How To Soar in PSLE - BTPS Way!!
Interact with complex questions / graphs / pictures to pick up valuable clues (don't highlight - just use your pen to underline words or scribble notes)
Start with Booklet A and do it meticulously with full focus - explore all 4 distractors before making final choice.
MANAGE your TIME - to score well, you need to try to finish ALL questions.
Specific answers = answers that are relevant to question.
When confused, choose any of the following strategies:
1. Ask, "What Science idea is being used in question?"
2. Pose other questions to clarify your thoughts
3. COMPARE to another set-up
4. COMPARE to a reverse situation
5. Connect to your knowledge in life (yes, you do have lots of prior / other knowledge)
6. Break down your answer in steps before crafting final answer.
Common problems with wrong answers:
*Answers are generic/vague and do not connect to that specific question
*Answers are not scientific and do not explain using Science ideas
*Answers do not make use of data provided when asked
*Answers did not make comparisons - use words like more/most etc..when asked
BTPS supports all P6 in achieving their PSLE GOALS!!
Extra Q1: Is sand really a good conductor of heat?
Please note that it is very important when discussing conductivity to analyse in comparison to what else.
Compare Sand to just Air:
Is Air a good conductor of heat compared to Sand? (Zoen asked)
Air is not a good conductor of heat - Syafiqah
Compare Sand to Metal:
Sand on the beach absorb the heat from the Sun - but if you dig deep inside beyond the upper layers of sand, you will find that the bottom layers remain cooler than the top layer.
Imagine (excellent strategy advocated by Yi Lin) layers of metal under the sun. What do you expect to happen?
Extra Q2: Is cooking time shorter or longer?Compare Cooking with Sand and Cooking without Sand - the answer will be clearer to You
The sand might be like a temperature control. If the chestnuts went straight into the wok on the fire, they moght get 'incinerated'. If there was a slow fire, the chestnuts might take a long time to roast. Chetsnuts can be cooked over a big fire without getting burnt thanks to the 'temperature control' - Timothy
Sand helps to bring the temperature gradually to the desired heat then keep heat constant so as not to dry up / overcook the nuts - Nicholas king
Compare Top layer to Bottom layer of chestnuts
Another reason might be that the chestnuts at the bottom of the vat might cook faster than the ones on top and end up overcooked - Benjamin
What could have happened then:
- Sand particles close the gaps between the chestnuts (Yu Ling)
- Sand will not let the heat be lost to the surrounding (Syafiqah)
- Smaller particles of Sand helped to retain heat whereas larger particles might cause heat to escape - Nicholas King
- When sand particles get heated up, they heat up the neighbours' - conduct/transfer heat to the chestnuts - Zoen
- So it seems that distributing heat evenly to the chestnuts is important just as keeping them warm while cooking them slowly.
Here are some of the answers:
(Relate to process of cooking and preservation connected to Science )
The purpose of cooking the jam is to kill bacteria in the cranberries - Si Jia
The canned food we have are also heated before being put into cans to be sent off to supermarkets - Ong Yan Quan
Foods are also preserved through other methods such as: Salting (eggs), pickling (vegetables) - Nicholas King
(Relate to Fungi and environment that are conducive to their growth)
The main reason for the fungi to grow inside is due to its exposure to either oxygen or warmth. Si Jia
The jam is also moist - Rae Ann
Fungi are Decomposers and they need warmth, air and moisture - Abraham
(Connect to other knowledge - finding plausible reasons using Science concepts)
My grandmother shared with me that one must also heat up the empty glass jar as there might be organisms living inside the jar itself - Yun Na
The 'machines' that were used to make the jam were not clean and could have contained spores - Benjamin
After the cap is open, air can go in and maybe fungi and bacteria went in - LiPing
Science Around Me (SAM)
SAM is a Science journal that allows pupils to express themselves in their favourite ways about Science.
SAM is another great opportunity for pupils to THINK and TALK Science in a medium that is customised to their learning styles.
SAM allows teachers to informally assess understanding of the child and clarify misconceptions in their learning.
When Ice Changes into Water by Goh Chee Yan - 5G
Do you wonder whether the mass of ice changes when it melts into water. Try this out:
1. Put a few ice cubes into a plastic bag
2. Tie the mouth of the bag tightly
3. Weigh the bag of ice cubes (if there is condensation outside the bag, wipe it dry before weighing)
4. Place the bag in the sun
5. When ice has melted, wipe the outside of the bag dry (refer to step 3)
6. Weigh the bag
You will discover that the mass of the bag remains the same!
There is no change in mass when ice melts!!
