The word "Science" comes from the Latin word scientia, meaning knowledge of the world around you. It is also a way of gathering knowledge.
Science is the systematic study of nature and how it affects us and the environment. Science is a human activity that has evolved as an intellectual tool to facilitate describing and ordering the environment; as a method, science is relatively stable and universally applied, while as a body of knowledge, it is constantly changing.
There are 3 major elements which involved the study of Science:
i. Attitudes
ii. Processes and Methods
iii. Products
Science is everywhere. For example, a nurse has to use Science to be able to measure and interpret the patient's blood pressure. As a police officer, the mechanism in his pistol enables the bullet to be fired.
-12.01.2012
Let's play safe
Before my science lessons started, I did not know that there were so many rules that is needed to be observed in the laboratory. Last time in my Primary school, I had very little chance to enter the laboratory as we had very few opportunities to conduct experiments. All that was done were simple experiments that can be easily done in class. If there were dangerous experiments involving things such as the Bunsen burner, the teacher would have done it personally, leaving the students no chance for a hands-on experience. Thus, I was unaware of all these laboratory rules when told. Seeing the dangers that lie ahead if I do not follow the rules, I felt afraid. I am quite of these accidents as we may get injured. I did my best to commit them to memory to ensure my safety and the safety of others in the laboratory.
The safety rules include:
- No running in the lab.
- Report any breakage or chemical spillage to the teacher immediately
- Always follow the teachers instructions and not do anything else by your own.
- Always wear safety goggles.
- Wipe away all water puddles and do not leave scrap paper around as this may be a fire hazard.
- DIspose all chemicals into the place specified by the teacher and not down the sink.
- Never enter the lab without a teacher's permission.
Drawing Scientist's Tools
I have also been introduced to some laboratory apparatus that I was unaware of before, such as the thistle funnel and the crucible. Back in Primary school, I was only introduced to simple apparatus such as the beaker and the measuring cylinder. I also learnt how to draw most of the apparatus. I tried drawing some apparatus at the beginning, but they do not look too nice. I took some practice before I could draw the apparatus well.
Using the Bunsen Burner
This is the part that I have looked most forward to when my Science lessons started. I have never really got a chance to use or even see it back in my Primary school. I was really nervous and excited about being able to use the Bunsen burner. Learning how to correctly operate the Bunsen burner was quite difficult. I had to learn to check that the rubber tubing was correctly connected before heating the Bunsen burner. I also have to be aware of dangers and how to face it. For example, when a strikeback occurs, I would have to turn off the burner immediately. Learning how to heat liquid in a beaker and liquid in a test-tube was quite easy. I managed to remember them very quickly. the most confusing part would be identifying the non-luminous flame and the luminous flame. I have always mixed up the characteristics of both flames. I have always mixed up that the non-luminous flame happens when the air-holes are closed while the luminous flame happens when the air-holes are open, which in fact, is the opposite.
The Scientific Method
Remembering the steps of the Scientific Method took me a while. However, I found it very useful when I had decided to do my Independent Studies Project based on the category "Experimental".
Observation, Question, Hypothesis, Method, Result, Conclusion. These six steps would help me for the rest of my time as a student. Maybe even adult, if I happen to choose my career as a scientist or a teacher.
Variables
Knowing the variables are very important to an experiment. Independent variables, Dependent variables, and the constant variable. Without these three variables, it is impossible to conduct a fair experiment. I would need to use these variables to conduct my experiment for my Independent Studies Project. Actually, variables are already introduced to me when I was still in my Primary school, however, it was just a brief introduction. Secondary school has provided me with a deeper understanding of variables.
Hazard Symbols
The one that has made me have the most interest in is the Hazard symbols. The symbols are very interesting. Some of them I have seen before, while others, I have just started to know about them. Nonetheless, I now know these few symbols. There are as follows:
1. Toxic
2. Radiation
3. Bio-hazard
4. Explosive
5. Flammable substance
6. Irritable
7. Corrosive
-12.01.2012
Graphing Skills
I have learnt graphing before back in my Primary school, but I have never heard of the best fit line or the best fit curve.
The best fit line is the best straight line drawn through the plotted points where they are as close to the line as possible, while the best fit curve is the best smooth curve drawn through the plotted points where they are as close to the line as possible.
Example of best fit line:
Example of best fit curve:
-16.04.2012
Prefixes for SI Units
When I was told that I needed to remember the prefixes for SI units for my next class test, I thought that it was very troublesome as there was a lot to remember. However, I still went forward to remember them as it would be tested. After remembering them, I realised that actually it was not too hard to remember them. I remembered them very quickly, in a few minutes. Prefixes are very useful as they can express physical quantities that are either very big or very small. Below are some prefixes and their values.
Prefixes Value
Tera 1 000 000 000 000
Giga 1 000 000 000
Mega 1 000 000
Kilo 1 000
deci 0.1
centi 0.01
milli 0.001
micro 0.000 001
nano 0.000 000 001
pico 0.000 000 000 001
Looks very complicated when you see them right? That is what I thought too, but when you try remembering them, it will be a piece of cake.
The part that I think is most difficult is learning how to convert the units. I did not really understand the steps at first, no matter how many times I heard the teacher's explanation. Honestly, I took until the second class test was about to be taken then I managed to be able to understand the method of converting the units.
Length Measurements
i) The Metre Rule:
* Can measure up to a maximum length of 1 metre.
* The smallest division is 1mm.
* Accuracy of this instrument is up to 0.5mm.
ii) Vernier Calipers
* Can measure lengths accurately up to 0.01cm.
* Comprises of 1 external calipers, 1 internal calipers and a tail for measuring depths.
* There are 2 scales present in the vernier calipers- the main scale and the vernier scale.
iii) Micrometer Screw Gauge
* Can measure lengths to accuracy up to 0.001cm.
* Has two scales: the main scale on the sleeve and the circular scale on the thimble.
Learning how to use the metre rule was very easy. All I had to do was to avoid parallax errors. As parallax errors have been taught in Primary school before, I know it very well and thus, I could learn how to use the metre rule easily. However, learning how to use the vernier calipers and the micrometer screw gauge was a little harder. Both of these instruments have a lot of parts for me to remember, such as the main scale, vernier scale, sleeve and thimble. These parts make it difficult for me to be able to learn how to use them quickly. There was also a new term introduced to me, "Zero error". However, I digested it quickly. Not too long after, I was able to check for zero errors in both the vernier calipers and the micrometer screw gauge. It still took me some time before I managed to learn how to use both instruments correctly.
Measuring Area
For this part, I had very little problem as I knew how to calculate most areas, such as:
Square= Length x Length
Rectangle= Length x Height
Triangle= 1/2 x Length x Height
Circle= (Pi x Radius) Squared
However, I am not very sure how to calculate the areas of irregular figures. I always get the questions for estimating an irregular figure wrong. Hopefully, after a lesson on that, I would be able to ace those types of questions in the future. Below is the method for calculating the area of irregular figures.
For irregular figures:
- Use estimation
- Divide the figure into small squares
- Area of each square has to be defined
- If more than half of the area of the square is occupied, it will be taken as part of the reading.
- If less than half of the area of the square is occupied, it will not be taken as part of the reading.
- The smaller the squares, the greater the accuracy.
Measuring Volume
I was taught that the measuring cylinder, Burette, Pipette, Measuring flasks can be used to measure volumes, and the most accurate one would be the Pipette. Once again, some of these instruments are new to me as I did not learn about it back in Primary school. I am glad that my knowledge about measuring has increased by a lot. I look forward to learn more about measuring.
Meniscus Reading
The concave meniscus reading did not post a threat to me as I have learnt about it in Primary school and have already tried read them several times. However, I was not told about the convex meniscus and how to read it. Nonetheless, I learnt how to read the convex meniscus quickly. As long as you get the method of reading the various meniscus right, you can never go wrong. Below is an example of a concave meniscus(A) and convex meniscus(B).
Time Measurements
Periods and Oscillations are new terms to me, but I also managed to learn it fast. Period is the time taken for 1 complete oscillation.
One complete oscillation would be from position C to A, then to B and back to C.
At first, when I saw the diagram of the Ticker Tape Timer and the explanation, I really did not know what is is about. However, after my teacher explained it to the class, I finally know how it works. Below is a picture of a Ticker Tape Timer.
-26.03.2012
Matter
I am back to Matter again after learning it in Primary school, but some additional information about Matter is taught in Secondary school. Additional information includes explaining the change of state in Matter using the Kinetic Particle Theory. It was quite hard at first trying to describe the change of Matter using the Kinetic Particle Theory as there is a lot to write. I have to use terms such as "roll and slide over one another" and "come together in a regular arrangement". It took me some time to remember these terms and to use them correctly in the questions regarding the Kinetic Particle Theory.
Kinetic Particle Theory
Besides the Kinetic Particle Theory, I learnt two other new terms, "Brownian Motion" and "Diffusion", which is the constant and random motion of small solid particles in fluids (liquids and gases) and the random movement of particles from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration respectively.
Elements, Compounds and Mixtures
This topic is the one that probably took me the longest to be able to fully understand it. In the beginning, I was very confused. I always mix these three terms up. The part that I disliked the most was trying to differentiate between the particles of an element and a compound. It took me all the way until the day before Term 3's class test to be able to differentiate them.
I understood the meaning of molecules very quickly. It was quite straight forward. I just needed to know that a molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by chemical bonds. Not very hard to remember, right?
-30.03.2012
Solutions and Suspensions
I think this part was quite manageable. I am introduced to new terms, such as "Solvent", "Solute", and "Solubility". Understanding these three terms are quite easy. However, the challenging ones would be terms such as "Homogeneous" and remembering the different types of solutions, such as, "Dilute", "Concentrated", and "Saturated". Perhaps this might be why I got the question in my test paper wrong regarding the type of solutions. I will try to improve in this area. Knowing the difference between Solution and Suspension was manageable too. The main difference is that a suspension is formed when the substance does not dissolve in the solvent or when the amount of substance present is over its solubility limit and a solution is formed when the substance dissolves fully in the solvent or when the amount of substance present is not over its solubility limit. They are basically opposites.
Separation Techniques
I did not face much of a problem for this topic. Every time when questions regarding Separation Techniques appear on the worksheets, I managed to answer them correctly. This topic is basically just remembering the different separation methods and to know when, why and how are these methods used. The methods that I needed to remember are these few:
1) Filtration
2) Crystallisation
3) Evaporation to dryness
4) Magnetic attraction
5) Distillation
6) Fractional distillation
7) Chromatography
Osmosis and Reverse Osmosis
I also learnt about Osmosis and Reverse osmosis. They are quite simple to understand. Basically, Osmosis is the solvent naturally moving from an area of low solute concentration, through a semi-permeable membrane, to an area of high solute concentration. On the other hand, in Reverse osmosis, pressure is applied on one side of the membrane, leaving behind the undesirable salt, virus and bacteria. Clean water is obtained from the other side of the membrane.
Did you know, Singapore's NEwater plant uses Reverse osmosis technology? That is how they get the clean water from the dirty water.
Cells
I am back to learning Cells again. Cells used to be my favourite topic back in Primary school. Cells are the basic unit of all living things. I was told of the different parts of the cells again, both the animal cell and the plant cell. The terms that are new to me in the animal cell and plant cell includes "Vacuoles" and "Chromosomes". Although I have heard of these terms before, I only have very little understanding of them. Now, I finally know what they mean. The other terms, such as "Cytoplasm", "Cellulose cell wall", "Chloroplast", "Nucleus" and "Cell membrane", were already taught in Primary school so I knew them quite well. Learning new parts of a cell are exciting, but they take quite some time to remember them and their correct spellings. Identifying the difference in the animal cell and the plant cell was not a problem. I have the list of all the difference and similarity of both cells drilled into my head. One of the cells that has sparked my interest most would be the red blood cell. They are flat and biconcave in shape so that they have a larger surface area for the rapid diffusion of gases. They contain haemoglobin which carries oxygen. What is special about red blood cells is that they have an absence of nucleus to be able to squeeze through narrow capillaries. Furthermore, I was told by my science teacher that there are still more parts of the cells that would be taught in my later years in Secondary and Junior College. I am really excited to find out which are the parts that I have not been taught of. Hope to learn more about cells next time!
Picture of red blood cells.
Effect of different types of solutions on living cells
I learnt about three new types of solutions. Hypotonic solution, Isotonic solution and Hypertonic solution. For animal cells, a hypotonic, isotonic and hypertonic solution would result in a lysed, normal and shriveled cell respectively. For plant cells, a hypotonic, isotonic and hypertonic solution would result in a Turgid (Normal), Flaccid and Plasmolyzed cell respectively. The animal cell prefers to be in isotonic solution while a plant cell prefers to be in a hypotonic solution.
-10.07.2012
Prefixes for SI Units
When I was told that I needed to remember the prefixes for SI units for my next class test, I thought that it was very troublesome as there was a lot to remember. However, I still went forward to remember them as it would be tested. After remembering them, I realised that actually it was not too hard to remember them. I remembered them very quickly, in a few minutes. Prefixes are very useful as they can express physical quantities that are either very big or very small. Below are some prefixes and their values.
Prefixes Value
Tera 1 000 000 000 000
Giga 1 000 000 000
Mega 1 000 000
Kilo 1 000
deci 0.1
centi 0.01
milli 0.001
micro 0.000 001
nano 0.000 000 001
pico 0.000 000 000 001
Looks very complicated when you see them right? That is what I thought too, but when you try remembering them, it will be a piece of cake.
The part that I think is most difficult is learning how to convert the units. I did not really understand the steps at first, no matter how many times I heard the teacher's explanation. Honestly, I took until the second class test was about to be taken then I managed to be able to understand the method of converting the units.
Length Measurements
i) The Metre Rule:
* Can measure up to a maximum length of 1 metre.
* The smallest division is 1mm.
* Accuracy of this instrument is up to 0.5mm.
ii) Vernier Calipers
* Can measure lengths accurately up to 0.01cm.
* Comprises of 1 external calipers, 1 internal calipers and a tail for measuring depths.
* There are 2 scales present in the vernier calipers- the main scale and the vernier scale.
iii) Micrometer Screw Gauge
* Can measure lengths to accuracy up to 0.001cm.
* Has two scales: the main scale on the sleeve and the circular scale on the thimble.
Learning how to use the metre rule was very easy. All I had to do was to avoid parallax errors. As parallax errors have been taught in Primary school before, I know it very well and thus, I could learn how to use the metre rule easily. However, learning how to use the vernier calipers and the micrometer screw gauge was a little harder. Both of these instruments have a lot of parts for me to remember, such as the main scale, vernier scale, sleeve and thimble. These parts make it difficult for me to be able to learn how to use them quickly. There was also a new term introduced to me, "Zero error". However, I digested it quickly. Not too long after, I was able to check for zero errors in both the vernier calipers and the micrometer screw gauge. It still took me some time before I managed to learn how to use both instruments correctly.
Measuring Area
For this part, I had very little problem as I knew how to calculate most areas, such as:
Square= Length x Length
Rectangle= Length x Height
Triangle= 1/2 x Length x Height
Circle= (Pi x Radius) Squared
However, I am not very sure how to calculate the areas of irregular figures. I always get the questions for estimating an irregular figure wrong. Hopefully, after a lesson on that, I would be able to ace those types of questions in the future. Below is the method for calculating the area of irregular figures.
For irregular figures:
- Use estimation
- Divide the figure into small squares
- Area of each square has to be defined
- If more than half of the area of the square is occupied, it will be taken as part of the reading.
- If less than half of the area of the square is occupied, it will not be taken as part of the reading.
- The smaller the squares, the greater the accuracy.
Measuring Volume
I was taught that the measuring cylinder, Burette, Pipette, Measuring flasks can be used to measure volumes, and the most accurate one would be the Pipette. Once again, some of these instruments are new to me as I did not learn about it back in Primary school. I am glad that my knowledge about measuring has increased by a lot. I look forward to learn more about measuring.
Meniscus Reading
The concave meniscus reading did not post a threat to me as I have learnt about it in Primary school and have already tried read them several times. However, I was not told about the convex meniscus and how to read it. Nonetheless, I learnt how to read the convex meniscus quickly. As long as you get the method of reading the various meniscus right, you can never go wrong. Below is an example of a concave meniscus(A) and convex meniscus(B).
Time Measurements
Periods and Oscillations are new terms to me, but I also managed to learn it fast. Period is the time taken for 1 complete oscillation.
One complete oscillation would be from position C to A, then to B and back to C.
At first, when I saw the diagram of the Ticker Tape Timer and the explanation, I really did not know what is is about. However, after my teacher explained it to the class, I finally know how it works. Below is a picture of a Ticker Tape Timer.
-26.03.2012
Matter
I am back to Matter again after learning it in Primary school, but some additional information about Matter is taught in Secondary school. Additional information includes explaining the change of state in Matter using the Kinetic Particle Theory. It was quite hard at first trying to describe the change of Matter using the Kinetic Particle Theory as there is a lot to write. I have to use terms such as "roll and slide over one another" and "come together in a regular arrangement". It took me some time to remember these terms and to use them correctly in the questions regarding the Kinetic Particle Theory.
Kinetic Particle Theory
Besides the Kinetic Particle Theory, I learnt two other new terms, "Brownian Motion" and "Diffusion", which is the constant and random motion of small solid particles in fluids (liquids and gases) and the random movement of particles from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration respectively.
Elements, Compounds and Mixtures
This topic is the one that probably took me the longest to be able to fully understand it. In the beginning, I was very confused. I always mix these three terms up. The part that I disliked the most was trying to differentiate between the particles of an element and a compound. It took me all the way until the day before Term 3's class test to be able to differentiate them.
I understood the meaning of molecules very quickly. It was quite straight forward. I just needed to know that a molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by chemical bonds. Not very hard to remember, right?
-30.03.2012
Solutions and Suspensions
I think this part was quite manageable. I am introduced to new terms, such as "Solvent", "Solute", and "Solubility". Understanding these three terms are quite easy. However, the challenging ones would be terms such as "Homogeneous" and remembering the different types of solutions, such as, "Dilute", "Concentrated", and "Saturated". Perhaps this might be why I got the question in my test paper wrong regarding the type of solutions. I will try to improve in this area. Knowing the difference between Solution and Suspension was manageable too. The main difference is that a suspension is formed when the substance does not dissolve in the solvent or when the amount of substance present is over its solubility limit and a solution is formed when the substance dissolves fully in the solvent or when the amount of substance present is not over its solubility limit. They are basically opposites.
Separation Techniques
I did not face much of a problem for this topic. Every time when questions regarding Separation Techniques appear on the worksheets, I managed to answer them correctly. This topic is basically just remembering the different separation methods and to know when, why and how are these methods used. The methods that I needed to remember are these few:
1) Filtration
2) Crystallisation
3) Evaporation to dryness
4) Magnetic attraction
5) Distillation
6) Fractional distillation
7) Chromatography
Osmosis and Reverse Osmosis
I also learnt about Osmosis and Reverse osmosis. They are quite simple to understand. Basically, Osmosis is the solvent naturally moving from an area of low solute concentration, through a semi-permeable membrane, to an area of high solute concentration. On the other hand, in Reverse osmosis, pressure is applied on one side of the membrane, leaving behind the undesirable salt, virus and bacteria. Clean water is obtained from the other side of the membrane.
Did you know, Singapore's NEwater plant uses Reverse osmosis technology? That is how they get the clean water from the dirty water.
Cells
I am back to learning Cells again. Cells used to be my favourite topic back in Primary school. Cells are the basic unit of all living things. I was told of the different parts of the cells again, both the animal cell and the plant cell. The terms that are new to me in the animal cell and plant cell includes "Vacuoles" and "Chromosomes". Although I have heard of these terms before, I only have very little understanding of them. Now, I finally know what they mean. The other terms, such as "Cytoplasm", "Cellulose cell wall", "Chloroplast", "Nucleus" and "Cell membrane", were already taught in Primary school so I knew them quite well. Learning new parts of a cell are exciting, but they take quite some time to remember them and their correct spellings. Identifying the difference in the animal cell and the plant cell was not a problem. I have the list of all the difference and similarity of both cells drilled into my head. One of the cells that has sparked my interest most would be the red blood cell. They are flat and biconcave in shape so that they have a larger surface area for the rapid diffusion of gases. They contain haemoglobin which carries oxygen. What is special about red blood cells is that they have an absence of nucleus to be able to squeeze through narrow capillaries. Furthermore, I was told by my science teacher that there are still more parts of the cells that would be taught in my later years in Secondary and Junior College. I am really excited to find out which are the parts that I have not been taught of. Hope to learn more about cells next time!
Effect of different types of solutions on living cells
I learnt about three new types of solutions. Hypotonic solution, Isotonic solution and Hypertonic solution. For animal cells, a hypotonic, isotonic and hypertonic solution would result in a lysed, normal and shriveled cell respectively. For plant cells, a hypotonic, isotonic and hypertonic solution would result in a Turgid (Normal), Flaccid and Plasmolyzed cell respectively. The animal cell prefers to be in isotonic solution while a plant cell prefers to be in a hypotonic solution.
-10.07.2012
No comments:
Post a Comment