Prove that (1 – cosX) / sinX = sinX / (1 + cosX)
Good luck!
Rgds,
Ilyasa
Author: admin
A good O-Level Pure Physics question for you to try (answer given)
Question:
A car of mass m has an engine which can deliver a maximum power of P. What is the minimum time in which the car can be accelerated from rest to a speed v?
(A) m(v^2) / 2P
(B) 2P / m(v^2)
(C) P / mv
(D) mv / P
Good Luck!
Rgds,
Ilyasa
Scroll down for answer.
Answer: A
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We Didn’t Start The Fire
Forget the haze. Take a break from your studies and find the following song, and learn a bit of history. : )
WE DIDN’T START THE FIRE (by Billy Joel, 1989)
Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnny Ray,
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio
Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, Television,
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe
Rosenberg, H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, The King And I, and The Catcher In The Rye,
Eisenhower, Vaccine, England’s got a new queen,
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No, we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it
Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiov,
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc
Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron,
Dien Bien Phu Falls, Rock Around the Clock
Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn’s got a winning team,
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland
Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev,
Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No, we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it
Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac,
Sputnik, Zhou Enlai, Bridge On The River Kwai
Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseball,
Starkweather Homicide, Children of Thalidomide
Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, Space Monkey, Mafia,
Hula Hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go
U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy,
Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No, we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it
Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land,
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion
Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatle mania,
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson
Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician sex,
J.F.K. blown away, what else do I have to say
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No, we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it
Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again,
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airline,
Ayatollah’s in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan
Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal suicide,
Foreign debts, homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shores, China’s under martial law,
Rock and Roller cola wars, I can’t take it anymore
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning since the world’s been turning.
We didn’t start the fire
But when we are gone
It will still burn on, and on, and on, and on…
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No, we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No, we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6POmPgeLW2U
Btw, do you know what PSI stands for?
Cheers,
Ilyasa
A good Indices question for you to try (answer given)
Suggestions on how to answer DSA (P6 to Sec 1) essay questions
Related links:
O-LEVEL | SEC | PHYSICS TUITION
O-LEVEL | SEC | A. MATH TUITION
O-LEVEL | SEC 1-4 | MATH TUITION
O-LEVEL | SEC | CHEMISTRY TUITION
O-LEVEL | SEC 1-4 | ENGLISH TUITION
O-LEVEL | SEC 1-4 | MALAY LANGUAGE TUITION
———————————————————————————————————–
The DSA tests can consist of many parts and vary from school to school. Typically you will have MCQs and short structured questions on English, Math and Science. The hardest section of these MCQs would be on Abstract Reasoning (AR), because students are not prepared for it. (Thus I intend to conduct a holiday workshop for AR in Mar and June 2014. For this year, I may conduct an AR course in Sep, Nov or Dec for those who want to be exposed to it early).
Another difficult section of the DSA tests is the short essay part, where you will be asked to write, in about 300 words, about something you are passionate about, or why you want to enrol in the school, or about your personal characteristics. I believe Singaporean students find difficulty in writing such essays, probably because (i) their passion in something non-academic has never been encouraged or groomed, (ii), they are applying to the schools only because their parents ask them to and (iii), they are not sure about their own strengths and weaknesses in non-academic areas.
Since some parents have asked me to give advice on the matter, I shall write about my suggestions on how to write the essays in a manner that might catch the assessors’ attention (but if everyone of you were to follow my suggestions, then you WON’T get the assessors’ attention, so you’d still have to innovate and add the flesh of the essay yourself).
Let’s examine a typical essay question that you might get:
Q1. In not more than 300 words, describe something you are passionate about or something that is important to you, as it helps us to understand you better.
My advice:
(1) DO NOT WRITE MORE THAN 300 WORDS (or whatever they specify, such as ‘Do not use more than the space given’), not even 301. You must at least show that you understand English, that you can count, and that you can take serious instructions seriously. I’m serious. Ignore me at your own risk.
(2) If they ask you to write and not type, then they are studying your handwriting as well. Please check up the internet on what your handwriting tells others about yourself. But it’s hard to change your handwriting, and many horrible hand writers become doctors anyway.
(3) You should not be writing about what you USED to be interested in (because if you are passionate about it, why did you stop doing it?) or what you would like to explore in future (because if you are passionate about it, why haven’t you started on it?). What you are passionate about is something which you have started some time ago, which you are currently doing, and which you intend to bring to greater heights in the future. It can be anything from a musical instrument to a sport or even a CCA. It should NOT be something academic; imagine writing that your passion is to attend lessons in school, or having tuition, or doing lots of assessment books or reading textbooks ( do you realise that most applicants to top schools are already doing all these intensely?) So let’s say your passion is badminton (I hope you realise that LIKING to play badminton is different from being PASSIONATE about IT). You should be describing about how and when you got introduced to it, why you liked it, how often you play it and where, the big brands and the big names in the sport, the major tournaments, your discoveries about the sport, your efforts to improve your performance in the sport etc.
Q2. In the space given, write down the reasons why you would want to be enrolled in our school.
Here, you have to praise the school. You’d need to do a quick research on the school’s history, motto, emphasis, strengths and niche areas, and why the school would be able to allow you to reach your full potential, and if you can, why only this school would be able to accomplish that.
Q3. Describe some characteristics about yourself that might differentiate you from other applicants.
Here, you have to praise yourself a bit, in a confident way without sounding arrogant. Besides personal traits such as diligence, persistence and resourcefulness, the school would also be interested in your leadership and inter-personal skills. You can’t just say that you are a team player; do you have evidence to prove it to some extent?
Q4. Write about your academic interests or your reflections on your studies.
Here, you can’t be writing about how you love reading books, doing homework and completing assessment papers. It’s about how deep your interest is in certain subjects and what you do to nurture that interest. As for reflecting on your studies, you’d need to be metacognitive in your approach; what your academic strengths and weaknesses are and your learning styles.
Q5. Write about your future plans.
Here, it is not just about what your ambition is. It should be more about how the school you are applying to will facilitate your entry to the next stage. For example, if you ultimately want to be in a certain college, course or university in the future, how would the secondary school you are applying to prepare you to succeed at these future stages. But for the short term, you can still write about how you can contribute to the success of the school, for eg., in CCA and so on.
Do not drop a subject if you still have interest in it.
This is the time of the year when your school may ask you to drop certain subjects that you are weak in, using the lame excuse that even if you work hard, you will at most obtain a B4 or a C5. In reality, your school is more concerned about its own academic reputation, not about you. Schools are worried that if weak students continue to sit for certain exams, their national exam results (percentage passes or distinctions) will worsen. Yes, it’s not about you or your future; it’s about the school’s image.
Thus you must be wary when any of your school teachers call you in to give you hints to drop a subject. The teacher will say that if you drop one subject, you will have more time to study for the other subjects. While this may be true, what about the months that you have spent learning that subject? And the extra hours that you create by dropping a subject, will it all go into learning the other subjects? Having less subjects also mean that you will be taking a bigger risk should the unexpected happen to your remaining subjects, as you would be relying on a narrower band of subjects.
Two subjects that schools like to ask students to drop are Physics and Additional Math, the two most conceptually difficult subjects to master, in my opinion. So should you drop any of these subjects if you are asked to?
For Physics, the answer depends on whether you still like learning about Physics. If you still do, then continue doing it and take the exam, even if you have hardly ever passed Physics before. Why? The reason is, Physics has always been a difficult subject for most people. Thus the minimum mark to obtain the A1 grade for Physics may still be in the 75 to 79 range, significantly below that for Math (which is probably around 88 to 91). Hence you still stand a good chance of getting a B3 or above for Physics if you are willing to spend enough time practising Physics questions. This is only possible if you don’t mind studying Physics.
I have a tuition student who is very weak in Physics, and true enough, his teacher has been pestering him to drop Physics. So his mum turned to me for advice. Since he still likes Physics, I told the mum not to give in to the teacher. The boy finally passed Physics for his recent SA1 exam, and is now doing exam papers to get a better grade for his upcoming Prelim exam. The boy is mentally slow, but since he likes Physics, the school should have helped him improve instead. Isn’t it the purpose of schools to develop each student to his maximum potential?
The boy had also been asked to drop A. Math. But like I’ve said elsewhere, NEVER EVER drop A. Math, as knowledge of it is useful for many future courses such as Business, Engineering or Science. Although he still failed in his SA1 A. Math, he has been making significant progress as he still likes doing Math. Where there is a will there is a way. Let children and young people learn what they want to learn, even if it means getting poor exam results for the short term. A school should not be telling students to stop learning this or that, or to stop making effort, or to give up on something good that they have started.
If you need more advice (or even tuition, see below) on Math, A.Math, Physics or Chemistry or Combined Science, do whatsapp me at 97860411.
Ilyasa
An NIE-trained Teacher, Mr Ilyasa has been coaching students in O-Level & IP Chemistry, Physics and Math for more than 12 years. An alumnus of Raffles Institution, Mr Ilyasa holds a a Bachelor of Science degree from the NUS as well as a Master of Education (Curriculum & Teaching) degree from the National Institute of Education. Mr Ilyasa’s thinking and metacognitive approaches to problem solving has helped many students of varying abilities to excel in Math and the Sciences. He has coached students from many different schools and streams, including IP, SAP, and IB.
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P5 Math Coaching for Weak students
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Level/Subject: Primary 5 Math
Day/Time:
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Fees: $120 for every four sessions.
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Tutors:
Mr Jay Lim. A Master degree holder, Mr Lim is a very effective and experienced senior tutor who has been tutoring students in PSLE Math & Science for more than 5 years, both in private and in successful learning centres.
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P5 Challenging Math Weekly Programme
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ORIGINAL POST(OUTDATED):
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Level/Subject: Primary 5 Challenging Math
Day/Time:
(1) Every Thursday, 4.00 pm to 5.30 pm, OR
(2) Every Saturday, 7.00 pm to 8.30 pm
Location: Blk 627 Bukit Batok Central #07-640
Focus: Difficult Concepts, Strategies, Heuristics, Olympiad
Fees: $120 for every four sessions.
Class Size: 3 to 8 students.
Tutors:
Mr Jay Lim. A Master degree holder, Mr Lim is a very effective and experienced senior tutor who has been tutoring students in PSLE Math & Science for more than 5 years, both in private and in successful learning centres.
Mdm Anu. A Bachelor of Science degree (with Distinction) holder, Mdm Anu is a very caring and passionate tutor who is experienced in coaching P1 to P6 students.
To register, kindy sms to or call 94468012 or 97860411.
What to do if you get bad SA1 results?
Nope. The answer is not to immediately look for a private tutor. It actually depends on the level and subject for which you get the poor results, and how badly you had performed.
(1) If you are in Lower Primary (P1 to P3), chances are, it is because your foundation in English and Math is weak. Buy good assessment books and start practising right away, with coaching from family members.
(2) If you are in P4 or P5, it is quite a serious matter as it means you are not coping well with the introduction of more complex questions. You may need to get private tuition before it is too late.
(3) If you are in P6, chances are, it is because your school wants to ‘wake you up’ before the PSLE. So don’t panic (just continue doing your assessment books or exam papers), unless you have been doing badly since P4 (in which case you’d need individual tuition as it is quite late already).
(4) If you are in Lower Sec, it depends on the subject for which you did badly. If you need to improve your grades in the languages, do more reading and practise exam papers. If your bad grades are in History or Geography, read the textbook more often and make your own notes. If you had performed badly in Science, start reading Upper Sec Physics, Chemistry or Biology books as practically all the lower sec science books do not contain enough information. If you had done poorly in Math, focus on Algebra and Arithmetic (BODMAS) for the next few weeks.
(5) If you are in Sec 3, it means that you have not adjusted to the O-Level standard of answering questions and/or you underestimated the difficulty level of the Pure Sciences and Pure Math (A. Math). You have to spend the June holidays reading, understanding and practising answering questions and solving problems, else you’d perform worse in the SA2 exams as things don’t get easier.
(6) If you are in Sec 4, you had probably encountered ‘killer papers’ meant to ‘wake you up’ before the O-levels. Thus don’t be demoralised. Sec 4 students seldom do well in their SA1 exams because they don’t have enough time to revise BOTH their Sec 3 and Sec 4 work, yet teachers gleefully set very difficult questions in the name of “stretching” their students. However, you can still learn about some of your weak points from the exam papers and practise doing questions for those topics or writing essays for languages and the humanities subjects. Focus on doing well for your Prelim exams and have your own master revision timetable based on your own needs. Ignore your school’s revision schedule if it is not aligned to your needs. Write your own notes and read and understand solutions to difficult problems.
(7) If you are in JC1, you probably have not adjusted to the pace of JC life. In a way you are in serious trouble because the academic pace in JC is very fast and the learning curve is steep. You have to spend the June hols revising all your weak topics and must be on your toes in the second semester as the Promotional exams are purposely set at a difficult level to ensure that you will be ready for JC2. Read recommended textbooks, and not just your own notes.
(8) If you are in JC2, focus on doing well for the A-levels as there is still time to revise EVERYTHING. Ignore your Prelims as it will come before you are ready and it is not important anyway, unless you need your prelim results to apply to overseas universities. Write your own notes, and read up on good solutions to tough questions. Concentrate on topical revision first of weak topics and then move on to do past year papers. For some really tough topics such as Complex Numbers in H2 Math you may need to consult a tutor if you still can’t grasp it after reading many times.
Good luck!
Ilyasa
(You may contact me at 9786 0411 if you have more queries)
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CALL 65694897 OR SMS 98530744 OR 97860411.
Integrated Programme (IP) students have an unfair advantage
The pre-2007 A.Math syllabus had topics such as Functions and Permutations and Combinations (P&C). These topics were removed (and moved up to JC level) as part of the MOE’s content reduction exercise, in order to allocate more curriculum time to Project Work (PW), National Education (NE) and Thinking Skills (TS) for all government schools.
However, the IP schools need not follow the O-Level syllabus and I have found out from my IP tutees that Sec 3 students in some IP schools are already learning Functions, P&C as well as Graphical Transformations. Thus some IP students have a 2-year headstart over their non-IP counterparts in certain topics of some subjects.
Apparently, the IP schools are able to incorporate JC topics into their syllabus because they have freed up curriculum time in two ways: (1) by not having to set aside time for O-Level preparations such as prelim and mock exams, and (2) by not teaching O-Level topics that have no consequence for the A-Level exams (such as Geometrical Proof in A. Math). Thus IP schools are in effect taking between 3 to 4 years to prepare their already bright students for the A-Level exams when non-IP students have less than 2 years to prepare for it! Some IP schools even introduce the use of the graphical calculator to their Sec 1 students.
The above is not supposed to happen. It doesn’t make sense to allow brighter students more time to prepare for the same exam (thus, in the final analysis, are IP students really smarter? And imagine how academically bright the non-IP students who obtain straight As for the A-levels are. And what to make of the IP students who don’t get As for the A-levels?)
I don’t think the intention behind the IP concept is to allow IP students more time to prepare for the A-levels. If I’m not mistaken, the time that IP schools ‘save’ in NOT having to prepare for the O-levels is meant to be used for the students to enrich their learning or pursue their passion in certain areas or to acquire soft skills, and not to learn ahead A-Level topics! That is why IP students are not allowed to sit for the O-Level exams, even privately, as it defeats the purpose of having the additional free time meant to develop them more holistically. However, it seems to me there is nothing to prevent an IP school from using SIX YEARS to train it’s students entirely for the A-Levels, by focusing on just the A-level topics and not teaching at all anything that is not tested in the A-levels. Of course this is an extreme example, but there is already concrete evidence that IP schools are teaching JC topics at their secondary levels and omitting secondary level topics that are not tested at the A-levels (yes, I was initially surprised to find out that my IP tutees are not aware of certain concepts tested at the O-levels).
Needless to say, there would be many parents who support giving their children four instead of two years to prepare for our difficult A-level exams. But what about the thousands of students who have to take the O-level route? If ‘brighter’ students need more time to learn, how about the ‘less bright’ ones? And what about the original purpose behind the idea of the Integrated Programme? And when we say every school is a good school, what do we mean? I like what one of my non-IP tutees has said – “Every school is a good school, but some are better than others.”
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