Questions for Sec 2 MR (CA3)

Hi guys from 2-5 & 2-9,

Below are some questions posted by your peers and might be useful for revision if you need it. The newer questions at the top and the older ones at the bottom. Cheers! Hope mugging for Geo, Sci and Maths have been well over the weekend.

I don't understand chap 3 revision paper, qn4. (Ben 2-9)

For this questions, first you need to know what is the sequence of of the different settlements. the first type of settlement that is very common and can be found mostly everywhere is your villages.That is why they form the base of the pyramid, because in terms of absolute number of village settlements, there are many, but the size of the village settlement is small.

Next, when many small village settlements group together, they form a town, so that is why they form the middle part of the pyramid. There are not as much towns found as compared to villages BUT the size of a town as a settlement, is larger than that of a village settlement.

Lastly, many towns form your city, and that is why it is at the top of the pyramid. The number of cities is lesser than that of a town or village found in the world, but the size of a city is very much larger than that of a town and village.

For instance, Blk 451, Blk 452 of bishan street 22 forms your villages, together, they form Bishan Town, then, AMK town, Bishan Town, Pasir Ris Town, Telok Blangah Town etc, all the towns in Singapore form your Singapore City. There are many many blocks (villages) in Singapore, fewer number of Towns, and there is only one City (Singapore).

Hope this illustration helps.

Chapt 4 revision paper, qn 10,why the answer is D and not C? (Wei Yang 2-9)

A Water that floods the fields has been treated.
B More fertilisers have been added to the slopes as there is much soil erosion.
C The slopes have been flattened to allow crops to be grown.
D Steps have been cut into the slopes to create flat land.

Wei Yang, the picture shows a land which is not flat, probably a hill. It shows terraces, which mean, the original, sloped land has been cut into the step like terraces you see in the picture, thus answer has to be D and not C.The slopes are not flattened, if it is flattened, then you would not see steps at all.

Miss zheng, what do u call a pyramid that has bulging top, normal middle, and a thin bottom? (Yikai 2-5)

2-5 Wayne: inverted pyramid? (Yes it can be called an inverted-like pyramid)
But it really depends on what it looks like, so depends on what the diagram shows. If you really cannot decipher the shape, then I advise for you to describe the shape.

In chp 4 revision paper ques 9, why is 'B' the answer and not 'C'? And for ques 11, why is the answer 'A' and not 'C'? (Kang Qiao 2-5)

For Qn 9, answer is B, as inputs for wet rice is not as much as compared to C. First you eliminate the answers A & D as output per land area is low in this two but wet rice output per land area is high. So answer can only be B or C. But for C, it’s a better answer for high tech farming where inputs are very high (esp capital) & land area very small. B is a better answer as inputs are not as much as high tech farming and the land area is not as small as high tech farming, so B is a better answer to choose for Wet rice cultivation and I would say ans B is for High tech farming.

What’s the difference between factors and reasons.(Yuren 2-5)

Depends on the questions, they are quite similar. but factors in population u gt to think about BR, DR, Immigration rate, Emigration rate etc. reasons, tend to be longer answers and are elaborated.

What are some of the components of the human environment? I. %9The people occupying an area II. %9The movement of people or goods from one place to another using vehicles %9III. %9The growing of cr err in the 1st revision paper 2nd quetion, why is the answer C? shouldnt burning fossil fuels be also human activity? (Yi Kai 2-5)

COMPONENTS of Human environment. Still remember PSATC?Population, Settlement, Agriculture, Transport & Communication. So ans is C.
I. The people occupying an area (Settlement)
II. The movement of people or goods from one place to another using vehicles (Transport)
III. The growing of crops (Agriculture)
IV. The burning of fossil fuels (Human ACTIVITY not COMPONENT)

What is grid settlement? (Kang Qiao 2-5)

Grid settlement is more like how a town is being planned, like a grid. You need not know that , you just need to know only what is a dispersed, linear and nucleated settlement.

How are wet rice cultivated on hill sloped irrigated? (Kang Qiao 2-5)

Hills are cut into terraces, mud walls called bunds are built & then they are flooded in order to grow WET rice. They are irrigated like on normal flat land through irrigation canals built alongside the slope. natural rainfall can also flood the terraces.

May i ask why is it that for shifting cultivation, only small land is needed? And for plantation agriculture, are the felled trees burned?(Kang Qiao 2-5)

Small land is needed as shifting cultivation is for subsistence, but large forest land is cleared as it would be easier to clear a large land area first so that the family need not have to do the labourious work of having to clear again the next time they shift to a new area to grow crops. For plantation agriculture, yes, felled trees are burnt also for the reason as a source of fertilizer or nutrient. It also makes the work easier for plantation when burning is carried out as weeds, or competing plants will be rid off already.

Hey miss zheng, may i know how to explain for fluctuating trend? Like do u write increasing in a fluctuating trend? or decreasing? since fluctuating is up and down both? (Yikai 2-5)

Flunctuating trend, the characteristic is that it goes up and down. If the values overall goes up, you say fluctuating increasingly, though it is going up n dwn.unless its constant across, its just fluctuating up and down (no increasing or decreasing)

Questions asked for MR 2

How to describe the process of exfoliation in a shorter way?

There is no shorter way, look at Page 92 to know how to explain. The key concept is the repeated expansion and contraction and about these two forces being against each other resulting in uneven expansion or contraction which weaken the rock’s SURFACE LAYER. And as said in class, with water present, the surface layer will tend to crack more easily and break off in layers.

What is annual rainfall and temperature for polar climate?

Did you not listen in class for the worksheet I went through? And you cannot find the answer yourself?

Look at Page 146 of your textbook.

In general, polar climate experiences VERY low rainfall throughout the year and very low temperatures (below FREEZING POINT) for majority of the year.

Why are the most of the active volcanoes located at the pacific ring of fire?

Most active volcanoes are located at the pacific ring of fire as this is where the impact of movements is the greatest in the boundaries of the plates that are found around the pacific ring of fire as compared to other places.

Who might use satellite images?

Look at page 67 of textbook. Usually people who study changes in the environment, for instance, specifically the meteorologists who can use satellite images to forecast weather or warn people about dangers such as hurricanes. Environmental scientists who warn people about the impact of global warming through the study of the satellite images of ice cap melt in the north pole.

What is the meaning of fieldwork?

Look at page 8 of your textbook.

Fieldwork is work at first hand, which means gathering evidence directly from the environment rather than from books or other references/resources. For instance for your eco tourism project, you did fieldwork to gather information about the tropical rainforest by observing the tropical rainforests instead of reading off the information easily from the Internet.

What is the definition of transpiration?

Transpiration is the process where plants give out water vapour into the air through their leaves.

How to write numerical data?

What kind of numerical data you are talking about?

Look below for hints.

How to read tables:

1) Study the columns in the table carefully-the headings, the items, the units of measurements.

2) Look for extreme values in figures, example: the highest and lowest, largest and smallest, densest and least dense.

3) Look for any links or patterns/trends between the values and between the items and the values in the columns. Make general statements of what is observed.

4) Some questions would require you to read values directly form the table, others may require you to do simple calculations based on the values given in the table and others might require you to infer (decipher/interpret) from the given values.

Steps in reading line graph

1) Study the graph carefully and take note of the headings, the x-axis, the y axis and the units of measurements.

2) Note the values, example the highest and lowest values.

3) Observe the gradient of the line which indicates the rate of increase or decrease.

4) Note the relationship between the x-axix or y-axis.

5) Some questions might require you to read directly from the graph while others may require you to calculate or even infer from the given values.

Reading a bar graph

1) Study the information on the x-axis and the y-axis carefully.

2) Look at the distribution of the data , for example, the point with the highest or lowest value.

3) Take note of any changes that may have taken place in the data, example, the increase or decrease in that value.

4) Loof for any links you may find between the x-axis and the y-axis.

Reading Pie charts

1) Look at the pie chart or the legend on the pie chart to find the value of each item.

2) Locate the largest amount, followed by the next until the last amount which is the smallest.

3) Read the questions carefully and answer them, using the numbers (numerical data) correctly.

4) Some questions might require references to be made from the values givem.

Reading combination of data representations (e.g climograph-bar and line graph)

1) Study the information in each represntaiton closely using the skills you have acquired.

2) Look for relationships shown in each representation (e.g for climograph, mean annual rainfall or temperature, temperature range (highest temperature of the month and lowest temperature of the month)

3) Look for links between the representations ( High annual rainfall and temperature)

4) Analyze the links between the representations using prior knowledge you have about the links. (means most probably climograph is representing a tropical climate.)

Which is the hardest rock and why?

The hardest rock among the three types of rocks is the igneous rock. Igneous rock when they formed are formed where the crystals of the minerals grow closely together with no lines of weaknesses or air pockets that allow weathering agents to attack.

Whereas sedimentary rocks are usually layered (lines of weaknesses), moreover some sedimentary rocks are compacted together with different sediments of different sizes, there might be air pockets in between the rocks when they are in the process of cementing each other.

For metamorphic rock, some rocks are made up of sedimentary rocks (which already have lines of weaknesses), if they are made up of igneous rock, even though there is highly no lines of weaknesses as compared to sedimentary rock, but as the igneous rock undergo intense heat and pressure, it becomes weaker [think in terms of heat can melt the rock and pressure can cause the rock to form folds leading to cracks etc]. That is why among all three, igneous is usually the hardest.

Pushing causes fomation of mountians, then what does pushing ands sliding form?

You mean, what does pulling and sliding form?

Pushing can form mountains and volcanoes

Pulling can form new ocean floor, ocean ridges (e.g Mid Atlandtic Ridge)

Sliding tend to form faults (e.g San Andreas fault )

All of these, pull, push and slide can cause your earthquakes and all tend to happen at plate boundaries.

What is the difference between aerial and satellite photos?

Aerial photographs are taken above ground from an airplane or a tall building whereas satellite images are usually taken by instruments on board a satellite.

Aerial photographs show a bigger area than a landscape photograph, usually at a local or national scale, on the other hand, satellite images show a large area on the Earth's surface, usually at a regional or global scale.

Aerial photographs are usually used to help to estimate the size of a feature or an area, such as the area of a school whereas satellite photographs are usually helpful in studying the changes in the environment.

Answers all found in Pg 66-67 of textbook.

How is human environment formed?

A human environment is formed when a physical environment is changed as a result of human activities. For example, humans make changes to the living environment to suit one’s needs, using materials (natural resources, pg 21 in textbook) which humans can find in the physical environment for their own use (specific example: clearing forests and using the wood to build houses.)

What is the difference in the appearance for igneous and sedimentary rock?

The physical appearance of igneous rock is that it has a crystalline appearance, where some are coarse-grained or fine-grained whereas, for sedimentary rock, it is usually layered in appearance.

Explain time zone

Time zone is the zone/area in which a place/location experience a specific standard time. Each time zone represents 15 ° longitude or the distance the Earth rotates in one hour.

Is the GMT also the same as the IDL?

No. Greenwich Mean Time is the base time zone at 0° longitude (Pg 40 of textbook), whereas International Data Line is the 180° longitude that lies directly opposite the Greenwich Meridian 0° longitude. And GMT is not equal to Greenwich Meridian. GMT is the time zone found at the Greenwich Meridian (0° longitude)

How does the human environment affect the physical environment positively?
It is not the human environment per say that affect the physical environment, but more of humans changing the environment for their own use, be it having positive or negative effects.
Humans can affect physical environment positively for instance be re-forestation (replanting the forest) or re-growing the place that was once destroyed either naturally(through natural disasters) or through human activities.

Is there any distinct weaknesses of using between Satellite and landscape photos?
The main weakness of satellite photos are that they do not show physical or human features in great detail as compared to landscape photographs.

The main weakness for landscape photos is that a landscape photograph which are taken at ground level and covers only a SMA LL area whereas satellite photos takes photographs of a LARGE area on the Earth’s surface.

How to draw the cross profile of a mountain or hill?
See page 54 and 55 of text book, the height of the contour will coincide with the Y-axis of the graph below. And label the distinct features such as rounded summit, steep slope and a height of more than 600m for a mountain and the features seen for a hill if you draw a hill.

What is landscape photo limitaion?
See answer above
You can add on that as it covers a small area, it cannot help study changes in the environment on a global or regional scale.
Another limitation would be as compared to satellite images, landscape photographs are usually not taken in “real time” where images can be viewed within seconds after they have been taken.

Is plain a landform?
Yes, plain is a type of physical landform.

How are stalagmites and salactites formed?
You need not know the detailed process but you need to know that it is due to weathering and formed from action ofwater where acidic rainwater can dissolve limestone to form them and are usually found inside limestone caves. Action of water also formed landforms such as caves. For instance in Jenolan Caves in Australia, or what I have gone through in class, Har Long Bay in Vietnam or Guilin in China. All of which are limestone caves.

You need to know that stalagmite is the landform structure that is from the ground, whereas stalactites are landform structures from the ceiling.

Questions by students

Dear Gentlemen,

Below are questions asked by your schoolmates, you may look at them and see if they can also help you clarify some doubts.

I will update it constantly with any quesitons asked.

How are volcanoes formed? (Asked by Shawn, 1-5) [Chapter 8, answer in pg 84 of textbook]
1) Volcanoes are formed by the process of vulcanicity.
2) This usually happens when two plates collide with each other and where the denser plate will sink into the mantle and melt into magma due to the high temperatures.
3) The high temperatures also causes built up pressure of gases under the Earth's surface which leads to an eruption due to the release of this built up pressure of gases.
4) When the magma escapes to the Earth's surface through a single hole due to eruption, the cooler temperatures on the Earth's surface causes the lava to harden and solidify.
5) Overtime, with repeated eruptions, the hardened layers of lava results in a cone-shaped mountain called a volcano.

How do plates move? (Question in mini test and re-asked by Deon, 1-5) [Chapter8, answer explained in blog post and ink experiment video]

Plates lie/float on molten mantle.
Plates moves as the hightemperatures within the Earth surface causes the molten mantle to flow in certain directions due to convection currents.
Therefore, movements of the mantle cause the crustal plates that lie on it to move.

How are plateaux formed? (Question by Warren, 1-9) [Chapter 8, textbook pg 97]

1) Plateaux are formed by the process of vulcanicity.
2) This usually happens when there is a long crack or fault in the Earth's crust.
3) The high temperatures also causes built up pressure of gases under the Earth's surface which leads to an eruption due to the release of this built up pressure of gases.

4)Magma then escapes from a long crack or fault and spreads over a very large area, the cooler temperatures on the Earth's surface causes the lava to harden and solidify.

5) Overtime, with repeated eruptions, the hardened layers of lava results in a plateau.

*Process is the same as volcano, just that instead of a single hole vent, its a large LONG crack or fault.

Chapter 9: Rocks

Hi Gentlemen,

My apologies for the late post of videos on the Chapter 9. But as you prepare for your class test this Saturday, please go through the videos below if you still have any queries or aren't sure of some concepts.

Here's the video I showed you during class, when I wanted to introduce to you the three different rock types and the rock cycle. It's really a good visual re-cap of the whole chapter itself. You can watch the video until 1.24 minutes as after that it is not relevant, but more for general knowledge.

The next few videos are quite old videos but quite good in knowing in details the different rocks.

IGNEOUS ROCK

Here's a video that shows you how to identify igneous rocks..

SEDIMENTARY ROCK

Here's a video about the Grand Canyon and how it is made up of mainly sedimentary rock, for your interest. =)

METAMORPHIC ROCK

Finishing it off, is this rock cycle video I showed you in class, go through the animation and in your mind have the thought process of what the rock cycle is about.

This can be found at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/gsl/site/GSL/lang/en/page3892.html too.

EARTH HOUR and Fish & Co

Hi Gentlemen,

I thought I would do a bit of promotion for Fish & Co and their good cause.

If you still do not know, Earth Hour 2010 is going to happen this Saturday. Earth Hour was a movement started in Australia in 2007, where homes and business pledged to switch off their lights for 1 hour and and has ever since swept the whole world. The whole idea is about making a change in our habits to at least help Earth in whatever way we can.

No doubt, sometimes asking ourselves to be really clean and green can sometimes be difficult but something has to start somewhere, somehow. I think supporting Earth Hour is a good start. Imagine the whole world without lights for that 1 hour, on how much we can save on that amount of energy used to actually produce that light.

Below is the poster by Fish and Co.....

......and you can catch their catchy video to do our part for Earth here also.

Spread the word and get a $1 voucher where u can purchase their famed fish and chips for just $1!=)

If you want to know more about Earth Hour, go to their official website HERE!

Oh, want to your part to save a bit of energy? When you are googling for anything , use this search engine Blackle instead. Blackle is mainly google search engine just that instead of colour and white screen (it uses more electricity as compared to a black screen) it uses mainly a black screen and greys.

Be green spread the message!=)

Cheers,

Miss Zheng

Chapter 8: Animation of Plate Tectonics

Dear Gentlemen,

Click the link below and explore the website for different animations of the different processes taught in class already so as to better understand and visualize what is taught already. =)

http://whs.moodledo.co.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=972

Cheers,

Miss Zheng

Chapter 8: Vulcanicity and the landforms

Dear Gentlemen,

Below are the videos I went through with you (Class 1-9), Class 1-5, you can look through it as you read the textbook and do your notes.

How Volcanoes are formed (Vulcanicity)

The video above talks about how volcanoes form and this process of Vulcanicity is a very important geographical concept that you must know for Chapter 8. The video also talks about the Pacific Ring of Fire which is found in the Pacific Ocean area, please note that you must know how to highlight where the Pacific Ring of Fire is.

The next video below is about the different types of volcanoes that can be found, this is added knowledge that is not talked about in your textbook. The analogy I gave in Class 1-9 is honey and milk. Honey and milk are both liquids, but Honey is much thicker than milk. I gave the example in class that if I was to pour out honey and milk on the tables, which will flow faster, if you have eaten both liquids, your answer should be milk will faster. As such, since milk can flow faster, this would also mean that milk can go over a larger surface area on the table as compared to milk.

You all know that when magma reaches the Earth's surface, it becomes lava and it cools down when on the Earth's surface and hardens. So if milk can reach over a larger surface on the table, this would also mean that the surface area for it to be in contact with cooler air would be larger, so it will cool down much faster as compared to honey.

Different volcanoes are made up of different materials and magma that comes up to the earth's surface, some lava may be very thick or some very thin, so eventually it will form different kind of volcanoes. Read the notes on the Volcanoes, below there are the different types of volcanoes introduced, you will not be tested but it is for you general knowledge.

Remember for all that I have gone through, you must know the

1) the difference between magma and lava

2) where the most volcanic activity occurs (plate boundaries)

3) how does an eruption occur

4) different crustal plates, how to identify and label them.

5) The different internal processes that happen (PULL, PUSH, SLIDE)

6) The resultant landforms due to the internal processes

7) To draw and label a basic cross section of a volcano

8) How volcanoes are formed (To be able to describe)

9) The location of the Pacific Ring of Fire

Don't leave it to last minute to finish your work, do it NOW, and so that you can enjoy at the later parts of your holidays.

Cheers,

Miss Zheng

Chapter 8: Internal Structure and forces that create landforms

Dear Gentlemen,

Below are the videos I showed in class today to better let you visualize and know what are geographical concepts and ideas of this chapter. Do look through the videos again as revision and get a better understanding of the many new geographical concepts introduced.

Video on the Internal Structure of the Earth

Video on the Early Earth (The idea of supercontinent Pangaea, Laurasia and Gondwandaland)

Video on the concept of Plate Tectonics Theory, Continental Drift, plate boundaries(constructive & destructive) and the different internal forces (Push, Pull and Slide)

How convection currents work in the Continental Drift Theory (To cause plates to push, pull and slide with each other)

Eruption of Kilauea Volcano (In Hawaii, which is mentioned in the "How volcanoes form" video above, where hotspots were introduced and that volcanoes at hotspots form due to the loose rocks rising up from the core to the crust)

Remember to label the different plates on your notes and also know where fold mountains can be found on the world map!

Chapter 8: Will Krakatoa rock the world again?

Dear Gentlemen,

Especially for Class 1-5, I told you all about Krakatoa found in Indonesia and how it's explosiveness could be heard as far as Perth in Australia, also added that the amount of TNT/power that Krakatoa 13,000 times the power of the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima! This eruption caused change in weather where average global temperatures following the eruption fell by as much as 1.2 C, as the huge quantities of sulphur dioxide pumped into the atmosphere resulted in clouds that reflected a greater amount of incoming light from the sun. Also of course, destruction to not only humans but also the physical environment.

Just last year, there were speculation of Krakatoa stirring and threatening to erupt again. See excerpts of the online UK daily news and the pictures of Krakatoa taken from there.

Ominous glow: In 1883, more than 36,0000 people died when Krakatoa erupted - today, thousands more farmers live near the volcano

Risk: The smoking time-bomb is located on the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra

Ticking timebomb: Islanders thought they had avoided another disaster after things went quiet in 2008

Firestorm: In an awesome display of flaming lava and molten ash, Anak Krakatoa - the child of Krakatoa - reveals its latent power. In recent years, eruptions have steadily grown in intensity

Devil’s cauldron: Krakatoa’s eruptions draw in violent thunderstorms, adding to the air of menace

All photos from website,CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE

Data of sea level rise in pictorial form

Taken from here

Chapter 6:Photographs and the environment

Dear Gentlemen,

Just as we wrapped up Chapter 6 on photographs and how to interpret it, do visit the NASA website link (in case you do not know what NASA is, it's called National Aeronautics and Space Administration and it's set up in the U.S.A) here

Below are just some photos take from the website, it's really mainly photos about space and the Earth, which reminds us on ow we should protect Earth and appreciate the beauty it has to offer to us ...=)

Enjoy the weekend!

Cheers,

Miss Zheng

Chilean Earthquake Shifting the Earth Axis!!?

The diving tectonic plate at the epicenter of the magnitude 8.8 Chile earthquake Saturday helped to temporarily redistribute mass on Earth.

Dear Gentlemen,

Recently, the a 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck Chile and now scientists are saying that it has caused the axis(remember it's imaginary) to shift,causing the spin to be not as fast as before, resulting in shorter days...

Look at the video below to understand...

NASA explained that the key to the shift was due to the location of the Earthquake, with the fault slicing through Earth at a steeper angle, making "Chile fault more effective in moving earth's mass vertically and hence more effective in shifting Earth's figure axis.

You can click on NASA website to read and find out more.

Though devastating, it is really interesting on how what we were studied before and what we are studying now and in the future are really things happening around us NOW.

So remember that our actions and interactions with the environment is very important. =)

How a Handphone is recycled

Hi Gentlemen,

As what I posted in the previous two posts, I mention about the initiative the school is having in terms of recycling old handphones or accessories, do take time to see how our handphones can be actually recycled into different plastics, ceramics and metals that can be re-used for the production of other handphones or even other products (like gold used in your mum's jewellery =P )

So visit Nokia's website and learn more about it.

Cheers,
Miss Zheng

Sports and Geography =)

photos credit to : Notcot

Hi Gentlemen,

Just as we are studying about our environment and how we should care for our environment, also how there are interrelationships between humans and the environment, I just came across a smart advertising from the Nike, doing the Soccer Kit for the upcoming World Cup.

What caught my attention was Nike's attempt to be environmentally friendly in using recycled plastic bottles to come up with the Shirt in the kits they are selling. Awesome idea! See the pictures below! Quite an amazing advertising piece too =)

So in line with my previous post about recycling, do your part and remember to RECYLE your old handphones and accessories which cannot be used anymore!

RECYCLE YOUR OLD HANDPHONES IN CHS!

Dear Gentlemen

Do u have old rusty hps lying around your house? Well, here's something you can do to your "beyond revived" hp and the environment as well!

Your old mobile phones and other accessories can be broken down into recycled parts, and be used to make other objects.

A team from SAJC has collaborated with NOKIA to collect all spoilt hps and accessories from as many consumers as they can.

You can drop spoilt/rotten/beyond repaired hps and accessories in the huge green box with a Nokia Logo in the Secondary School General Office. The deadline is Friday, 1pm.

You can also pass it to me if you want! Spread the message to your family members and ask if they want to discard their unwanted handphones!

Do your bit, and save GAIA!!!!

Chapter 4 & 5-Map Skills

Hi guys,

Do go into the weblinks below to re-cap and reinforce certain concepts you have learnt for Chapter 4 and 5.

You can go through the lessons again and play the games to test your knowledge, you will find some parts very similar to your HBL =P Do try it!=)

Revision on map skills
http://mapzone.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/mapzone/PagesHomeworkHelp/mapability/

Games to test certain concepts
http://mapzone.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/mapzone/PagesHomeworkHelp/maptivity/

Cheers,
Miss Zheng

Interesting things about the solar system (Chapter 2)

Hi guys,

This is additional interesting information that you might want to look at if your interested in the science behind the solar system or other planets.It is not tested for mastery review, it is for additional knowledge =)

Video that shows about the birth of the Solar System

For further information of the solar system and the universe and its studies do check out NASA ("National Aeronautics and Space Administration" of USA) exploration web at http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/home/index.html

PLANET QUEST

This is a website by NASA for finding out if there is a possibility of another "Earth"

Go to Alien Safari to know of some of the extreme micro-organisms on Earth and how they help to indicate that there are similar life forms as these may exist in other planets with similar conditions in which they thrive in, suggesting possibility of other lifeforms thriving in other planets....

Cheers!

Miss Zheng

Chapter 2: Earth our Home

Hi guys,

Here's a little song about the different planets of the Solar system which might help you remember them more easily.

There were two major questions I posed in class:

1. What causes day and night?
2. Why are there seasons?

Remember that ROTATION of the Earth is the cause of day and night, whereas the REVOLUTION and the tilt of the axis of the Earth, causes the seasons in some countries.

Here's the video I showed in class about why there are seasons, do look through it for re-cap or revision purposes.

I also went onto emphasize on the big idea of this chapter is really to point out the fragility of Earth and our impact through our human activities on it. There is no need for you to know the nitty gritty details of the size or distance of the planets from the sun but more importantly, the solar system was introduced to you in this chapter to point you to a fact that only planet Earth has the capability to support the many awesome and amazing life forms as seen in this movie trailer, Earth

This is mainly due to certain characteristics that Earth has, which are:

1. Gravity
2. Atmosphere (having high percentage of oxygen and abundance of water)
3. Suitable Temperature (between zero degrees and one hundred degrees, links back to the earlier part about the solar system and how difference in temperatures are experienced differently in different parts of the world)

At the end of lesson today, I told you the importance of why Geography is taught to you in Secondary school, I challenged you of the small little things that you can do to help minimize the negative impact we humans are having on Earth. Be it switching off the light and fans when you leave the classroom or using less of material things we might have. I also asked you to consider what YOU would do as your generation is the one already receiving some of the effects of the older generations' actions, what will YOU do for YOUR future generation?

Look at this video and think if you are the LOST generation or are you NOT the lost generation.

Chapter 1: Why and How do we study Geography?

WHY do we study Geography?

This was a question posted to you gentlemen in class and some of you pointed out that because there is only ONE Earth and we should respect and look after it.

You also said that we are studying Geography now in Secondary school so that we can understand Earth better.

I also reminded you about what you learnt in the first lesson about this big concept about the interrelationship between humans and the environment and that Geography is one important subject that looks into that and we went through this diagram in class.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2009/03/

All of the above are about the knowledge that you can gain from studying Geography, I also pointed out the skills stated below that you would be learning which also be useful not only in Geography and also other subjects as well.

1. Ability to locate and acquire information
2. Using questioning techniques [Starter Questions Technique: 5 Wives (Who, What,Where, Wen Why and 1 Husband (How)] which look into cause and effects of an action.
3. And eventually for you to develop your critical thinking and decision making skills.

WAYS OF STUDYING GEOGRAPHY

There were three major ways introduced to you on how we can study Geography and they are:

1. Fieldwork (remember the simulation survey you did for Bookshop Auntie on the most popular pens that she should sell to Catholic High boys to improve her business)
2. Case studies (remember the flooding case study in Manila we did in class)
3. Media (Books, internet, newspapers, movies etc)