Tuesday 28 December 2021

An Extraordinary Husband-Wife Combination

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_Sauer

I have posted a few stories of extraordinary people that we can use for motivation in our daily lives as teachers. It is perhaps time to do so again, and this time around, I thought that we must highlight the life of Joachim Sauer, one of the world's most prominent quantum and computational chemistry researchers, who received his first doctorate in chemistry (Dr. rer. nat.) from Humboldt University in Berlin at the age of 25 in 1974.

Who is Joachim Sauer? He is the husband of Angela Merkel, of whom we have heard a lot recently when she stepped down as the first female chancellor of Germany. She served as chancellor from 2005 until recently.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Merkel#Education_and_scientific_career

Everybody knows her as a formidable politician. However, you might find it interesting, in case you do not know it, that she speaks Russian fluently, and that she also holds a doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.) in quantum chemistry, which she received in 1986, a few years before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Before entering politics, she worked as a researcher and published several papers.

Back to Joachim Sauer. In 2019, the American Chemical Society (ACS) published an article about this extraordinary man. This article highlights a few things that we as teachers can use to make sure we do the best in our Physical Science classes. Please read the article of the ACS (I have highlighted a few sentences for you) and notice how Prof. Sauer referred to the role of "teachers" in his life:
  • Somebody that exposed him to practical work
  • Somebody that made sure he took part in Chemistry Olympiads.
  • The role of an inspiring teacher.
  • A teacher that was interesting.

Scoop up these noble qualities and become such a teacher in 2022. Inspire your learners, teach them to develop their abilities as much as possible, do practical work, and expose them to the best possible opportunities.

The link to the original article of the ACS is here. The pdf copy in which I have underlined a few sentences is available here. Apart from that, work through some of the Chemistry info to develop an appreciation for the talents some people have. There is a lot of further information available on the internet.

I trust this means something to my readers!

Sunday 28 November 2021

A Jewel from Einstein

I discovered this jewel on the Facebook page of Wonderful Engineering. What a lesson! 







One day Albert Einstein wrote on the board:
 9 x 1  = 9
 9 x  2 = 18
 9 x  3 = 27
 9 x  4 = 36
 9 x  5 = 45
 9 x  6 = 54
 9 x  7 = 63
 9 x  8 = 72
 9 x  9 = 81
 9 x 10 = 91

The chaos started suddenly in the hall because Einstein made a mistake.  Correct answer 9 × 10 = 90. And all his students ridiculed him.

Einstein waited for everyone to be silent and said: "Despite the fact that I analyzed nine problems correctly, no one congratulated me. But when I made one mistake, everyone started laughing. This means that even if a person is successful, society will notice his slightest mistake. And they'll like that. So don't let criticism destroy your dreams. The only person who never makes a mistake is someone who does nothing."

Thursday 11 November 2021

Best Wishes: Grade 12

On behalf of the Free State Department of Education and the full team of subject advisers, we want to wish our grade 12 learners and their teachers all of the best with their final preparations for their examinations tomorrow, 12 November, and Monday, 15 November 2021.

Stay calm, prepare well, and do your utmost best!

Exerce Perfectioni

Monday 8 November 2021

Broadcasts with Exam Tips for Grade 12

This week, on 9 & 12 November, there will be broadcasts with examinations tips for our grade 12 learners. It goes out via the community radio stations, but also via the Free State Digital Learning Facebook channel in which video/presentations will be available.

We want to motivate our learners to use these last support sessions to pick up as many as possible good tips.

Here are the time slots for the 9th:




Here are the time slots for the 12th:


Thursday 4 November 2021

Vacancy Lists for Office-based and Institution-based Posts

Vacancy lists in the Free State Department of Education have recently been published.

Cancellation of IBP broadcasts (Update)

 All IBP broadcasts for the rest of 2021 are unfortunately cancelled.

Virtual memo discussions for grades 11 and 10 are now planned for Physical Sciences. The same time slots will be used as those that have been arranged for the IBP memo discussions. 

Virtual memo discussions were arranged for Technical Sciences from scratch. 

Tuesday 2 November 2021

Cancellation of IBP broadcasts

The IBP broadcasts of this week have unfortunately been cancelled for some reason. Please note that it affects our broadcasts for Physical and Technical Sciences on 3 and 5 November. Teachers must please inform their grade 12 learners.

We will keep you updated about the broadcasts from next week onwards.    

Thursday 28 October 2021

FutureMe Resources

Here is a short invitation from Jodee Sylvester from FutureMe.

Good day Educator(s) ✨

Hope you are well.

For the next 2 months we’ll be shining a light on the world of science, tech, and design. Your learners can join @futuremeza on Instagram Live every Thursday at 5 o’clock, when we’ll be exploring career paths and tackling workplace skills with industry experts.

Attached is a schedule (click here to access it) of all the upcoming IG Live events, please share with your learners if possible.

Learners can also participate in the Journey of Self-Discovery (Free personality & MB10 Interest assessments and they will get a custom STEAM career booklet each)…Link on the flyer!

We are aware that it’s examination time, and we want to wish you and your learners all the best! 🌟

Kind Regards,
Jodee Sylvester

Monday 25 October 2021

Dr Angela is helping!

Do not miss this opportunity! Dr Angela Stott can help you. 


Here is her message.

Matric Physical Sciences: 😵‍💫 Remember last year's difficult Work, Energy, Power question? 😖

👩🏻‍🏫 Explained here for you and used as an opportunity to clarify concepts about Force, Work, Energy and Power, the Work-energy theorem, and the 🔄 relationships between these concepts.🧩

1️⃣: Types of force, Kinetic energy, Work done by non-conservative forces: https://youtu.be/2oiHSzSsPzE

 2️⃣: Power calculation with Force focus: https://youtu.be/YLG46X2R6OY

 3️⃣: Power calculation with Energy focus: https://youtu.be/2zGQXH7ILrs

Full P1 PS matric exam prep playlist:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWQ2SVe978FxRCqBZ2now_HHXBIWfUr7W

Full P2 matric P2 PS matric exam prep playlist:

Thank you for helping our learners, Dr Stott.
Click here to read another post about support by Dr Stott.

Wednesday 20 October 2021

IBP Broadcasts for Term Four

The final IBP broadcast schedule for term four is available by clicking here to download a PDF file. The dates on which Physical Sciences and Technical Sciences will take place are highlighted in yellow.

Except for memo discussions, these broadcasts are focused on helping learners. So learners, check which topics will be available and scoop up the gold to capacitate yourself. After the live broadcasts, the videos are available on the YouTube channel of FS-IBP Online.

Thursday 14 October 2021

Woza Matrics and Tswelopele: Don't Forget to Use

Learners in grades 10 to 12 should not forget about these resources to help them with their preparation for examinations.

Tswelopele
Tswelopele has resources for grades 10 to 12
(in fact from grade R).


Click here to download this flyer. In the flyer are links to click to go further.









Woza Matrics


Click here to download this flyer. In the flyer are links to click to go further.


A previous post about Woza Matrics is available here. From there follow links to older posts for more information.






*** Enjoy and all our best wishes! ***

Tuesday 12 October 2021

Community Radio Station Broadcasts for Grade 12

The community radio stations in the Free State will once again broadcast programmes to support our grade 12 learners with their examination preparation. This information appeared on this site for the first time on 5 October. Please note that the second broadcast slot has changed since 5 October. For Physical and Technical Sciences, the dates and broadcast slots are now as follows:



Learners, ensure you listen to these valuable hints, tips, etc.

The stations involved are: Rock FM, CUT FM, Metsimahole FM, Motheo FM, Setsoto FM, QwaQwa Radio, Mosupatsela FM & Dihlabeng FM.

The complete schedule for all subjects is available here.

*** Update ***
These broadcasts will also be streamed on the Free State Digital Learning Facebook platform.

We thank all the presenters for their time in doing this.

Tuesday 5 October 2021

Wednesday 29 September 2021

Grade 12 Physical Sciences: Preparation for the Chemistry Examination (P2)

Dr Angela Stott provides an excellent opportunity for you to prepare for the Chemistry examination. Note that it is free for the first 250 registrations.

Click here to register.

Tuesday 28 September 2021

Updated: NSC Timetable 2021 (Amended on 15 Sep)


The updated NSC timetable, due to the elections of 1 November 2021, is available here. DBE circular E28 was released in the meantime with a few amendments.

Sunday 26 September 2021

I cannot find my file...; I have not received that email ...


The Verge (theverge.com) recently published an interesting article about the increasing phenomenon that people cannot find their information on their computers, tablets, smartphones, etc. The concept of a "file structure" apparently become unfamiliar to a large percentage of computer users. It also has a message for teachers. Click here to read the original article, or click here to read a pdf copy.

Wednesday 8 September 2021

Quantitative Error Analysis: July 2021 for Grade 12

The responses for the above-mentioned examinations will be available in due course. A permanent link to the data is available under "Pages" on the left of the home page. You can also access the responses by clicking here.

The data is for the provincial common examinations for grade 12 only. Schools have used their own question papers in grades 11 and 10.

There are different tabs in the spreadsheets. Apart from the data itself, which can be filtered, graphs are also available.

Monday 16 August 2021

WOZA Matrics TV Schedule of August and September

Click here to view/download this schedule for extra support in Physical Sciences and other subjects.

Previous posts about WOZA Matrics are available here (first one) and here for an update on the first post.

Best wishes to our grade 12 learners. Increase the intensity of your preparations.

Thursday 12 August 2021

WOZA Matics Is Better Than Ever! (Update)

On 18 July, information about WOZA matrics was posted. Click here to go to that post and from there follow further links to resources.

This post is about a circular from the DDG about the monitoring of remote and digital learning. Teachers, learners, parents and other stakeholders in education should familiarise themselves with the contents of the circular Click here to access the circular.

*** Use the opportunity and info to do better! ***
*** There are resources out there! ***

Wednesday 4 August 2021

Physical Sciences P2 Gr 12 July 2021: Additions/Corrections/Clarifications to the marking guideline

Free State teachers - the YouTube video with the memo discussion is still available. Use the same link as for the live broadcast. You can still access it.

The following notes may help further. These are aspects for which enquiries were received after the memo discussion or where we want to give a bit more info to you.

Look at this post frequently for the next day or two until your marking is finished. New information will appear at the top.

Q5.2.6(c)
The corrected diagram is:






Physical Sciences P1 Gr 12 July 2021: Additions/Corrections/Clarifications to the marking guideline

Free State teachers - the YouTube video with the memo discussion is still available. Use the same link as for the live broadcast. You can still access it.

The following notes may help further. These are aspects for which enquiries were received after the memo discussion or where we want to give a bit more info to you.

Look at this post frequently for the next day or two until your marking is finished. New information will appear at the top.

****** New Info******
Click here for further info on questions:
2.2.2
4.1.4
4.1.5
6.2.2
7.2.3
7.2.4
******oOo******

Q3.1.1
Some learners write down "9,8" or "-9,8" (unit is optional) without saying upward or downward. Apply the following rule in this case:
  • If a learner indicates that he/she is taking down as negative, "-9,8" is worth two marks.
  • If a learner indicates that he/she is taking down as positive, "9,8" is worth two marks.
  • Without indicating what is taken as negative or positive, "-9,8" or "9,8" is only one mark; referring to the value. The direction mark is then lost.
It is so good this question was asked. It highlights the following important aspects. 
  • Learners must know that a positive or negative is meaningless without an indication of what is chosen as the positive or negative direction. 
  • Gravitational acceleration (g) is ALWAYS directed to the centre of the earth (we normally say downwards). 
  • So, if downwards is chosen as negative, g = -9,8 m.s^-2. On its own, the negative is meaningless.
  • The same is valid for choosing positive downward. Then one can say g = +9,8 m.s^-2. Once again, on its own the positive is meaningless.
  •  Be careful of textbooks that say, for example, the 9,8 is negative for an object moving upwards, and positive for an object moving downwards, or vice versa. That is simply incorrect and unscientific. It could only be correct if the accompanying choice for direction is also given.
I hope this helps to emphasise a very important aspect.

Q6.1.1
You may accept "move away" as an answer. The question does not require an answer in terms of wavelength specifically.

Monday 2 August 2021

Nasional Science Week 2021

This year's National Science Week (NSW) will be an online event from 1 to 7 August 2021. 

The Department of Science and Innovation (DTI) organises the NSW, and this year's theme is "Making it possible through science". Webinars, virtual exhibitions, documentaries, radio interviews, social media, etc. will all be carriers of the NSW message.

Click here to download the programme, with the links to the events.

Tuesday 27 July 2021

Sunday 18 July 2021

WOZA Matrics Is Better Than Ever!



Lots of support for our grade 12 learners to help them to prepare for their examinations.

Click here to download the flyer and follow links from there.

Friday 16 July 2021

Reflections on the Teaching of Dependent and Independent Variables

Do you plot velocity on the y-axis and time on the x-axis of a graph for a velocity-time relationship or the other way round, and why? What about the relationship between pressure and volume of an enclosed gas? Which one of pressure or volume should be on the y-axis of a graph?

Many learners struggle to distinguish between dependent and independent variables. An interesting article appeared on https://partnersindataliteracy.com/ in 2019 about this question. The discussion about the causal/non-causal relationship between variables is very useful. Click here to read the original article, or click here to read a pdf version.

Thursday 15 July 2021

Content Support for Afrikaans Speaking Learners


On 20 and 22 July, live classes by Die Wolkskool will be available free of charge to our Afrikaans speaking learners. It will focus on electric circuits. This is an opportunity to understand this topic better. 

Learners who are interested must be registered by 19 July. Click this link for more information. Note as well that two Mathematics classes will also be available, as well as access to previous material.

Wednesday 14 July 2021

Who still wants to be a teacher?

Recently an interesting article has appeared in the evening newspaper NRC Handelsblad in the Netherlands. Who still wants to be a teacher? is worth reading. It sounds almost like some of the debates in South Africa. 

Click here for the link to the original article, or click here for a pdf copy of the article. In the latter, I have underlined a few crucial phrases. For those of you who cannot read Dutch, don't forget about Google Translate. Read the article!

Tuesday 13 July 2021

Easy Way to Draw Graph Paper

Yesterday I was working with a document from somebody in which the person used a substantial amount of time to draw graph paper in MS Word. Remember that there are websites that can produce a sheet of graph paper for you in a few seconds. I have written about this on this website a long time ago. The article is available on "Useful and interesting websites and links" under "Pages", or click here to go there directly. Explore the other useful info as well.

Monday 12 July 2021

Tuesday 15 June 2021

STEMI Conference 2021


Registration is open for the STEMI Conference of 2021 that will DV be held from 20 to 22 July. This year it will be very easy to attend as it will be a virtual event. Capacitate yourself with some creative and interesting talks, presentations, etc.

Download the following documents for more information:

Should you seek any further information, please do not hesitate to contact Simon Rametse at simon@saasta.ac.za or Bonolo Lekalakala at Bonolo.Lekalakala@saasta.ac.za

More information is also available on the following website: https://www.saasta.ac.za/conferences/stemi-conference/.

Saturday 5 June 2021

Sasol Annual Technical Teachers' Conference

Registration is open for the 5th Sasol Annual Technical Teachers' Conference. See the invitation below and click here to register online and to receive further information. Should you have any queries, please email sasolattc2021@eventoptions.co.za.




Monday 31 May 2021

School Calendar 2022

The Gazette, published on 28 May 2021, with the school calendar for 2022 is available here. The Free State dates are also available on the teachers' calendar of this website.

Tuesday 4 May 2021

2021 Grade 12 Physical Sciences Examination Guideline is Available

The above-mentioned document has been received on 4 May 2021. Click here to go to the download page. Please note the info on the download page concerning the Examination Guidelines for other grades, including Technical Sciences.

Wednesday 31 March 2021

Diagnostic Reports: NSC Examinations of November 2020

These reports were published on the DBE website on 30 March 2021. Copies of the reports are available here as well.


Updated Examination Guidelines were promised for 2021, but to date, nothing was received. Teachers will be informed when they are available. Until then, use the ones available on the above-mentioned page where the Diagnostic Reports are.

Tuesday 23 March 2021

Measurement of Curriculum Coverage

A circular, LTA 2/2021, has been released on the importance of the measurement of curriculum coverage. All teachers must support this effort to submit their online data as required. Click here for the circular.  

Tuesday 16 February 2021

PAT for Technical Sciences: Grade 12 in 2021

DBE has released this year's PATs for Technical Sciences. Please note that it differs from what was communicated in the Recovery ATPs, which is now part of the 2021 FSAG.

Thursday 11 February 2021

Free State Assessment Guidelines 2021

The 2021 editions of the Free State Assessment Guidelines (FSAG) are available. These FSAGs include the National Recovery ATPs

Teachers in the Free State should use the ATPs included in the FSAGs. A copy with explanatory notes is also available. Do not use the original Recovery ATPs that became available in December last year.

Tuesday 9 February 2021

Amended School Calendar for 2021

The latest, amended school calendar for 2021 was received today. Click here for the document (pdf).

These dates are also available on the Dates for Teachers page, and adjustments to weeks and their dates on the new ATPs for 2021 will be sent to teachers.

Thursday 21 January 2021

Help yourself to reduce loss of learning time


Here is a golden opportunity for all learners and teachers! We are so proud to have Dr Angela Stott as part of our teaching force here in the Free State. Apart from doing research on critical matters in Physical Science education, she is an excellent teacher with a wonderful reservoir of resources.

She extends the following invitation to learners and teachers, which you should not miss:

"Hello! To help reduce loss of learning time, I've made a lot of my Science resources available for free. Please help me to make people aware of these resources by sharing this message to teachers, parents, grandparents and learners (Grade 8&9 NS and Grade 10-12 PS).

While school opening has been delayed, why not get your learners / kids / yourself started on the curriculum at home?... To help you...

Check out my renamed and overhauled website: www.learnscience.co.za

Note two new features, as mentioned in this promo:
  • Movies on every CAPS topic for Gr 8&9 NS and Gr 10-12 PS
  • Quiz competitions per grade. First set of competitions' deadline is 28 Feb.
Teachers, perhaps you could set your learners the task of completing the quiz competition - which would also require them to study the topic, e.g. by watching the associated movies - while we wait for the new term to start?

Learners, why not participate in these quiz competitions to get a head-start while you wait for schools to open?

Best wishes!
Angela Stott (Dr)"
LearnScience.Co.Za
https://youtu.be/C6zNxB-ChA0

Wednesday 20 January 2021

How far have the manholes travelled by now?

Recently I saw a post on the Facebook group RSG Sterre en Planete by Jan Viljoen. He shared a post of Keith Anderson about the fastest manmade object that was not a hypersonic jet or spacecraft, but a large manhole cover. What an interesting story!

©Reuters: A cameraman films an atomic mushroom
cloud during Operation Plumbbob; 19 July 1957

Keith Anderson wrote further: "When the US started doing underground nuclear testing, nobody really knew what would happen. One test bomb was placed at the bottom of a 485-foot deep shaft on July 26, 1957, and someone thought it was a good idea to put a half-ton iron manhole cover on top to contain the explosion. The bomb turned the shaft into the world's largest Roman candle, and the manhole cover was nowhere to be found. Robert Brownlee, an astrophysicist who designed the test, wanted to repeat the experiment with high-speed cameras so he could figure out what happened to the cover. So, another experiment was created, this time 500-feet deep, and a similar half-ton manhole cover was placed on top. On August 27, 1957, they detonated the bomb. The high-speed cameras barely caught a view of the cover as it left the top of the shaft and headed into oblivion. Brownlee used the frames to calculate the speed to be more than 125,000 miles per hour; more than five times the escape velocity of the earth, and the fastest man-made object in history."

Physicists have debated the whereabouts of the two manhole covers ever since. Recently, with the help of supercomputers and a lot more scientific knowledge, physicists are certain that they wouldn't have had time to burn up completely before exiting the atmosphere. This means both of the remaining pieces would have passed Pluto's orbit sometime around 1961 and are way beyond the edge of the solar system by now.

You can read two further articles, with beautiful pictures, from MailOnline and BusinessInsider about these amazing phenomena. I have made pdf files of the articles. Click here for article one, and here for article two.

For those who want to know more. The escape speed for Earth is 11,3 kilometre per second. At that speed, one can cover the straight distance between Pretoria and Cape Town (if we take it at 1 315 km) in 116 seconds, or about two minutes. Makes one think about this amazing universe and the achievements of science!

How hard was it to get the Saturn V rocket, 111 m tall and weighing 2,8 million kilograms (click here for more info) to move at 11,3 kilometre per second to take the Apollo 11 crew to the moon in 1969? Nevertheless, Werner von Braun and his team had done it during the Apollo missions! You may want to click the label "von Braun" below this post to read more about Werner von Braun.

Saturday 2 January 2021

The SS Warrimoo: The ship that simultaneously spanned four different hemispheres and two centuries

Here at the beginning of 2021, it is worth the while to take notice of the amazing story of the SS Warrimoo.

Image: https://www.snopes.com

On 31 December 1899, it crossed the equator and the international date line. This sparked a few amazing facts! Read the original article here or download a pdf version here. 

The world is such an interesting place!