[Science Form 3] Reactions

Most metals react with oxygen to form metal oxide.

Metal + Oxygen -------> Metal oxide

Eg:

• Zinc + Oxygen -------> Zinc oxide
• Aluminium + Oxygen -------> Aluminium oxide

Most metals react with sulphur to form metal sulphide

Metal + Sulphur -------> Metal sulphide

Eg:

• Zinc + Sulphur -------> Zinc sulphide
• Iron + Sulphur -------> Iron sulphide

Metal + sulphide -------> Final product

1. Magnesium + Sulphur ----heat---> Magnesium sulphide
2. Aluminium + Sulphur ----heat---> Aluminium sulphide
3. Zinc + Sulphur ----heat---> Zinc sulphide
4. Iron + Sulphur ----heat---> Iron sulphide

Metal + oxide -------> Final product

1. Magnesium + Oxygen ----heat---> Magnesium oxide
2. Aluminium + Oxygen ----heat---> Aluminium oxide
3. Zinc + Oxygen ----heat---> Zinc oxide
4. Iron + Oxygen ----heat---> Iron oxide

[Physics Form 5] Rendezvous Point

Situation:

Two waves, Wave 1 and Wave 2, of the same frequency, wave length and amplitude, approach each other.

1. State the principle applied in the phenomenon above.
   Principle of superposition.
   
   
2. Define the principle.
   When two coherent waves travelling in opposite directions meet, the resultant displacement is the vector sum of the displacements of the two waves at the point of interference.
   
   
3. What is happening at Y and what is X?
   At Y, where two pulses of the waves overlap, constructive interference occurs. X is the resultant pulse of the overlap.
   
   
4. What is happening at U and what is V?
   At U, where a pulse of a crest and a pulse of a trough overlap, destructive interference occurs. V is the resultant pulse of the overlap. It shows zero displacement; a state of calmness or no wave pulse.
   
   
5. What is expected after the meeting of Wave 1 and Wave 2?
   The two waves travel in opposite directions along their original paths, unaffected by each other.

Note: Interference only occurs at the meeting point between two pulses of waves.

[Physics Form 4] In Locomotion

Acceleration, velocity and displacement are the physical quantities often used to describe the motion of objects. These quantities are also known as the quantities of kinematics.

What are acceleration? Acceleration is a derived vector quantity that describes the motion of any object in terms of change in velocity per unit time. To be specific, it describes the increase in velocity of an object in one second.

Ex: The car is moving with a constant acceleration of 4ms^-2. This means that the velocity of the car increases 4ms^-1 every 1s. This occurs constantly throughout the motion of the car.

What is meant by velocity? Velocity is a derived vector quantity that describes the motion of any object in terms of change in displacement per unit time.

Constant velocity means the velocity is fixed throughout the motion. It also means the displacement covered by object is constant every one second.

The trolley above is moving down an inclined plane at the constant velocity of 1ms^-1. This means that as the trolley is moving down the inclined plane, it covers a displacement of 1m every 1s. If the inclined plane is 3m long, it will take the trolley 3s to reach the bottom.

What is displacement? Displacement is a straight line distance measured from the initial point (reference point) to the final point.

Constant displacement is another way of saying that the object is stationary. When a displacement is constant, it means the final position is not changed. Hence, the object is resting at the final position.

Zero displacement is achieved when the final position meets the initial position. Hence, there is no distance between the final and initial positions.

English boost for 7 schools

NST
2010/02/04
By Nusaybah Mohd Asri

KUALA LUMPUR: The Federal Territory Zakat (tithe) Collection Centre-FT Islamic Council (PPZ-MAIWP) has agreed to sponsor RM20,000 worth of Berita Harian and New Straits Times newspapers and Malaysia 50 Years history books to selected schools.

Seven schools that have started receiving copies of the newspapers are Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Perempuan (P) Jalan Ipoh, SMK Puteri Titiwangsa, SMK Sinar Bintang, SMK Raja Ali, Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Cheras, SK Bandar Tun Razak (2) and SK Seri Anggerik.

These schools have been getting 50 copies of Berita Harian and another 50 copies of the New Straits Times every week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday starting Feb 2.

The 10 schools that received the Malaysia 50 Years history books are SMK (P) Bandaraya, SMK Taman Setiawangsa, SMK Bandar Tun Razak, SMK Taman Maluri, SM Alam Shah Putrajaya, SK Taman Setiawangsa, SK (1) Batu 4 Jalan Ipoh, SK Wangsa Jaya, SK Setapak Indah and SK Jalan Peel.

The books were published by the publication unit of the Information, Communications and Culture Ministry and the Star Publication.

PPZ-MAIWP chairman Datuk Mustafa Abdul Rahman said the sponsorship programme was a token of appreciation for these schools that had succeeded in increasing the amount of tithes through salary deductions of their staff, including teachers and headmasters.

Mustafa also said PPZ-MAIWP would provide financial assistance to the schools to organise "programmes of excellence" and students' personality development activities.

"We will consider giving financial assistance if, needed, as the programmes can help enhance students' achievements in the primary and secondary schools.

"I hope our sponsorship programme can instil awareness among students on the importance of paying tithes as well as being focused in their studies." he said.

Also present was Bangsar-Pudu Education Department deputy director Jamaluddin Abdullah.

[Mathematic Form 4] Lower or Upper?

When quantities are measured, their data can be grouped into several classes. The range of each class is called the class interval.

For a class interval of 70 - 79, the lower limit is 70 and the upper limit is 79.

For a class interval of 80 - 89, the lower limit is 80 and the upper limit is 89.

The lower boundary of each class refers to the middle value between the lower limit of the class and the upper limit of the previous class.

The upper boundary of each class refers to the middle value between the upper limit of the class and the lower limit of the following class.

The size of a class interval is the difference between the upper boundary and the lower boundary of the class.

[Science Form 3] Compounds

Silicon Compounds

1. Silica
   
   • Components: Silicon, Oxygen.
   • Examples: Sand, Quartz, Flint.
     
     
2. Silicate
   
   • Components: Silicon, Oxygen, Metal.
   • Examples: Mica, Clay, Feldspar, Topaz.
   
   
3. General properties
   
   • Very stable.
   • Insoluble in water.
   • Does not react with acids.
   • Does not discompose on heat.

*********************

Calcium Compounds

Some of the properties of calcium compounds include:

• Insoluble in water.
• Reacts with acids to produce salt, carbon dioxide and water.
• Decomposes on strong heating to produce calcium oxide and carbon dioxide.

Uses of calcium compounds

1. Limestone
   
   • Manufacturer of cement and glass.
   • Extraction of tin and iron.
   • Making quicklime and slaked lime.
     
     
2. Marble
   
   • Making statues and monuments.
   • Cover floors and sides of buildings.
   
   
3. Quicklime
   
   • Neutralise acids in the soil.
   • As a drying agent in the preparation of ammonia gas.
   
   
4. Slaked lime
   
   • Reduce the acidity of soil.
   • Supply calcium to plants.
   • Making caustic soda as a cleaning agent.

*********************

Malaysia's Top 20 Schools Named

NST
2010/01/25

PUTRAJAYA: Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today announced that 20 schools - 14 secondary and six primary - had been accorded the status of high performance schools (SBTs).

Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said of the 14 secondary schools, 10 were fully residential schools and the rest day schools.

"These schools were chosen from among schools that showed outstanding performance in the field of academia, co-curriculum and niche areas.

"The schools will be guided and monitored closely to ensure they continue to attain even higher levels of performance," he told reporters at his office here today.

The 10 fully residential schools are Sekolah Tun Fatimah (Johor Bahru), Sekolah Dato' Abdul Razak (Seremban), Malay College Kuala Kangsar, Sekolah Seri Puteri (Cyberjaya), Sekolah Menengah Sultan Abdul Halim (Jitra), Kolej Tunku Kurshiah (Seremban), Kolej Islam Sultan Alam Shah (Klang), Sekolah Menengah Sains (SMS) Tuanku Syed Putra (Perlis), Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah (Putrajaya) and SMS Muzaffar Syah (Melaka).

The four day schools are Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) (P) Sri Aman(Petaling Jaya), SMK Aminuddin Baki (Kuala Lumpur), SMK Sultanah Asma (Alor Setar) and SMK (P) St. George (Penang).

The six primary schools are Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Seri Bintang Utara (KL),SK Taman Tun Dr Ismail 1 (KL), SK Bukit Damansara (KL), SK Zainab (2) (Kota Bharu), SK Convent Kota (Taiping), SK Bandar Baru Uda 2 (Johor Bahru).

At the same time, Muhyiddin stressed that SBTs were not elite schools which benefited only a limited number of students.

Instead, he said each school in the country had the same opportunity and a level playing field to be recognised as SBTs.

"Any school that meets the targets of excellence and criteria set (by the Education Ministry) will be recognised as a SBTs and get the same privileges," he said.

Muhyiddin said the ministry targeted to have 30 SBTs by next year and 50 in 2012.

He said the rationale in having SBTs was to raise the quality of the best schools in the country to be world class, produce outstanding students and narrow the gap between schools within the system.

He said SBTs would be given additional autonomy to pursue innovation in school management and raise the productivity of students.

As for curriculum, he said, it would be flexible in terms of teaching and learning as well as syllabi for compulsory and elective subjects, conforming to public examinations and use of the national language as the medium of instruction or multiple languages.

Beside these, Muhyiddin said the schools concerned were also given leeway in fixing the minimum periods for subjects, extending schooling hours and allowing students to complete their studies a year earlier, just like the express promotion system that was introduced previously.


In terms of budget ownership, he said a lump sum grant would be channelled to the schools at the beginning of each year and that they would have the full flexibility to spend as needed and were exempted from the ministry's centralised procurement system.

"Every school has its own budget, but with this status, they will be given additional funds and they can use the money as needed," he said, adding that the grant might be less than RM1 million but had not been fixed yet as this depended on the size of the SBT.

He also said management of staff at these schools would be based on meritocracy and not seniority, besides flexibility given for the paying of overtime and performance incentives.

"There will also be flexibility to re-assign under performing staff and delegation of functions based on academic and non-academic reasons," he said.

Muhyiddin said the SBTs would be appraised yearly based on their annual reports with the appropriate performance indicators and inspections by the ministry's officers in accordance to the revised Malaysian Education Quality Standard.

In relation to this, he said the SBTs would have to fullfil six criterias - attain academic excellence, produce outstanding students, win awards at the national and international level, community work and networking with other schools and higher learning institutions, both locally and internationally.

One of the roles the SBTs would have to play was having their teachers to act as mentors to teachers in other schools through the "immersion" programme involving principals, headmasters and teachers, he said.

Towards maintaing their status as SBTs, he said their strategic plans, management structure, academic and co-curriculum programmes should serve as benchmarks for other schools, locally and abroad.

Muhyiddin said that schools in rural areas could also be selected as SBTs if they fullfilled the criterias set.

"I know not all the 10,000 schools (in the country) can reach this status, but irrespective of whether they are urban or rural schools, they stand an equal chance to be accorded SBT status.

"But if the (rural) schools are constrained because they do not have the same facilities as their urban counterparts, we will speed up action to narrow the gap," he said. -- BERNAMA