For the purpose of the Covid-19 period, questions asked by teachers about the restructured/amended annual teaching plans (ATPs) will be posted here
*** Under construction ***
Older questions
What is the correct way to write down the cell notation for a galvanic cell?
The grade 12 booklet on the examinable content for learners gives a few rules for the correct way of writing the cell notation for a galvanic cell. It appears more or less on p.21, but click here to access a separate summary of the rules.
Must I do viscosity as part of the physical properties?
No, viscosity is no longer required as in the previous curriculum (NCS).
Must I do the dienes?No, dienes are not required. The Examination Guidelines (p.17) are clearer in this regard than the CAPS (p.106). IUPAC naming and formulae are restricted to compounds with one functional group per molecule, except for haloalkanes.
What types of applications are required concerning Newton's laws of motion?
The Examination Guidelines require a specific list of applications, (currently) reflected on page 8. Ensure that learners can address all these conditions, with or without friction.
Just a bit of clarity when the guidelines refer to "an inclined plane" in cases where more than one body is under discussion. In this case, it must be interpreted as one and the same inclined plane for the bodies ("an inclined plane" = singular).
If two bodies are connected by a light, inextensible string, they must be on the same inclined plane; questions will not deal with cases where there are two inclined planes (like a triangle) with a pulley on top with one body on the one side of the triangle and the other body on the other side with the string connecting them.
Which homologous series must I do with learners?Be careful not to use textbooks as guidelines for what to do; they might be incomplete with regards to the curriculum expectations. Always refer in the first instance to the documents that are guiding the expectations. These documents are the Examination Guidelines (recently distributed) and the CAPS document. According to these, structural formulae, condensed structural formulae, molecular formulae, functional groups and IUPAC naming must be done for the alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, halo-alkanes, alcohols, carboxylic acids, esters, aldehydes and ketones. Remember to refer to the above-mentioned documents for finer detail in connection with each of these.
Should I teach my learners to use the arrows above vector symbols in an equation?
Some of the equations in the CAPS document use arrows above the vector symbols to represent the vector in the equation. Refer, for example, to the equation for Newton's second law of motion in the CAPS document. Some textbooks also go this way. The question is whether the arrows will be required in assessment tasks, for example, in the final examination. For clarity, the following piece of advice was obtained:
Learners will not be expected to show the arrows, and in view of all the challenges and complexities we currently deal with, it is advisable not to teach the learners to use those arrows. In the case of Newton's second law of motion, for example, the formula must just be given as Fnet = ma with the "net" written as subscript.