Category: EDUCATIONAL ADVICE

Integrated Programme Science Y1-Y2:

This is a table of comparison for Express and IP Science for Y1. Bolded are the topics unique to IP, which are from the sec3 to sec4 O-level text. Note that this list is not exhaustive, and for schools such as TJC, NJC where they focus on training all students for a triple science route, a more specific syllabus will be drafted for them, comprising almost only sec3 O-level topics in Y2.

Additionally, the depth of questioning is also higher, with a greater emphasis placed on evaluation and deep conceptual understanding instead of just content. Questions are often presented in a way that looks like it is out of syllabus, but all the tools to solve the question are already made available to the student in their lesson.

Example RVHS Y3 Chemistry:

As NIE trained experts, we can also identify the source of such questions and provide follow-up explanations, examples, and predict future trends in exams. Source of this question is from:

https://edu.rsc.org/resources/chemical-misconceptions-ii-ionic-bonding/1095.article#:~:text=A%20positive%20ion%20will%20be,its%20outer%20shell%20to%20donate.

 

This is a table of comparison for Express and IP Science for Y2. Bolded are the topics unique to IP, which are from the sec3 to sec4 O-level text. Note that this list is not exhaustive.

How do we address this difference in our classes?

As you can see from the table, there is a very large chunk of material that is clearly different from the Express stream, which is tested in the IP syllabus. This material comes from the Sec3 and Sec4 Express material. In order to bridge this gap, students are expected to master Sec3 and Sec4 concepts when they are in Y1 and Y2 in order to keep up. The questions are sourced from the O-level combined Science or pure Science syllabus. Students are also expected to be reading ahead of class using the O-level pure science textbooks, and in class, using either past year IP questions, or O-level ten year series questions to supplement their knowledge. Students will also be lectured in class about advanced concepts in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology in order to better prepare them for their IP exams. Notes and other material issued will also contain heavy parts from the actual O-level syllabus.

Example:
RI Y2 Science (Physics)

A very non standard version of Secondary Two Physics that IP schools can test. Note the emphasis on algebraic manipulation instead of just physics concepts, these are one of the many other higher order thinking or interdisciplinary skills that are assessed for IP

Q: My child is taking double/triple sciences and double math, but has no time to attend all sessions despite needing assistance in all of them. What can I do?

A: Our IP Math classes at the upper secondary level are designed as a hybrid A/E math class, and some of our IP Science classes are designed to be a hybrid Physics/Chem, Chem/Bio, Triple Science class. This is to cater to students who need to receive instructions and assistance in all 3 sciences and both maths but do not have the time and resources to attend so many lessons. Through careful curriculum planning and design by our team of curriculum experts (Master of Education, Curriculum and Teaching, NIE), the lessons are designed to teach the full suite of skills for Maths and Science in a short time frame without being shortchanged, with the addition of around the clock assistance via WA with the tutor for all sciences and maths. Classes run throughout the holidays, and current students have priority placing in booking additional classes during the holidays in order to cover more content.

IP TUITION SCHEDULE (2024):

IP Y1 Sci: Mon and Fri 745om-915pm, Sun 230-4pm

IP Y2 Sci: Mon and Fri 745pm-915pm, Sat 1045am-1215pm, Sun 415-545pm

IP Y3 Sci: (Phy/Chem): Fri 615-745pm, Sat 415-545pm, Sun 1045am-1215pm

IP Y4 Chem: Sun 9am-1030am

IP Y4 Physics: Mon and Fri 745pm-915pm, Sun 230-4pm

IP Y4 (Phy/Chem): Mon and Fri 745pm-915pm, Sun 230-4pm

To sign up, Whatsapp Mr Y.S Pang at 90065997

Y1-Y6 SUBJECTS: $360 PER MONTH (4 LESSONS)

(NEW AND AMMENDED)Trial Class:

Costs of a one-off trial class for Y1-Y6 is $120. Trial class timings will be arranged based on my discretion and assessment of your child’s needs. Subsequently, should you decide to sign up, the remainder of the monthly fee will be charged, i.e. you sign up for Y3 in Jan, trial is $120, if after the trial you continue, pay the balance of $360-$120=$240.

A trial class serves as a diagnostics for your child, by looking into his/her previous schoolwork, exam papers, as well as watching how they respond to the lecture and tutorial content. From there, as a parent, you can decide whether the class is suitable for your child. A lot of preparation work is done before a trial, so do make payment ASAP to confirm your attendance.

MISC CHARGES: $30 ONE TIME OFF REGISTRATION FEE AND YEARLY MATERIAL FEE OF $80

STUDENTS WHO JOIN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH, FIRST MONTLHY FEE WILL BE PRO RATED BASED ON NUMBER OF LESSONS LEFT IN THE MONTH, FOR EXAMPLE IF YOU JOIN IN JUNE WITH 2 LESSONS LEFT FOR Y4 CLASS, YOUR MONTHLY FEE WILL BE 360/4 X 2 = 180, MISC FEES STILL APPLY

NOTE: MATERIAL FEE IS CHARGED FOR ONLINE CLASSES, MATERIALS WILL BE EMAILED TO YOU BY SCANNED PDF, PARENTS CAN ARRANGE TO SELF COLLECT THE PHYSICAL MATERIALS IF NEEDED

NOTE: ONLINE CLASSES ARE SAME PRICING AS PHYSICAL CLASSES, WE PROVIDE THE SAME QUALITY EDUCATION IN SMALL SIZED CLASSROOMS BE IT ONLINE OR PHYSICAL

For more information, visit us at our main IP page:

MAIN IP PAGE

IP PHYSICS PRACTICAL

IP CHEMISTRY PRACTICAL

IP BIOLOGY PRACTICAL

Question is from our Y4 Tutorial for binomial theorem. As you can see, this question is a great test on comparing the first three terms of binomial, as it contains concepts on factorials, power, simultaneous equation, and factorization. Take some time to read through the solutions.

I hope this has been helpful to your revision, and good luck for your exams

If you are interested in IP Maths tuition, contact me at 88765498. Stay tuned for more updates on tough IP style Maths questions.

RETAKING YOUR O-LEVELS? JOIN US.

We provide A-Level / H2 and O-Level Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Science (Physics/Chemistry/Biology) Practical Training for private / school candidates and homeschoolers, for both local (eg. H2, Singapore-Cambridge) and international exams (CIE, IGCSE).

Note: Our practical fees are lowest for practicals done in the Jan-Mar period. So sign up now!

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You may need science practical lessons if you are a private candidate who needs a science lab and apparatus as well as practical coaching, or you are a school candidate who needs more practical training to get top grades.

School candidates (in govt sec schools, IP schools and JCs) who need more FULL PRACTICAL PRACTICE are also welcome, as you seldom get to complete a full practical in school (1.5 hrs for Combined Science practical exam, 1hr 50 min for Pure Science practicals, and 2hr 30 min for H2 practicals), mainly due to lack of curriculum time.

If you are a private school or tutor who needs a science lab or practical training for your students, you are also advised to contact us early to work out the details such as course curriculum, lab worksheets, scheduling and fee matters.

For details on Practical Courses, Mock Exams or Schedules, kindly click on any of the following links relevant to the exam and level you will be doing:

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PRIVATE CANDIDATES 

The registration for ‘A’ and ‘O’ Level exams as a private candidate usually opens around mid-April (Please check SEAB website) and closes before mid-May. If you are registering for a Science subject (Physics, Chemistry, Biology or Combined Sciences), at the time of registration, you will be asked whether you have done any science practical training in any school, centre, or institute. Thus you must begin your science practical training before April. Science practical training in Singapore Learner qualifies as practical training for the purpose of registration for Science subjects for the ‘A’ and ‘O’ level exams.

Thus if you are considering Singapore Learner as your science practical training provider, you must register with us and complete at least 4 basic practical sessions for each subject by 31st April for us to certify that you have attended science practical training. As students usually do about 10 practical sessions per subject to be competent in practicals, the rest of the lab sessions can be done from May to early October, including the prelim/mock practical exams.

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To proceed, please click on one of the following:

A-LEVEL H2 PRACTICALS

CIE A-LEVEL PRACTICALS

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O-LEVEL PRACTICALS

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SEC 3 PRACTICALS

IP PRACTICALS

 

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Singapore Learner @ Bukit Batok

Blk 644, Bukit Batok Central, #01-68. S(650644).

Tel: +(65) 6569 4897,   +(65) 88765498 (WHATAPPS) http://wa.link/w0xxk2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ratio of the number of goldfish to guppy in a fish tank is 5:4. After 3 guppies died, the ratio of the number of goldfish to guppy is 4:3. What was the total number of angelfish and clownish in the aquarium at first? [2]

How to solve this question?

First of all, the student has to identify the topic. In this question it is clear cut, and the topic in question is obviously ratio.

Next, what technique to use? Ratio is a concept introduced in P5, and as such, students are typically motivated to use models. However, the ratios given will make modeling difficult, as the numbers are very close to one another, and there has been a subtraction somewhere down the road.

So, how do we address this issue? For most questions on ratio, I would use my ratio method! The method is simplistic and easy to visualize.

Before:                 After:

GF:GP                   GF:GP

5:4                          4:3

Note that there is one variable that remains constant! That is the value of the goldfish. Since the total goldfish does not change, we can hold that value constant. This means, that the value of the goldfish before and after will remain the same. Based on what the student knows about ratio, the student must recall that you can expand a ratio beyond its simplest form. Since we want the ratio or the units of goldfish to be uniform for before and after, we shall expand by multiplying the ratio in before by x4, and multiplying the ratio in after by x5.

Before:                 After:

GF:GP                   GF:GP

20:16                     20:15

As you can see, now the ratio of goldfish is uniform, and it makes it so much easier to compare! The guppies have decreased from 16 units to 15 units, and goldfish remains the same, this checks out with regard to the question. Next, the question says that 3 guppies died, so the decrease of 1unit has to be representing the death of the 3 guppies!

Therefore, 1 unit for both ratio represents 3, and since there are 20+16=36 units at first, the answer is simply 36×3=108!

Drop us a message if you would like to see demonstrations of other PSLE math solving techniques! Stay tuned for more detailed solutions and techniques to popular PSLE or promo math questions!

For queries on my tuition schedule, you may contact Admin Staff at 88765498.

Mr Y.S Pang, B.Eng(hons)NUS, Math tutor at Singapore Learner and Concept Learning

DETAILED SOLUTION TO PSLE SCIENCE TYS QUESTION(question adapted due to copyright issue)

Question:

For some buildings, water mist systems are used to cool the surrounding air, and tiny water droplets are produced in the form of mist, as shown in the figure

1. Explain how such a system is able to lower the temperature of the surrounding air and give a reason for your answer. [2]

2. If you were to add fans to the water mist system, how would it help to cool the surrounding air more effectively? [1]

Answer:

How to tackle PART 1?

First off, we identify the topic in question. Based on the keywords used which is mist, and temperature, the student has to identify that this is a multi-topic question, and topics involved are water cycle and heat, specifically, on the concepts of the 3 states of water and temperature.

Next, recall the information learnt from these topics. Water has three states, solid, liquid, gas, and different processes convert water into its individual forms.

So, the mist is used to lower the temperature of the surrounding air. The student has to be able to recall that water is a cooling substance, and its different forms can act to cool environments. Based on the question, the mist form seems gaseous at some point, so the student must recall that evaporation results in gas, and during evaporation, water absorbs heat and changes into water vapor.

Now, we piece the clues together and form our solution.

The mist system will release mist, which are tiny water droplets, into the surroundings. The water droplets absorb heat from the surroundings and they evaporate. This cools the surrounding air, and the temperature of the surrounding air is lowered.

How to tackle PART 2?

Part 2 is what we like to unofficially call a creative question. These sort of open ended questions are follow-up questions to part 1, meaning, if you have failed to understand part 1, you will not be able to do part 2, and lose 3 whole marks. These questions are typically designed such that the answers cannot be found in the textbook, and to make the student think deeply about the subject matter. So how do we go about doing this?

By looking at the figure, we can see that there is now a fan behind the mist system. So what is the fan doing? The student must be able to identify that fans generate wind, and wind typically blows things around. But this is a layman term, we have to explain it in scientific terms.

So, what does the act of wind blowing things around cause? It causes things to move further away. Based on part A, the student has to realize that the purpose of the mist system is to cool the surroundings. So what does blowing the mist further away achieve? At this point, the student has to come to the conclusion, that blowing it further away covers more ground, and cools more people! Now we piece the clues together and form our solution.

The fans blow the mist further away to other nearby places, and this cools the other places as well, because now the mist covers a larger surface area.

Stay tuned for more solutions to popular promo and TYS questions!

Any inquiries.,do contact our Admin Staff at 88765498

Mr Y.S Pang, B.Eng(hons) NUS, Science tutor, Singapore Learner and Concept Learning

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FREE SEC 1 MATH TUITION AT SINGAPORE LEARNER!