Closure... Maths Class 2011

Dear S1-02

It's been a pleasure to be with you on your maiden learning journey in SST :)

In our attempt to make the learning experience more enriching and to bring out the "SST Flavour: Applied Learning with Technology use", several "new" approaches were introduced over the past few months. To name a few:

• 6 AM Quiz
• Mathematics in Real Life in Facebook
• Story Marathon that bring a twist to the Red Riding Hood story
  
• Assessment through Viva Voce (Practice & Performance task)
  
• Outdoor Data Collection Mission (eLearning activity cum Performance Task)
• Problem Solving related to real life (e.g. The Cornfield Corn, Which is a better deal in terms of magazine purchase?)
• Hands-on activities like folding of rectangular sheets to learn about expansion
• Short Quizzes before the major assessements
• Group activities such as analysing the PSI values of different parts of Singapore at different times of the year
• ...

Maths Viva Voce: Question 3

S1 (Viva Voice) Part A Question 3-Final

S1 (Viva Voice) Part B Question 3 (Reflection):

Some challenges I faced was speaking clearly, as I keep mumbling to myself as I was not very confident of myself. There were also noises in the video as there were renovations going on so but I solved it by de-noising it in imovie(but i failed...). The biggest challenge I faced was uploading the video(I forgot how to) but after getting some help from my family, I found out how to embed the video. One of the things that I learnt from this was that to make a recording we should always make a script, talk clearly and confidently and take note that background noises might ruin the whole recording, so we should always find a quiet place to record (Unfortunately, I was not able to find a quiet place).

Maths Viva Voce - Dexter (Question 1)

(Viva Voce) Chap 9 Exercise 9 Question 10

Question 10:
Towns P and Q are 120 km apart. Mr Tan drove from P to Q and was scheduled to reach Q after 2 hours. His average speed was 54 km/h for the first 40 minutes.
(a) What was his average speed for the remaining journey if he managed to arrive just on time?
(b) The time taken for his return journey is 2 hours and 10 minutes. Find his average speed for
(i) the return journey (ii) the whole trip


Refection:

The challenges I faced when doing the video was that I had to take a long time to film the video. I kept having problems with my shadow reflected on the wall and I tried to shorten the words I had to say. 

The learning point was that I have learnt how to clearly using a step-by-step procedure explain how I arrived at the answer to the question.

Maths Viva Voce - Kashyap (Question 1)

Refer to the video clip submitted separately.

Inequalities (Worksheet) Challenge Yourself (Answers)

Quiz 8 (Ans) Problem Solving

Question 1

Let the smaller no. be x
The larger no. will be x + 2

x + 2 + 2x = 50
Solving, x = 16
Therefor the 2 numbers are 16 and 18.

Question 2

Given that Philip's age is x
Josh age is x/2
Emmy age is x/2 - 8

Given that sum of ages = 68
x + x/2 + x/2 - 8 = 68
Solving, x = 38

At present, Emmy's age = 11
In 5 years' time, her age will be 16 years old

Question 3

(a) Time = 120/x h

(b) Time = 60/x h

(c) Equation:
120/x - 60/x = 5/2
Solving, we get x = 24

Average speed of motorist from the return journey = 2x km/h (given in part (b))
So, substituting the value, Average speed = 2(24) km/h
which is 48 km/h

Chap 7 Geometry Worksheet 1: Angles & Parallel Lines

Worksheets received by 7 October from the following:

1. [1] Amelia
2. [2] Akhila
3. [8] Mervin
4. [11] Joshua
5. [17] Luke
6. [20] Ryan Sio
7. [22] Kashyap

Chap 7 Geometry (Submission) Maths Graded Assignment

This assignment was issued to all in Term 4 Week 1.

For those who have not submitted -
Latest deadline for submission: 11 October 2011 (in Ms Loh's pigeonhole)
Remember to cite the angle properties in your working.

On top of that...
Worksheets 1 & 2 on Chapter 7 (Geometry)
For those who have not submitted -
Latest deadline for submission: 11 October 2011 (in Ms Loh's pigeonhole)
Remember to cite the angle properties in your working.

Algebra: Worksheet 9 - Challenge Yourself Q1

Challenge Yourself Question 1 (p8):
Write down a word problem such that the equation to be formed for solving the problem is 5x + 4(x - 10) = 140

Answers submitted by...

• Joshua:
• Mr A has 5 times more apple than Mr B. If Mr B lost 10 apples, Mr C will have 4 times more apples than him. Mr A and Mr C have 140 apples altogether. Find the number of apples Mr B has.
• Akhila:
• One bag has 10 less marbles than in a box. Tom bought 5 such boxes adn 4 such boxes. The total number of marbles he bought was 140. Find the number of marbles in a box. Let x represents the number of marbles in each box.
• Devanshi:
• After buying 4 bags for (x-10) dollars each, Sandara had 5x dollars left. How much was each bag if her total allowance was $140.
• Ben:
• Mary has 5x apples while Jane has 4x-40 apples. They have 140 apples combined. Find x.

Worksheets received from... (by 7 Oct 2011)

1. [1] Amelia
2. [2] Akhila
3. [3] Jia En
4. [5] Devanshi
5. [6] Dawn
6. [7] Ming Yi
7. [8] Mervin
8. [10] Eugene
9. [11] Joshua
10. [14] Leighton
11. [17] Luke
12. [19] Ben
13. [22] Kashyap
14. [23] Siddharth

Chap 10 Percentages: Which is a better deal? (I) National Geographic Magazines

The National Geographic magazine is known for its high quality photographs taken by the award-winning photographers. As a resource for budding photographers in SST, the Media Club teacher, Mr Fong is considering having the National Geographic magazines made available to students.

To make the purchase, he has to make a proposal to the department to justify that he has identified the best deal for the school. He could go to the newstand to buy the magazine every month or subscribe the magazine at the annual basis.

Below are the information available available.

• Information published at the website of the National Geographic Store (Singapore Vivocity branch)
  
• Information published at the National Geographic website
• EmitAsia subscription information for National Geographic Magazine
  

Using the following format, help Mr Fong to put down his recommendation, together the necessary justifications for the best deal.

1. At the National Geographic Store, which is a better deal - To buy the magazine personally at the store or subscribe from the store? Why?

2. At the National Geographic Website, it charges $76 for 12 issues. How much does the subscriber pay for each issue? Is it giving a better or worse off deal compared to the store?

3. Based on the information at "EmitAsia",
(a) how much does one save for each issue if it is purchased through subscription?
(b) how much discount (in percent) does one actually save if purchased through subscription?

4. Put forward your recommendation.
E.g. We recommend Mr Fong to purchase personnal/ subscribe through the National Geographic Store/ Online subscription/ at the newstand because, by this mode of purchase because he is going to pay ..... (describe the amount he pays for each mode of purchase, hence do a comparison)

5. When making the comparisons, what challenges do you encounter?

Chap 10 Percentages: Which is a better deal? (II) Newsweek

The Newsweek magazine provides an overview of the happenings in the world in a weekly basis. The English department coordinator, Ms Zuraida, is considering making the copy available to the students.

To make the purchase, Ms Zuraida has to make a proposal to the department to justify that she has identified the best deal for the school. From the Newsweek website, she learnt that there are several options:


Click at the LINK to see more information.
At the subscription page, two options are offered: 1-year or 2-year subscription.

1. In the website, it was highlighted that one saves 62% by subscription. What is the price of a copy of the magazine available at the newstand?

2. Which is a better deal - the 1-year or 2-year subscription? Justify by how much would be saved if Ms Zuraida chose the better deal?

3. Without making comparsions of the price, which one - 1-year or 2-year subscription do you think people would normally go for? Why?

Chap 10 Percentages: Which is a Better Deal? (III)

Mr Yeo wanted to buy a portable hard-drive, Iomega Prestige (1TB) to store the multimedia productions by the students.

While he was surfing the Internet to look for a good deal, Mr Yeo chanced upon the eBrochure of the PC Show 2011 in June.

He exclaimed, "Oops! I missed a good deal!".

Next, Mr Yeo went to the Challenger Computer Store, site and found the same product but offering at a lower price!

(1) Mr Yeo is not a member of the Challenger Store. Find the percentage he saved, compared to another friend who bought the same device at the PC Show.

(2) If Mr Yeo decides become a member (at the point of payment) to enjoy the member's price. Find the percentage he saved, compared to buying at the PC Show.

20110929: Things to do

1. Quiz on Equations! [15 minutes]

2. Hand-in Worksheet 9 on Equations

3. Revision worksheet on GCE "O" and "N" Level questions are for additional practice on your own. You may check the answer, that is already posted at the Maths GoogleSite.

4. Attempt "S1 Algebra Worksheet 9 Quiz" in AceLearning.
Complete this quiz by the end of the day.
This quiz will conclude our attempt for this topic.

5. Gentle reminder: Graded Assignment on Geometry - to be handed in on Friday.
You are required to present your working like those shown in Textbook (1A, Chapter 7)

Problem Solving: Is the problem obvious?

Let's try to use the 4-step problem solving strategy to find out if Mr Kanbili is being fair?

20110923: Preparation for the following Week

Maths... Things to follow-up before we meet
(1) Worksheet 8 - we finished the discussion. Only some handed in. This is one worksheet that all must hand in as I would like to check your working.
(2) Watch the video clip in the Maths blog, which summarises the operational steps of the solving Linear Equations
(3) Preparation for next week: Go through the blog posting on Problem Solving Heuristics (new page) as well as the last chapter in textbook 1B. We'll focus on using algebra and variable to solve word problems. (http://sst2011-s102maths.blogspot.com/p/problem-solving-processes-heuristics.html)
(4) An OPTIONAL worksheet on Factorisation - attempt it when you see more practice is needed :)

Note: The same message was posted in Facebook - Class Group

Chap 6: Algebra - Equations: Let's hear them talk!

Watch the following video for better understanding on the process.
Explain the entire process using algebraic terms such as expansion, subtraction, addition, grouping of like terms

Chapter 6: Equations

To complement the exercise we have:
Try this activity in the BBC Bitesize Website: Solving Equations
At the end of the 4th page, it comes with a Test Bite :)

6AM Quiz: Bridge Crossing

Solve your puzzle and present the possible solution in the Comments
While you tried to solve the puzzle, what mathematical knowledge and skills did you apply to solve the problem?

S1 (Viva Voce) Part A Question 3

S1 (Viva Voce) Part A Question 1

Reflection:
I had problems combining the three parts of the video together and I always had a tendency of saying the wrong thing which caused me to keep redoing the video. One of the challenges, is to think in the view of the person who is trying to understand our explanation. This requires of me to explain clearly to be able to let the person looking at the video have full understanding. I also had to make sure all concepts were used and nothing was left out.

S1 (Viva Voice) Part A Question 1

Reflection:

I did not know how to explain the question at 1st. This is my weak point in math, I have always been unable to explain a mathematical equation to a person, but I can do the equation. This activity has helped me to be able to slowly improve on that.

S1 (Viva Voice) Part A Question 1

Reflections:

Well I had to do the videos a few times, and i had to write a script to say it i ain't so good and saying speaking, but still i wasn't able to get a perfect video, i chose the best from the lot here...

S1 (Viva Voce) Part A Question 3

S1 (Viva Voce) Part B:

The challenges I faced was firstly, the poor quality of the camera. I tried many times to record again with better lighting, but I guessed that my handwriting in my Maths notebook was written too lightly, and used screen-recording as the last resort.

Secondly, even though I had a script, it was hard to flip through the small pieces of paper I wrote on while holding the notebook (before I used screen recording). And thus I kept making mistakes, using a lot of time to redo the recording, again and again.

The learning points was to understand the problem and to know the methods and the right words used to solve and explain the specific question. It is also to articulate and to express if you had understood the teacher during lesson time.

S1 (Viva Voce) Part A Question 3

S1 (Viva Voce) Part B Reflection:      

The problems i faced while creating the recording was that i was not well prepared and just launched myself into immediate explaining of the question, and thus because of inconsistency of words and stuttering, i had to re-recording many times. Finally, after a review of each recording, i made a script to  roughly plan what i have to say. The learning point is if we fail to plan, we plan to fail. A script is usually a good way to plan out.               

Viva Voce Part A question1

Part B
I faced a few challenges. I was overconfident and did not use a script so I ended up stuttering many of the words. There was also a lot of pausing in my video because I only used one video and did not do it part by part. The sound quality of the video was not that good as found out that I could not import a audio recording into imovie so i had to do a voiceover recording of my audio resulting in poor sound quality.

S1 (Viva Voice) Question 1

Part A:

Part B:
I had some problems recording as the surroundings were quite noisy. I also had some problems explaining the steps with the terms used. I also had to record it back a few times because I made mistakes along the way. But, thanks to my script, it went quite well. Learning point was that we have to organize ourselves and prepare. Secondly, it is also to test whether we understand the terms and concepts.

S1 (Viva Voice) Part A Question 1

Problems faced: Some of the problems faced when I was doing the video was that I originally wanted to do it on hardcopy but the words were either not clear or too small. There was also a problem with the audio and I had to type out what I wanted to say. Also, I wanted to edit the video in iMovie but it took very long to import and export.

S1 (Viva Voice) Part A Question 3

Part A: Question 3

S1 (Viva Voice) Part B Question 3 (Reflection):

Some challenges I faced was speaking clearly, as I keep mumbling to myself as I was not very confident of myself. There were also noises in the video as there were renovations going on so but I solved it by de-noising it in imovie(but i failed...). The biggest challenge I faced was uploading the video(I forgot how to) but after getting some help from my family, I found out how to embed the video. One of the things that I learnt from this was that to make a recording we should always make a script, talk clearly and confidently and take note that background noises might ruin the whole recording, so we should always find a quiet place to record (unfortunately, I was not able to find a quiet place).