Drawing diagrams, circuit diagrams and chemical apparatus

I have updated this article on 26 October 2020. Scroll down for new information about Circuit Diagram.

Setting professionally-looking question papers are very important. Apart from the content and related issues, a good layout and neat, informative diagrams are necessary to have a professionally looking question paper.

The drawing facilities of MS Word are quite amazing and can take you a long way. The more you practise and using your imagination, the better you get at drawing diagrams. The downside is that it is time-consuming and one cannot always address all situations satisfactory. This post deals with a few hints to draw diagrams in your question papers.

Shapes in MS Word
Die following diagram was done by using MS Word and it gives a good idea of what is possible.

The rocket on the left was drawn by using different kinds of shapes, adding shadows and putting them together. The top and bottom halves were separated for the rocket on the right-hand side. You can actually draw fantastic diagrams with MS Word's drawing facilities; just use your imagination and go for it!

Graphs in MS Excel
When it comes to graphs where accurate readings are important, you cannot get better than MS Excel or perhaps Google Sheets. For this, I prefer Excel. Compile the necessary values with an applicable formula and use the spreadsheet's ability to draw a graph. Copy and paste as a picture into your question paper. Here is an example of something I have done for the vertical motion of two balls.

Chemsketch
During a visit to the Maryland State Department of Education in the USA in 2005, I was introduced to Chemsketch. Since then I have introduced numerous people to this. What an amazing piece of software! It can draw the structural formulae for organic compounds and it can even give you the IUPAC name of a structure. For learners, this is very useful to practise and name their structures. Using Chemsketch to draw the following structural formula takes a fraction of the time compared to what it takes by using MS Word.

Chemsketch is available free of charge on the internet; currently from
https://www.acdlabs.com/resources/freeware/chemsketch. You can also search for Chemsketch, download, install and there you go. It is distributed by ACD Labs. Chemsketch can also be used to draw chemical apparatus, etc. It has amazing pictures of apparatus.

TinyCAD
For years, I was searching for something (free) to draw electric circuits with. I can do it with MS Word, but it is time-consuming. A few years ago I found TinyCAD at https://sourceforge.net/ and this helps me to rather quickly draw something like this.

 

If there is something I cannot do with TinyCAD, I add it by using MSWord after I have pasted the diagram as a picture into MSWord. TinyCAD is also available free of charge.

Chemix
From the above, I was basically covered with diagrams although I wanted to have something else to draw chemistry equipment with too. Then I discovered Chemix at https://chemix.org/. It is an online drawing app to draw test-tubes, flasks, etc. You can save your drawings online or just copy and paste a drawing to your question paper (I like to use the snipping tool of Windows). Here is something I have put together as an example.

 

I am missing something here and there, but the speed and easiness getting a diagram done is a huge bonus. Anything that I need extra is done by MS Word; don't forget about the apparatus in Chemsketch as well. All these facilities can complement one another when you use them together. 

Circuit Diagram
Since I wrote this article in December 2018, I found another online app to draw electric circuit diagrams. It is called Circuit Diagram and is available at https://www.circuit-diagram.org/editor/. It is also easy to use. You can create a profile, save your diagrams for future use, and you can download them your circuits as png or svg images. As with TinyCAD, I draw certain parts of the diagram with this app, but I prefer to draw things like voltmeters and ammeters with MS Word in order to use more descriptive labels when needed. Here is something I have done with Circuit Diagram.

I trust you find this helpful. If you know of useful software to help us in our work as physical and technical science teachers, let me know. Send an email; look at the top left of the home page for detail.

Updated Info from Dr Angela Stott

Do not miss out on all the wonderful opportunities, activities, training and teaching offered by Dr Angela Stott.

Click here to access all the updated information, and follow the links from there (scroll down) to access all the other information.

Dr Stott - you are a star!

Thank you on behalf of all the teachers and learners!

More Generous Grading in the 2022 Examinations

An interesting article about more generous grading of the 2022 examinations in the UK has appeared on https://www.bbc.com/news/education-60241364.

The similarities between the UK Covid problems and what we have experienced locally is nice reading material. Note the fact that marks awarded by teachers at the end of 2020 and 2021 were substantially higher than the normal results obtained in the case of examinations. 

The fact that learners wrote the usual national examinations in South Africa in grade 12 was actually a good decision to avoid large statistical discrepancies between the marks of different years.

This shows how important it is to make learners aware that SBA marks are very important to help them. Even tasks such as informal tests, that do not count for SBA, are important to prepare them for those tasks that DO count for the SBA. The value of practical work is very high. Therefore, it should NEVER be neglected.

A pdf copy of the article is available here.

Diagnostic Report of the November 2021 NSC Examination

The above-mentioned report has appeared on the DBE website.

 
Parts one and three deal with Physical Science and Technical Science respectively. Teachers are invited to download and scrutinise these reports. A few sets of additional and alternative information will be available that compliments the information of the Free State marking reports. The latter refers specifically to data that has been obtained from Free State learners. The Diagnostic Report refers to data obtained nationally. Click here to go to the page where you can download them.

Part two (languages) of the Diagnostic Report can be downloaded from the DBE Website. Currently, it is available under "Resources" and then "Reports".

Study Guides of DBE

Remember that DBE has developed a set of study guides for Physical and Technical Sciences (and other subjects). They are available on the DBE website at

https://www.education.gov.za/SelfStudyGuidesGrade10-12.aspx

Some of these documents have already been loaded on the hard drives distributed to schools. Others can be downloaded with the above-mentioned link.

Join an International Exchange Programme

A great opportunity for school learners to participate in an international exchange programme. Click here to get more information and put yourself into the opportunity! Teachers, please guide your learners to get all the information.