power is fully owned and commanded by a central authority that dishes out rules and regulations, approvals or disapprovals and permissions to the other individuals in the blockchain therefore every decision making is done by the central authority.
Secondly, in decentralized systems every individual manages his own funds, assets and trade in an anonymous manner WHILE in the centralized system the central authority manages all the funds and resources and also controls decisions in trading.
Thirdly, a decentralized system is made up of several servers that are connected via blockchain system and thus making it almost impossible to be manipulated or hacked by fraudsters WHILE the centralized system runs one main server which can be hacked and thus causing much damage to the whole system.
Fourthly, in centralized system assets can be easily converted to ready cash WHILE in decentralized system the process of converting assets to ready cash is much slower and difficult.

Question 3:
ADVANTAGES OF CENTRALIZED SYSTEM

• In a centralized system decisions made by the central authority are given priority and so hey are quickly carried out and as such making implementation of decisions faster.
• In this system centralized financing can stop the transfer of funds to wrong individuals
• There are not many powerful people because the same command is followed by everyone
• In this system reporting is much easier
• All users try to improve their performance since they answer to one authority.

DISADVANTAGES OF CENTRALIZED SYSTEM

• In this system some users are preferred to others thereby making the system unfair
• The element of fraud is more prevalent because the system operates one authority
• Lower level users are not included in decision making thus creating a sense of frustration and exclusion
• User's data can be edited which is a disadvantage to the system
• The system uses a main server thus making it possible to be hacked and manipulated

ADVANTAGES OF DECENTRALIZED SYSTEM

• Funds are safe and there are no possibilities of system being hacked
• Increases the customer's self-confidence and enthusiasm for work and thus improves the efficiency in service provision
• Power and decision making is transferred to the people down to the grassroot level and thus creating an atmosphere of fairness
• In this system people with different skills are connected to an integrated system and thus helping to improve the skills of each other
• In this system user data cannot be edited by anyone because it is stored in a decentralized blockchain

DISADVANTAGES OF DECENTRALIZED SYSTEM

• There can be increased crimes because funds transfer can lead to issues
• This system is very expensive
• Fluctuations of cryptocurrency causes unstability of prices in the system
• Volatility of asset prices adds a demerit to this system
  Process of converting assets to cash is difficult

Question 4: Which one is better for business/trading and why
In my own opinion I believe the decentralized system is better for business because in this system I can make decisions on how to trade and be rest assured that no one will come up to introduce new rules overnight that will affect my business negatively especially when it's a long term plan.
But based on the general note, when choosing which is better for you, you should also consider the kind of business plan you have and if it's long-term or otherwise and also your ability to make decisions quickly and adapt to changes in the system.

Question 5: How do you know a blockchain is decentralized or not?
I am a newbie in cryptocurrency and do not have a good token address to use for illustration so I used the same address in the article to test if a blockchain is Decentralized or not.
So firstly you open your browser and go to the Etherscan an site

Then enter the token address of the blockchain account which in this case is a VRGold (VRG) token address.

Now click on contract option below and scroll down

Now check contract source code (solidity) in the coding area and search for function destruct only administration, self destruct in the code. If you find this words then it means the system is decentralized.

Summary

I must say this is a very interesting lecture, I love you teaching style of breaking it down for easy learning and I learnt a lot. Now from my opinion I really like the Decentralized system and the privileges it offers. Decentralized systems should be used for long-term businesses where there may not be much exchange in with long periods while the Centralized system should be used for businesses where there is frequent exchange of assets and liquidation since its faster and secures funds transfer.

Thanks for reading
Written: @ononiwujoel

Cc:@yousafharoonkhan