J2 Science (Term2, 2010) - Exam Tips

Tip 1 - 4 main diagrams for labelling. Make sure you know how to spell the terms correctly. Be careful with the diagrams above. Some of the labellings are different from your textbook.

Tip 2 - Know the definitions of the main terminologies. Following are the important ones.
a) excretory
b) photosynthesis
c) respiration
d) transpiration
e) asexual reproduction in plants

Tip 3 - Know what they consist of. Examples are as follow;
a) Blood is consist of blood corpuscles and blood plasma as blood corpuscles are consist of ...
b) Lymphatic system consists of ...
c) Blood in the renal artery consists of ...
d) Microorganisms consist ...
e) The vegetative organs of natural vegetative propagation consist of ...

Tip 4 - Know the functions.
a) erythrocyte, leucocyte, thrombocyte
b) functions of blood
c) 2 functions of kidney
d) 5 functions of skin
e) functions of the 5 different parts of the brains
f) functions of transpiration

Tip 5 - Know the differences
a) Between the 3 types of blood vessels
b) Between the brain and spinal cord
c) Between reflex arc and reflex action
d) Between the 4 main types of mircoorganisms
e) Between mitosis and meiosis and also amitosis
f) Between photosynthesis and respiration in plants
g) Between diffusion and osmosis

Tip 6 - Knowing the factors
a) The 3 factors that enable water to sip upward through xylem
b) Factors affecting transpiration

Tip 7 - Topical importance
Circulatory System
- know the structure of the heart, internally as well as externally
- know the composition of blood
- have basic understanding of blood group and the universality of certain type
- know the function of blood
- know the differences of the 3 types of blood vessel
- basic understanding of the lymphatic system

Excretory System
- know as much as the textbook has on the kidney
- know the functions of skin

Nervous System
- understand the diagram on pg 276
- know the parts of neurone and its functions
- know how neurone is classified
- know how brain is divided and their related function
- go through the test paper on nervous system for a good revision effort

Microorganisms
- know the basic of each type
- know their functions
- know their shapes
- basic understanding of the structure

Division of Cells
- The table in pg 187 pretty much conclude mitosis and meiosis
- basic understanding of the growth of plants especially the roots
- do not need to draw the flow diagram of nucleus splitting

Photosynthesis and Respiration in Plants
- their their definitions and differences
- know their processes and the needed conditions
- know how experiments are conducted to verify the processes
- know why some of the things are used in experiments like iodine, sodium hydroxide, beans instead of plants
- be familiar with the experiment in pg 194
- table in pg 199 is very important

Transportation and Transpiration in Plants
- make sure you know what is diffusion and osmosis and their differences
- be familiar with the structure of the transporting system in plants in particular the dicotyledon plants
- knowing the function of xylem and phloem
- knowing the forces in play that enable water to sip up the xylem from roots
- know the functions of transpirations
- know the factors affecting transpiration
- know the modifications of leaves to reduce transpiration

Reproduction in Plants
- focus only in asexual reproduction
- know how to differentiate the vegetative organs
- know the common artificial vegetative propagation methods
- understand the advantages and disadvantages of vegetative propagation

Biodiversity
- know how to classify vertebrates
- know how to classify flowering plants
- know the importance of biodiversity

This list of exam tips is quite exhaustive. Use it as a check list to ensure all needed knowledge are in your grey matter before you set foot into the exam room. Though the list looks long and a bit intimidating, it is actually quite basic. If you know most of what is in this list, you sure get flying colours on your science exam. If you have any question regarding J2 science, post it in my fb. I will answer from there.

J1 Math (Term 2, 2010) - Exam Tips

Things that you MUST know for this coming exam from each chapter are as follow;

Chapter 1:
a) Order of Operators
Solve brackets first, then multiplications and divisions and then additions and subtractions.
Redo Rev Ex 1j - pg 14 (Questions 1 to 16)
It will be very helpful if you can make use of Commutative Law (pg 7), Associative Law (pg 7) and Distributive Law (pg 9) to simplify your calculations.
b) Average
Redo Ex 1i - pg 14 (all questions)

Chapter 2:
a) Important Terminologies
You need to know what are odd and even, factors and multipliers and prime and composite numbers. Of these, the most important one is prime numbers. Try to memorise prime numbers until 100.
2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97, 101
b) H.C.F and L.C.M.
Must know how to find these. Also must know what to do with remainders. For H.C.F., minus the remainder from the numbers first before dividing. For L.C.M., divide first then add the remainder to L.C.M.
Redo Ex 2e - pg 24 (Questions with remainder) and Rev Ex 2f - pg 25 (Question 6)

Chapter 3:
a) Arithmetical Operations on Fractions
Similar to the order of operations in Chapter 1.
Redo Ex 3h - pg 44 (all questions)
b) Complex Fractions
When you are faced with these fractions, always solve the shortest dividing line first.
Redo Ex 3i - pg 47 (all questions)
* Redo Rev Ex 3k - pg 55 (Questions 1 - 15) for the overall strengthening of the needed conceptual skills.

Chapter 4:
a) Order of Operations on Decimal Numbers
This section is always mixed with other number types like + integers, - integers, fractions and percentages in arithmetical questions. As long as you do not mix up the order of operations as in Chapter 1, you will be okay.
b) Significant Figures and Standard Form (Scientific Notation)
Make sure you know what are these. Refer to pg 71 and 72 to refresh your memory.
Redo Ex 4h - pg 72, 73 (Questions 2, 3 and 4).
c) Metric System Conversion
Make sure you know how the conversions are done. These units normally are found in words problems. Do the following exercise for good revisions.
Redo Ex 4k - pg 82 (Question 1 to 9)

Chapter 5:
a) You must be able to change different number types into fractions and also the opposite way.
Redo Ex 5a - pg 87 (all questions)
b) Understand how to solve percentage change
Redo Ex 5c - pg 93 (Questions 1 to 10)
c) Percentage Profit and Loss
Redo Ex 5d - pg 96 (Question 1 to 7)
d) Discount and Commission
Redo Ex 5e - pg 99 (Question 1 to 5)
e) Simple Interest.
Remember two formulae, the I and Amount.
Redo Ex 5f - pg 103 (Questions 1 to 5

Chapter 6:
a) Arithmetical Order of Positive and Negative Numbers.
The order of Operations in Chapter 1 applies here as well. Be careful as you will need to solve the postive
and negative symbols first before the numbers.
Redo Ex 6i -pg 128 (all questions0 and Rev Ex gj - pg 128 (Questions 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8)
b) Index of the Positive and Negative Numbers
Redo Ex 6h - pg 126 (all questions)
c) Absolute Value
This is very easy but make sure to spot the sign correctly.
Redo Ex 6k - pg 130, 131 (Questions 2, 3, and 4)

Chapter 7:
a) Square Root Table
Must know how to use square root table to find square root numbers including those bigger than 99.99 and smaller than 1. Practice until you are sure.
Redo Ex 7f - pg 142 (Questions 13 to 28)
b) Cube Root
Memorise the following cube and cube root numbers.
1 cube = 1, 2 cube = 8, 3 cube = 27, 4 cube = 64, 5 cube = 125, 6 cube = 216, 7 cube = 343, 8 cube = 512, 9 cube = 729, 10 cube = 1000, 11 cube = 1331, 12 cube = 1728
Redo Ex 7g - pg 143 (all questions)
* Redo Rev Ex 7h - pg 145 (all questions) for good overall revision of this chapter.

Chapter 8:
a) Value of Algebraic Expression
If you can do the following exercises, you will be able to do the exam questions easily.
Redo Ex 8b - pg 151 (Questions 1 to 7)
b) Arithmetical Operations in Algebra
The Order of Operations is similar to Chapter 1. However, solve the + and - symbols first, then numbers (coefficient) and then the alphabets (variables).
Redo Ex 8e - pg 159 (all questions) and Rev Ex 8f - pg 160 (Questions 5, 6 and 7)
c) Algebraic Terminologies
Make sure you know what is constant, coefficient and variable.

If you go through the above exercises, the exam paper will not be difficult. Good luck and may peace be with you all. Should you have any questions on J1 Math, just post it on the Teacher Bobby page. I will answer from there.