Common Test Results

After days of gruelling non-stop marking, and data entry and processing, followed by compilation of statistics, the collated common test results are out!!

Overall, cohort wise, it was somewhat ....discouraging... to put it mildly.

For a straightforward paper with mostly fact and recall with some application and evaluation question.. we really expected better. I just feel sad.

Ah well I do have one good piece of news for myself and prolly some of my audience here...
.
.
.
.
.

errr no there is no moderation in view of world cup


The good news is, 3R is the top class amongst the whole cohort, in terms of class average score (mean subject grade or MSG).

See 3R, I did tell you in class that I was least worried about you and you all will mostly do fine yah? I was right! This is a tribute to your consistent efforts and great attitude...Most of the time I'm right about stuff.

So as an encouragement to others... it's not too late!! remember, building knowledge is like constructing a building. It takes effort, planning, deliberate action, and most of all consistent effort and time. You can't build a great piece of architecture overnight! The foundation must be laid, and usually that is the slow and ugly part. you cant see the building for a long long time. But once the foundation is laid carefully and firmly, through day after day and month after month of careful consistent effort, the rest of the building can spring up easily and quickly.

If the foundation is not laid properly, the whole building cannot stand and will collapse. And yoiu simply can't build a good or wondeful work or architecture if construction is done hastily. With hasty work, you just end up building a couple of shacks.

And so it is with learning. Learning is a daily affair, when you give thought, deliberation, and meticulous attention to what you are seeing and hearing- that builds foundation. Last minute mugging just doesnt cut it, you don't learn anything, but just have a hodge podge slum of desperately memorise snippets.

For some of you who've been trying hard, don't worry, maybe your building takes longer to materialize but keep at it; one day it will appear! You might want to check on the building plans tho...

So there seeya folks

perseverance

yo people, persevere for your common tests k, dun let the trauma of the previous papers get to you when you do the next few papers.

And yes, it shd be said that diamond _HAS_ a giant covalent structure. you can't say that it is a giant cov structure. cos it isnt. its simply a chemical element. which possesses said giant cov. structure get it?
*sigh* and its not right to say that I2 is a simple molecular lattice. It HAS a simple molecular STRUCTURE.

and i dun even wanna talk abt the abuse of because, therefores, hence, and thus.

In the past, exams used to have this phrase in the instructions: "Candidates are to note that marks will be awarded for proper/appropriate use of language in expression of answers."
which really is an euphemism for marks will be deducted for bad language. :)

ughh

i'm so dead.. the marking is killing me.. and so many students have such a poor ability to express themselves,.. its as if when they do science, their english gets thrown out of the window...

very often i see statements like "diamond is a giant molecular structure"

the answers written are at times are not structured in a logical fashion, or similar points are repeated, or lots of irrelevant points are written while key points are omitted... ( these are the trying to smoke the examiner/just whack type of answers)

this is such a trying time!

answers to alkane quiz

its CDCCADDBCC

How to study for exams.

After observing students' performance for tests, revision tests, remedials, and doing a postmortem with them for why, even those who worked hard and are smart, don't do very well in exams, i've concluded that they are not preparing well for exams.( for the revision tests, which are a lvl std, most are getting 40/80)

I should say they find find it difficult to bridge the gap between theoretical facts and application/evaluation/problem solving. This is because they do not understand the following principle: learning to prepare for exams is not about just mugging, its also acquiring problem solving skills. In devising solutions to problems, its not just sufficient to arrive at the "final answer". All key factors should be addressed, and given due consideration. Problem solving skills are not just useful in exams, they are useful in a whole lot of situations in life...

I think in fact singaporean students tend to treat exams as a... i dunno how to say, as a....unnatural animal. what i mean is that to them exams are just exams and somehow not related to problem solving in real life. this is at the same time true and not true.
Under the old A lvls/ and even o lvl exam system, many singaporean students have learnt, and teachers have also encouraged, a drill approach with a mindset of "memorising" without real understanding, answers to questions (problems). to them, they do not need to understand why/how the answer is crafted in particular fashion. Students, witha desire to feel secure and to do well, as well as teachers even, are equally guilty. They want to be able to simply regurgitate facts, to supply a direct and PREMADE answer to any question. so that they will never be wrong.And they just want the final answer. And if the marking scheme requires the working, then the working is also part of the "final answer" to be mugged for.

This is not the right mindset, to exams, and indeed to life. This is , to me, one of the major shortcomings of our system. To highlight what i mean, I've met graduates, and postgraduates, in the course of doing research work.

Now the nature of research work should be.. RESEARCH! that means dealing with the unknown. So skills like analysis, evaluation, generalising, deduction, induction all need to be used. Suppose we want to investigate a certain system, what do we do? well we hypothesize about how the system might be like. We compare with perhaps similar sorts of examples in nature that we already know something about. We take a similar experiemental protocol for those systems and modify them based on our hypothesis abt the current system we want to study. we conduct our experiments, and record data. based on the data collected from our system, we analyse and deduce the actual state and properties of the system as well as evaluate out modified protocol. make assessments, modify the protocol somemore,and try again. sounds very tiring and challenging yes? as well it should be.

The thing is, the typical singaporean graduate doesnt want that. they want a secure job, make enough money.. that sort of thing( so the mindset they bring to their school as kids, they also bring to their life as adults). and if the govt wants to make research one of the economic engines, then thats what they'd do. so i've met people who say, they are at a loss or don't want to create a their own/new experiment protocol. they don't want to read up and trawl the libaries, journals, an internet for similar examples/info where they can learn from and adapt solutions. They wish for a boss who would think the whole thing through and just give them instructions on what to do. They just want to be .. robots.. secure robots that is. (same as students who do practicals. they just want to follow the lab manual. they do not question, or understand even, why certain steps, apparatus, and reagents are used. to me.. thats like being robots. you dont need intelligence to follow instructions. you just need training.) I always feel a strong urge to tell these people, dude, you are in the wrong job. research means dealing with the unknown duh. In fact I like bosses that simply share with me ,a goal, a vision, and perhaps offer some advice and teaching in terms of experiential stuff like where to start, like look for info, and perhaps important factors to consider and pitfalls to avoid. and then after that leave me alone to figure out the answer.

Ok haha i digress...i should address some of the major components of info mgmt and problem solving(and adapted as exam technique) on the next post.

i have a fragile ego.

I came across the brochure for ballet under the stars and thought of suggesting that as a class outing, so i smsed this girl.. call her CL
me: hey lets go for ballet under the stars!
CL: what, you mean for class outing right?
(i was thinking like duh .. of course.. but i decided to play a prank so....)

me: no, its just you and me.

after a looong pause..

CL: HUH?? why me????....<--------at this point i was like.. waaah wat a response.. like she was called up for detention or punishment.. like the prospect of going out with me was torture!!! *sigh*

white slip for CL the next time she's late. hmph.

haha actually i just laughed my head off. :)

The Idea of God

I was just chilling this afternoon and as usual when i chill, my thoughts start to wander off ... and I started think, how come I can never be as pious as other christians.. or for that matter as pious as any other person is to his/her own religion?

but then, I've never been atheist or gnostic- i truly believe in and love God... so i figured, its because i really treasure the idea of having God. To me, if there is no God, no eternity, no karma, then perhaps life will seem more pointless( ala john lennon's "imagine").. like whats the point of doing anything? in the end it all becomes dust... and whats the point of planning, or trying hard, or being good? just eat, drink and be merry. So yep there must be a God. And of course i've experienced God in my life.. tho i won't go too much into that... anyway..

But I don't want to be too near to God... i think his holiness will burn me...

and when i look around at the immense suffering brought about by religious fanaticism( wars, genocide, injustice to women etc etc,) , i wonder.. is it worth it? and almost every religion/cult has been guilty of bringing about suffering. but maybe its not the religion itself.. but its the people in the religion... imperfect human beings thinking that they are acting in the infallible will of whichever God the believe in, but in fact they don't know better than any other human being .. or perhaps they are downright worse, manipulating others to think that they alone possess special knowledge of the divine.

I'm so unholy; men are so evil, how can anyone ever say that they can execute the will of God? I'd rather just cherish the Idea of God.

INTJ

Try this! http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

Your Type is INTJ
Introverted
Intuitive
Thinking
Judging
Strength of the preferences %
11
50
75
11

-----------------

To outsiders, INTJs may appear to project an aura of "definiteness", of self-confidence. This self-confidence, sometimes mistaken for simple arrogance by the less decisive, is actually of a very specific rather than a general nature; its source lies in the specialized knowledge systems that most INTJs start building at an early age. When it comes to their own areas of expertise -- and INTJs can have several -- they will be able to tell you almost immediately whether or not they can help you, and if so, how. INTJs know what they know, and perhaps still more importantly, they know what they don't know.
INTJs are perfectionists, with a seemingly endless capacity for improving upon anything that takes their interest. What prevents them from becoming chronically bogged down in this pursuit of perfection is the pragmatism so characteristic of the type: INTJs apply (often ruthlessly) the criterion "Does it work?" to everything from their own research efforts to the prevailing social norms. This in turn produces an unusual independence of mind, freeing the INTJ from the constraints of authority, convention, or sentiment for its own sake.
INTJs are known as the "Systems Builders" of the types, perhaps in part because they possess the unusual trait combination of imagination and reliability. Whatever system an INTJ happens to be working on is for them the equivalent of a moral cause to an INFJ; both perfectionism and disregard for authority may come into play, as INTJs can be unsparing of both themselves and the others on the project. Anyone considered to be "slacking," including superiors, will lose their respect -- and will generally be made aware of this; INTJs have also been known to take it upon themselves to implement critical decisions without consulting their supervisors or co-workers. On the other hand, they do tend to be scrupulous and even-handed about recognizing the individual contributions that have gone into a project, and have a gift for seizing opportunities which others might not even notice.
In the broadest terms, what INTJs "do" tends to be what they "know". Typical INTJ career choices are in the sciences and engineering, but they can be found wherever a combination of intellect and incisiveness are required (e.g., law, some areas of academia). INTJs can rise to management positions when they are willing to invest time in marketing their abilities as well as enhancing them, and (whether for the sake of ambition or the desire for privacy) many also find it useful to learn to simulate some degree of surface conformism in order to mask their inherent unconventionality.
Personal relationships, particularly romantic ones, can be the INTJ's Achilles heel. While they are capable of caring deeply for others (usually a select few), and are willing to spend a great deal of time and effort on a relationship, the knowledge and self-confidence that make them so successful in other areas can suddenly abandon or mislead them in interpersonal situations.
This happens in part because many INTJs do not readily grasp the social rituals; for instance, they tend to have little patience and less understanding of such things as small talk and flirtation (which most types consider half the fun of a relationship). To complicate matters, INTJs are usually extremely private people, and can often be naturally impassive as well, which makes them easy to misread and misunderstand. Perhaps the most fundamental problem, however, is that INTJs really want people to make sense. :-) This sometimes results in a peculiar naivete', paralleling that of many Fs -- only instead of expecting inexhaustible affection and empathy from a romantic relationship, the INTJ will expect inexhaustible reasonability and directness.
Probably the strongest INTJ assets in the interpersonal area are their intuitive abilities and their willingness to "work at" a relationship. Although as Ts they do not always have the kind of natural empathy that many Fs do, the Intuitive function can often act as a good substitute by synthesizing the probable meanings behind such things as tone of voice, turn of phrase, and facial expression. This ability can then be honed and directed by consistent, repeated efforts to understand and support those they care about, and those relationships which ultimately do become established with an INTJ tend to be characterized by their robustness, stability, and good communications.

formatting

i really need to figure out this litle formatting glitch.. its so irritating.. sometimes its centred, other times its left or right justified.. grrr

up-update

21 Jun Make up revision test @ SR10: 10am to 1pm(includes break and gg thru the paper)

the following people are going:

from 3H:Changxun Debbie Jheeva Samuel Charissa YYY, mie, lawry, kenny

from 3R: kelly, natasha, natalie, angie, melu,

from 3N: Joash, Ryan David, Gerald, CZQ, Charlene, laila, aisha, teresen kristel+ fren,

from 7B: Sherine

23 June consultations

1100-1200 terese and abby

1300-1400 yanheng and angela

1430-1530 jheeva

1530-1700 melu and nat

updates

16 Jun:
1130am: 7B: paul n chen zhen

21 Jun Make up revision test @ SR10: 10am to 1pm(includes break and gg thru the paper)

the following people are going:
from 3H:Changxun Debbie Jheeva Samuel Charissa YYY
from 3R: kelly, natasha, natalie
from 3N: Joash, Ryan David, Gerald, CZQ, Charlene, laila, aisha,
from 7B: Sherine

22 Jun
filming of SPA video!
Hey people! we are thnking of making a SPA video! the vid will teach you all about the next skill coming up for exams. in this way, all students will get the same teaching (as compared to different tutors coverring their own classes) maybe we'll make it downloadable.

The video will be hipper than hip, cooler than cool, hotter than hot and MTVisque. What I need is:
1; suggestions for soundtrack. must be exciting k. and no propella heads or moby ala matrix or james bondish stuff.
2: if any of you are skilled in videop editing, we welcome you to volunteer! you won't get paid, but this is your chance to impress us and earn major brownie points....

23 Jun
The End of the Holidays!
*sob*!!!

11am : 3N: Terese and Abby
1pm: Yanheng and Angela

Oh yes, on a separate note, 3N will be getting a new chem tutor! he's a nice and enthusiastic guy & ex rafflesian. so yep I'm sure they will be in capable hands. ...I will miss them and their antics

More notes! haha no not chem notes.. just random stuff.. mostly to do with music...I just bot the Snow Patrol's latest album "Eyes open"..limited edition CD + DVD




http://www.snowpatrol.com/music/albums.aspx?pid=36

buy original!

Recent movie i just watched: Cars!

Its really funny, and thoughtful, and meaningful.. did i say its really funny? Pixar animation really has great production values.. you should all catch it! In fact I think we should make a learning journey out of it...

Winning isnt everything.. its the relationships that you build that give meaning to your life.

.. On a note about learning journey though, I'd like to suggest to the students from 3H: lets go for Ballet Under The Stars!

Paradise Falling

Performed by Sngapore Dance Theatre (SDT) (personal note: they are good, i've seen them before)

Music: Blue as the Turqoise Night of Neyshabur

Performed by : Yo-Yo Ma

http://www.singaporedancetheatre.com/performance/buts.asp

21 July Friday evening

its 18$ per tic: but we can get 15% discount if we order more than 5 tics, plus we can get a TOTE board arts grant subsidy of up to 60%. meaning you guys only need to pay 25% of 18$ = 4.50$

wanna go?

Other performances worth going:

Coldplay: Twisted Logic concert, 10 Jul 2006, Singapore Indoor Stadium

SIngapore Lyric Opera: The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

14-17 July 2006

Check them out at www.sistic.com.sg

What an exciting July! Every1 should go watch something esp after the very very exciting common tests :)

Remedials, consultations, and revision tests

I'm posting this to consolidate whats taking place:

5 June:
Revision test 1 @LT2: A lot of absentees!!

Consultations:
3N: I was suppose to see some people for 3N, but they never turned up.
Darren & Hanxin: yes I know they are from 3N, but they made separate arrangements with me and I met them at about 1030 am
3H: Qingyuan was suppose to see me, but didnt bring his stuff, so I will see qingyuan on 19 Jun

12 June:
3H: some fellas were suppose to see me, but did not follow up and confirm, so cancelled.

14 June:
7B: 9 - 11 am @A21: arenes, and any other topics they might want-> chem bonding and organic chem
Paul Yap: needs to see me for consultation after that.

19 June:
Revision test 2 @LT2

21 June
Make up revision test @ SR10: 10am to 1pm(includes break and gg thru the paper)
the following people are going:
from 3H:Changxun Debbie Jheeva Samuel Charissa YYY
from 3R: nil
from 3N: Joash, Ryan David, Gerald (if more coming, please let me know!)
from 7B: nil

consultations
from 3R: Huanghuan, Melu and Nat at 2 pm

Thats what i have so far. I suspect that I've missed some out pls let me know!
And I'm suppose to meet Ryan from 3N but I don't have his contact. So Elizabeth if you are reading this please call him and get him to confirm with me. Thanks!

Anyone who wants to see me pls sign up via sms or email thx.

K i just came back from a short trip to phuket... now my skin's burnt and peeling.. ugh.
And on an interesting note, some fellas in ACJC have come up with a CLUBBING CIP! its so innovative!

check this out:
http://www.knowideas.com.sg/thehighlife/

Answer to a question

some anon tagged a question and i tagged the answers. but i figure i better post this, since its like a FAQ.

here goes:
anon: erm.. just wondering why OH is activating and Cl is deactivating when O is more electro-ve than Cl.

me: oh.. i mentioned it in the notes, the O atom is able to donate its lone pair to the benzene ring readily; the O atom does this(donation of LP) to a much greater extent compared to the Cl atom

but here's more

The donation( or delocalisation) of the lone pair to the benzne ring is the resonance effect
This is different from the shifting of electron density due to electronegativity differences, which is called the inductive effect.
In the case of the OH grp and the Cl grp attached to the benzene ring, you realise that the resonance effect and inductive effect are working antagonistically.
;(resonance effect means that the O and Cl atom donates electrons to the benzene ring, inductive effect means that they withdraw electron density from the ring)

its helpful if u realise that the O atom has a similar size to the C atom, so orbital overlap and electron delocalisation is an easy affair. IE, resonance effect for the O atom is very strong.

for the Cl atom, its much bigger, and so delocalisation of its LP to the C atoms in the benzene ring takes place to a much lesser extent

so in conclusion, the resonance effect for the O atom outweighs the inductive effect. The OH group is an activating group on the benzene ring.
whereas for the Cl atom, the inductive effect outweighs the resonance effect, so the Cl atom is deactivating on the benzene ring.

New Notes!

Heh anybody out there miss my notes? well here's something new...

I've made a set of notes discussing why substituents are activating or deactivating, and why the substituents are 2,4,6 or 3,5 directing

Click here!

you can also get the link from my notes homepage.

Oh yes, Please note that for deduction questions, writing line by line (as per my alkene supplementary deduction question) or in table form ( as per arenes tutorial Q5) are both alright.

But really, writing in table format is much nicer. Also something thats not been emphasized is that to do deduction questions, identifying the type of reaction is useful and important. I'll come back to that another time, maybe in another set of notes..

Meanwhile, its the holidays!! yay!!!!! actually i'm half in holiday mood. But like you all, I have lotsa work to do during the hols too. so plan your holidays well, and so that you can have fun, relax, and yet get the proper amt of work done.

have a good holiday people!

One moment in time

I was just cataloging my song collection, when i came upon this dusty old song... I've almost completely forgotten about it, but the moment i heard it, I had to listen closely again.

Its a really beautiful song, and its super super inspirational, in term of both lyrics and the melody and voice.. You can find this song moving you, whatever station in life you are at. The youngsters out there may not have heard it before.. what a pity. I will post the lyrics here, but you gotta hear the song itself.. nobody does this like whitney houston. Read the lyrics!!!

One Moment in Time - Whitney Houston

Each day I live
I want to be
A day to give
The best of me
I'm only one
But not alone
My finest day
Is yet unknown

I broke my heart
Fought every gain
To taste the sweet
I face the pain
I rise and fall
Yet through it all
This much remains

I want one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will feel
I will feel eternity

I've lived to be
The very best
I want it all
No time for less
I've laid the plans
Now lay the chance
Here in my hands

Give me one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will feel
I will feel eternity

You're a winner for a lifetime
If you seize that one moment in time
Make it shine

Give me one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will be
I will be
I will be free
I will be
I will be free

chilling..

heh chilling out after a long day of work again.. today ran the perfume workshop for JC2s this time round.. so closed shop at about 630pm.. its been almost a non stop 11 hr work day!

so anyways here's something chlling
happy tree friends!
funny if you like violent cartoons :P

Revision test make-up

Forthose who cannot make it to revision tests, I will conduct a make up on 21st June wednesday
9 am. venue to be cfmed.

I will do test 1 and 2 back to back.

now i think there was screw up in the database,; it got corrupted or sth so the shortlisted names are all wrong.

So if you did well in lecture test 1 and got shortlisted, you may elect to skip. but pls let me know

And if you did poorly but was not called down, my advice is, for your own sake, go.

Consultations

Dear students, I will make myself available for consultations during the june hols, for your benefit. Make sure you devise a revision plan and do your studying first. Then you can accumulate ur doubts/problems/ questions that you tried to solve but cannot do it easily.

Take the initiative to make arrangements to see me via sms, and we can work out a schedule k?

another thing about sms-ing me. Pls remember to greet me! and to identify yourself.

Also for those of you who do not understand what i'm going through in class, if so at anytime, please raise your doubts.

Another thing you will realise that the tutorials will also be more beneficial to you if u read up before coming in, since i'm more likely to focus on analysis, problem solving, and techniques, rather than go through facts covered in the notes or lectures.

I really hope that we can bring out the best thats in you.

bonding II

I'm so sorry, I was wrong abt the Mm-Sr bond. apparently its just an ion-dipole interaction...

tee hee.

but on a serious note I do love the 28 atoms...

and also to all students out there, I'm sorry if i've snapped at you recently.. i've been having a bout of insomnia and so i'm tired and impatient... that plus my bad traits = grumpy teacher.
still thats not an excuse i know.. so yes i apologise.

but in the same breath, i wish to say there are some students i'm worried about, and that's probably the reason why I'd grill them or get really ..upset with....

like for eg sometimes i ask simple recall questions with super obvious answers, and give hints, and every other student in the class has got the answer except for that one or two student.
... will resolve to find out from them whats bugging them..
for some maybe chem is not their thing, so we will need to persevere, but there are some who are not trying.. not reading notes even (so cannot answer recall questions) what should i do? punish and discipline(breeds resentment)? counsel(may fall on deaf ears)?

><

Poetry

I think i've gone mad
can you tell, what I'm writing?
Japanese haiku!