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.

Click here to go to the page with examination info for teachers, and follow the download links from there.

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.

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.  

Examination Timetable: Grade 12 Senior Certificate & National Senior Certificate May/June 2021

 The timetable is available. Click here to download.

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.

Click here to download the Afrikaans version.
Click here to download the English version.

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.

Click here to go to the download page.

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.

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

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.

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!

New Year 2021

It is important to get closure from a difficult year such as 2020. However, do not see it as a bad phenomenon only. It was all part of God's plan for us and the universe. As physical and technical science teachers we understand a little bit of the enigmas and treasures of science, and we know there is a plan for everything. Thank you to each teacher who has worked under very difficult conditions this year, especially our grade 12 teachers. You have surpassed yourself under these challenging conditions. We should also pause a moment and mourn the loss of dear colleagues due to Covid-19. May we all have a bright New Year ahead of us. Put 2020 behind you, look up and aim high for 2021. 

Carpe Diem! / Seize the day!

Edith Lovejoy Pierce (1904-1983) said: “We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity, and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”

Image by Markéta Machová from Pixabay

Merry Christmas 2020

I wish all the readers of this website a very special Christmas 2020!

The 'Great' Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn

A once in a lifetime experience is about to happen. Remember to look at it on 21 December 2020 shortly after sunset.

(C) NASA / Bill Ingalls

The previous time Jupiter and Saturn were so close was in 1623, only 14 years after Galileo built his first telescope. In the Southern Hemisphere, the 21st of December is also the shortest night.

Here is a link to an interesting article about the phenomenon (Click here) as well as links to interesting videos about this.
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3

Recovery ATPs for 2021

 The Department of Basic Education released these documents middle December 2020. They are available on the Covid-19 page. Click here to go there. Teachers may want to familiarise themselves with the documents. They will be discussed and explained during the first series of start-up meetings in 2021.

Let's start looking at the future

It is time to start looking at the future.

(C) https://www.needpix.com/photo/1294077/

From 2021 teachers and learners will have the extra responsibility to catch up on crucial grade 10 and 11 topics that were not taught in 2020 due to Covid-19.

Circular S11 from DBE deals with this. Click here to download the circular and familiarise yourself with it. There is something for the Senior Phase as well. It is also important that all teachers start thinking about creative ways to catch up on untaught topics that are crucial for the next grade.

From the side of the FSDoE, we will also collect information on outstanding grade 10 and 11 topics. In due course, look out for links to complete online forms concerning this.

Best wishes for the final grade 12 exams in Physical and Technical Sciences!

Paper 2 is written on

23 November 2020.

(C) https://pixabay.com/users/mohamed_hassan-5229782

With today's question papers, the grade 12 learners of 2020 have completed their Physical and Technical Sciences. We hope you have enjoyed the journey through a small part of Physics and Chemistry. 

Examination time 2020

Use the Table of Contents BELOW the picture to jump to the part you are interested in.

*** New info ***

20 Nov: The YouTube links for all the Grade 12 exam prep broadcasts are available, as well as the lessons for Grade 11 on electrostatics and electric circuits. Dr Angela Stott uploaded more videos; check out her YouTube channel as well. All of these will assist you in your preparations for Monday's papers.      

17 Nov: Examination anxiety and depression: Here is help!

16 Nov: Remember to listen to the Lesedi FM exam prep broadcast for grade 12 today.

13 Nov: Very good videos and other resources from Dr Angela Stott. See the new updates!

2 Nov: Nine sets of new question papers are available.

South Africa's grade 12 learners have started with their final school examinations. 2020 will be known as the Covid 19-year; it was not at all easy, but in a way also special.

Best wishes to all learners. Your teachers have spent countless hours to help you, but when you sit for the examinations, it will be only you. Your effort! Your input! Therefore, it is worth the while to prepare as best as possible. Remember that your best is enough. Don't get too worked up because of the examinations.

 

Table of Contents

Angela Stott's YouTube Channel and Website

Examination Anxiety and Depression

Good habits

IBP broadcasts

Lesedi FM support radio broadcasts

Question papers

*******************************************************

Good habits

Many internet sites and books give good advice about healthy habits during such times. It is good to follow those, but don't change your lifestyle drastically at this stage (except for studying more if necessary). Carry on as normal as possible, but study, study, ...

IBP broadcasts of the University of the Free State

The general link to the site is https://www.youtube.com/c/FSIBPOnline/featured.

The second round of exam preparation broadcasts for grade 12 are in November. The YouTube links for paper one, and the broadcast slots for paper two are given below:
Technical Sciences Paper 1: Click here 
Physical Sciences Paper 1 Part 1: Click here
Physical Sciences Paper 1 Part 2: Click here

Technical Sciences Paper 2: Click here 
Physical Sciences Paper 2: Click here

Developmental/Revision lessons for grade 11 are in November. The YouTube links for electrostatics and the broadcast slots for electric circuits are given below:
Electrostatics Part 1: Click here 

Electrostatics Part 2: Click here

Electric circuits: Click here

The first round of grade 12 exam preparation broadcasts took place in October. They can be accessed with the following YouTube links:
Physical Sciences Paper 1 Part 1: Click here 

Physical Sciences Paper 1 Part 2: Click here  
Physical Sciences Paper 2: Click here  
Technical Sciences Paper 1: Click here 
Technical Sciences Paper 2: Click here 

Matric exams: Class of 2020 to be examined on full curriculum Click here for the News24 article.

Question papers

Working through previous question papers is a powerful technique to prepare yourself for the examination. Colleagues from other provinces were so kind to share their papers with the Free State. Click here to go to the question papers. As new ones are obtained, they will be loaded. So keep track of what you download, and sort them alphabetically to make it easy to see new ones.

Angela Stott's YouTube Channel and Website

Many excellent videos are available to explain concepts and problem-solving. An excellent resource to help you.

A starting point and promo! The best you can get!

Click here for the YouTube Channel.

Click here for her website with further resources.

Lesedi FM support radio broadcastsLesedi FM support radio broadcasts

Three more support broadcasts will take place in November from 16:15 to 16:45 on Mondays.

16 November: Physical Science Grade 12 Exam Prep on electrochemical cells.

23 November: Physical Science Grade 11 on Newton's laws.

30 November: Physical Science Grade 11 on Newton's laws will continue.

Examination Anxiety and Depression

It is very, VERY important that you seek help if you are overcome with examination anxiety and depression. People want to help you. The South African Depression and Anxiety Group gives contact numbers and other details about support groups, etc. One number to keep in mind is the Suicide Crisis Line which is 0800 567 567.

Best wishes with the exams!

Physical and Technical Sciences

Paper 1 is written today!

New norms for Continued Professional Teacher Development (CPTD)

Teachers - take note!

(C) https://www.needpix.com

The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated new ways through which teachers can engage in professional development. Due to this, SACE has amended the CPTD point scheme to accommodate professional development activities via virtual meetings, engaging in electronic media, online activities, etc. Click here for circular LTA 5 of 2020 for more information.

Science Convention 2021

The annual Physical Science Convention could not take place this year due to the Covid-19 situation.

However, we are planning to go ahead full steam to have our usual Physical Science Olympiads for grades 11 and 12 learners in 2021, from which the learners and teachers will be chosen to attend the convention at the North West University.

The staff at NWU are passionate about their research and subject matter. Hence, follow the links below to get information about the faculties normally involved in the convention. The NWU is serious about the development of young people. Feel free to share this information with learners to encourage their interest in the fields. It will also empower them to make an informed decision about their studies and a satisfying career in the Natural Sciences.

Click below for more information about the following faculties at NWU:
Engineering

Health Sciences
Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Talis 2018: South Africa Country Report

Interesting reading stuff about teachers and principals as lifelong learners.

Click here to access the document.