Well, I shall re-open a new thread special for STPM students for year 2014/2015!

As I am just starting a new school life in Form 6 this year, so I can't share any of my experience regarding form 6!

Form 6 is gonna be tough and challenging, so this may be the biggest challenges I face in my whole life!

To survive (and score) in this one and a half year, therefore I need some advises and experiences regarding this.

Anyone who are studying in Form 6 right now, or those STPM graduates can give some two cents here! Any helpful comments are welcomed!

Great! A new thread for the Form 6 batch of 2014/2015, let's put it to good use.

Anyway, scgoh123, have you been informed of when you'll be taking your STPM Tem 1 Trial? Mine is around in the month of September, which is approximately 2.5 months left from now on. Not to mention that I've got lot's of brush up to do for my English in MUET.....

Particularly for MUET, I found out that this model test papers prove to be quite efficient when you want to put your understanding and mettle in English to the test. The publisher for it is 'Ilmu Bakti':


This post has been edited by RED-HAIR-SHANKS: Jun 15 2014, 01:03 PM


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How's Further Maths, Maths and Physics going for you.

I'm in 2014/2015 STPM batch as well. Just one question here... How R u guys' teachers? And how do you cope with teachers who don't teach well? Thanks a lot.

we're on the same shoes!

I don't officially undertake Further Maths as 5th subject for my STPM due to it's overwhelmingly complex nature of it's syllabus and contents. But, I did managed to print out several chapters and materials that are related to it from the e-books and personally study them from time to time.

For the first Term of Further Maths, I only printed most of the contents(but not entirely) from the book: Discrete Maths and Its Applications by Kenneth Rosen. But, another book (Discrete Mathematics with Applications by Susanna S. Epp) is really good too if you ask me, but I rarely use it.

Further Maths
My progress in Further Maths Term 1 is very slow if you ask me, as I'm still having trouble with with the Rules of Interference, and translating expressions with nested quantifiers into an English statement can prove to be a tough nut to crack. Nested Quantifiers is not too bad either. I feel that I'm quite alright with the rest of subtopics under Logic.

For topics under Proofs, I'm just starting to learn on how to prove a biconditional statement and contradiction. You'll also get exposed to many types of proofs, like Exhaustive Proof, Proof by Cases, Uniqueness Proof...... I haven't delve further into them just yet, so my insight on these subtopics are rather superficial.

Maths T
So far, so good. I've fathom lots of concepts so far in Chapter 1, it's just that I lack lots of practice. Need to brush up on my Trigonometry(especially the compound-angle and double-angle formulae).. At the same time, I'm trying to familiarized myself with answering questions that require binomial expansion in Chapter 2. I've completed Chapter 3 before I went to NS, and I reckon that it's the easiest(not too easy, it's still complicated in some other ways) chapter of all, yet I need to train myself to quickly find the answers/inverse matrix when I'm using the ERO or Gaussian Elimination though.

In Chapter 4, I'm ok with most of the subtopics, except for the part in de Moivre's theorem. I need plenty of time to digest it. As of now, I'm mainly slow when it comes to answering certain questions in Math and that seems to be my main weakness. I must complete lots of questions and exercises if I wanna improve my Math.

Physics
Nothing much to say about my progress in this subject, except for the fact that it's extremely slow and that I might wanna picking up some speed if I wanted to finish the whole 1st Term syllabus before the month of September. And just like Maths T, I need ample of time to do tonnes and tonnes of questions in order to familiarized myself with the format of the question and to grasp some concepts, especially when it comes to projectiles...

So, that pretty much summed it up.

This post has been edited by RED-HAIR-SHANKS: Jun 15 2014, 05:03 PM

Wow, great thread! Keep it up, guys! I'm a STPM 2013 graduate, and I have only one advice: Appreciate what you're going through. Form 6 is so far the best thing I have lived in my life.

Oops, I'm in Humanities (Kemanusiaan) not Science. But still, we're facing STPM~

It's only been a month since I commenced my First Term STPM, so I can't really say much about my teachers.

But from what I can see hitherto, I fond of the way my Chemistry teacher teaches her students. She knows really well on anything that she's trying to convey to her students and she'd love to go beyond that just to show us that there's more to STPM Chemistry. And based on her experiences, she's a veteran of that subject in my school.

My Math T teacher is quite alright, neither extremely superb nor too poor. But, she often clings on to her own teaching notes/books and she seemed hesitate to budge from it....

Nothing much for my Physics and PA teacher, due to the fact that I seldom meet them before the holidays.

Well to be frank, you don't really need to depend on your class teacher all the times. This is STPM we're talking about, hence independent plays an essential role in order for us to learn all the subjects/materials by ourselves if we can't follow up with the unpleasant teaching methods of some teachers.

But, I believe that most of the Form 6 teachers don't teach too badly though, and having said that, you might wanna try to learn something firsthand before you enter the class. And that if you have any doubts or question, just ask them.

It doesn't really matter if you're in Humanities or Science stream, as long as we're waging war to ace the STPM exams, we're all comrades with one same goal.

I'm also in Form 6 this year. I choose Humanities because I suck at Science. A question; how do you guys study in class? Did you guys take any note or just listen?

This post has been edited by WanHuz: Jun 15 2014, 08:34 PM

Nope, instead I was informed that school monthly test is going to start on July.

@RED-HAIR-SHANKS BTW can I know where are you studying now?

Humanities is pretty much more easier than Science, provided that you study consistently.

If you do not understand certain part of teacher's lectures, just ask.

Sometimes taking notes will help in revision later on.

Exactly.

Just two cents from me.

My school does not offer package for Further Maths, and the teachers keep discouraging us from taking any extra subjects because of the workload.........

For Maths T, you need to have a clear picture on what you studied in Form 4 and form 5 because those concepts will be used in answering questions. And teachers will be expecting you have mastered all the things in Form 4 and Form 5. And Maths T is a very HUGE GAP between the fundamental maths and add maths we are learning now.

For Physics, it's also a very HUGE GAP. what you learn not necessarily correct in Form 6. Be extremely specific and accurate in answering questions because those examiners will like picking bones in an egg (Chinese proverb)

Seems like you are on the right track ha.

Just asking:
If you got offered to pursue a degree in teaching at IPG (Institut Pengajian Guru), will you go?

SMK Simpang Empat, in Penang.

Hello! I am STPM 2014/2015 batch . I got the offer to study Diploma teknologi Kejuruteraan elektrik in UTHM, but I think i am gonna continue my Form Six.

Btw, I take Bio,Maths T, Chemi, and PA.

Can anyone share with us the way you learning these subjects efficiently? (My Add Maths and Chemi not so good , I don't have strong foundation in these two subjects, manage to get an A in add math and but B+ IN Chemi ! )

This post has been edited by Joelyn: Jun 16 2014, 04:41 PM

Make mind maps~

Sorry, cant help u wif this as I oni got A- for Chem, but I suggest dat u know how to balance equations, know d reactivity series and master d basic stuff first. U shud oso print out d "Sukatan pelajaran" (learning outcomes), which in simple terms, means wat questions may come out in exam. (Its wat my teachers say) All d best~

I can't wait to fail in Maths T.

Thanks for the tip

This post has been edited by WanHuz: Jun 16 2014, 10:09 PM

Mind map is really not my style. Everytime I do mind map, it's so confusing that I can't even understand what I write

Haha I too think that STPM is the time for us study independently, this is why I have another question.That is do we SERIOUSLY need TUITION? I know it's a bit late to ask that now but please enlighten me in this tuition matter. Because (not disrespecting or anything) some of my teachers doesn't really know their syllabus well and as their first language isn't English I think they have a hard time conveying the lessons to us. So I'm still thinking whether to have tuition or not...

TQ

If you think that you can't really cope with your teacher and that dire situation coerces you to take up a tuition class, by all means, go for it. With or without tuition teacher, one way or another, you have to find out the ways to gain the right information and knowledge that can give access to your success in your exams. That should be your priority.

When I started form 6, I didn't want to go to any tuition. As you said, time to be independent. Unfortunately, my maths teacher is kinda hopeless. Its her first year teaching us and she is very soft-spoken. Maths is a subject that needs someone to explain to you. At least that is the case with me. So, I had to take tuition. Unfortunately.
I know how it feels like. "Noo.... tuition is for the weak! Don't go to the dark side!" haha

If you think you can't handle it, I think its better to go for tuition first. You can always stop later when you think you can cope without it.

In the end, I benefited from the extra tuition classes. The teacher was really good and even sent us many trial papers to practice. It was totally worth it.

No need tuition wan la. Your teachers aren't as clueless as you make them out to be. Pay attention in class and frequently ask questions. Build repo with them.

If all else fails, learn from the better students in your class. Take the initiative to ask them. Make friends with students from other schools as well and borrows their exercises.

And btw, tuition teachers are prone to teach unnecessary stuff too that might confuse students. Or even wrong syllabus/format. So do not neglect your school teachers as they went through kursus d. Also, they're teachers and human beings, and I'm sure it's their best intentions to teach you guys even though they seem incapable.

Sigh, missed out on the first chapter of every subject thanks to PLKN. I have so many catching up to do now, and yet there's not enough free time T_T

This is the timetable for the STPM Term 1 examination for us lower 6-ers.


On the side note:
-We're still 142 days away from our first Term of STPM 2014/2015 exams, so use the limited time wisely.
-For those of you who will be taking MUET(Speaking) test in the month of November, you still have 112 days worth of preparation. It won't be too long before that time comes...

Anyway, wish each and every one of us a steady progress in academics. Good day and good luck!

Thanks for the timetable.

This post has been edited by scgoh123: Jun 26 2014, 08:59 PM

I think some of the teachers will prohibit their students to share studying material with other students from other classes or schools

Don't worry, you are not alone. Spend less time on Facebooking and you can do it!

Don't be such a pessimist.

Why?

Oh, pro tip: Use the Quote button to reply to multiple posts.

i thought it is now easier to after change to semester system...?

Although got add more things to study, but after splitting the semester, the load so not so tough.

I remember last time after STPM go uni study, somehow suddenly feel exam very easy to study haha

Maybe they are stingy or they don't want to get in trouble (actually sharing of past year papers is prohibited)

NOOO. I rather take one and a half year to prepare and take all at once rather than rushing through the syllabus.
All my teachers are as fast as catching up the speed of a rocket.

So, how's it going for you? Do you find it easy to cope with the vast syllabus, or you're having trouble keeping up with the faster pace of studies?

After I'm in Form 6 for not longer than a month, I've realised that time is moving really, really fast. We did almost nothing but a short study/revision before the 2 weeks holidays in the month of June. But after the holidays, all of my class teachers were hastening their teaching pace and this seems to be true for our workloads and experimental coursework(kerja kursus). The moment before we knew it, our homework grew substantially into a pile of mountains from nothing under a short period of time. It goes on and on perpetually and we have not a single clue on how to finish them up sooner. Life in Form 6 is certainly challenging.

This post has been edited by RED-HAIR-SHANKS: Jul 1 2014, 04:41 PM

This is actually the first time I heard about such a rule.

Biggest misconception. With the introduction of modular system came with the troublesome assignments and projects. There are more things to deal with in shorter time.

Sharing of past year papers is never prohibited. The papers are legally published and sold in Popular.

True.

Hi ! I m a new user n oso candidate of STPM 2014/2015 but I m taking arts stream(switched from sc stream).My pathway after stpm is planning to study law or economics( business tat part )"more interested".My subject combination are :
1.PP
2.PA
3.EKON
4.SEJ
Now I am in a dilemma of choosing either sej or acc as my stpm subject.My friends n skul counsellor suggest me to take account as they said more easy to handle..but sejarah is the entry requirement of LLB of UUM oni..(UM n UKM not require tat )Its the time to register subject of stpm recently..I sincerely hope someone cn give me some ideas..thank you vry much;)
#my spm for sej n acc oso A+

then,take both lo.

You'd want Maths if you're serious about Economics. Swap out Business.

Just wanna refresh a bit. The cocu marks are only considered when there are two students applying for the same course in the same uni with the same CGPA is it?
Let's say graduates A and B have 3.50 CGPAs but A's cocu marks is 7/10 and B has 6/10. So A would be chosen for the course instead of B right?

Another thing is that do they choose a student with a 4.00 pointer with 6/10 cocu marks or another student with 3.84 but wtih 8/10 cocu marks?

Thanks a lot I'm asking coz my school has only one club and I don't have any positions, so yeah i'm totally panicking

Academic performance, your STPM pointer, contributes to 90% of total mark.

Ko-k contributes to the remaining 10%.

The final decision lies on how much your academic + ko-k pointer is, and how impressive is your ko-k achievements.

I m nt confident to do tat , sej take me much time n I scared I can't cover both~

Economics as an option ..but my skul nt providing math for arts stream student n math nt a must for economics so I thk its okla~~

To tell the truth, if the course you want is popular (medicine/pharma/dentistry/etc), 4-flat also cannot get in local uni, because they give priority to Matriks and Asasi students. My friend's brother got 4-flat last year, and when he go interview for medicine course in UM the interviewer tell him to prepare backup plan because they only allocate 2 out of 80 total intake slots for STPM students. So unfair. After hearing that I don't have anymore incentive to work hard, just ready myself to get into private uni.

This post has been edited by sagethesausage: Jul 3 2014, 09:36 PM

Yeah its quite saddening, but for someone who's not pursuing in any of those critical courses I'm not too worried about it. But for those who wants it, its a cruel reality

Hey guys, I'm now confused in drawing Lewis structures specifically the NO3- ion. When I follow the procedure in drawing the structure I will get this. But some of my friends they would get a dative bond between the N atom and one of the O atom like this . So i wanna ask which one is the correct structure?

The procedure I used is:
1) Draw the skeleton of the molecule or ion
2) Count total valence electrons of the molecule or ion
3) Fill all the atoms according to them octet rule
4) Count FC and see if need more than 1 bond formed.

I need some explanation and clarification regarding these questions.

Q1) Ali was wearing his spectacle while driving in his car. When he was about to make a turn towards a roundabout in his right direction, he felt that his spectacle was sliding towards the left. What causes the spectacle to slide in that manner?
The correct answer:

Now, I've superficially learned a thing or two about centripetal force, but why centrifugal force is not the appropriate answer for the above question? Centripetal force is a force that moves a body the towards the centre of the circle, which is the opposite of the centrifugal force, where a force that draws a rotating body away from the center of rotation. And if we were to refer back to the question, it clearly stated that his spectacle was sliding towards the left when Ali was about to make a turn towards the roundabout, which is in his right. It makes a perfect sense to me but why the answer is not centrifugal force,but instead it is inertia? Where did I go wrong?

Q2)Which force does the work on a satellite orbiting around the Earth?
The correct answer: .

Why the answer for Q2) cannot be centripetal force? I sense that there are some similarities between both of these forces that causes the satellite to orbit around the Earth in such manner....

Q3)If we spin a circular disk with a circular cavity on the top of it, it is found that the disk flips over. But the question is why does this happen?

I've approached a few of my classmates, and they told me that the correct reason would be due to friction and air resistance. They said that if we were to take a coin and flip it in the same manner, the coin will rotate rapidly in a circular motion and it will come to a stop when the air drag interrupts it's kinetic energy(The coin will only spin perpetually if it is in vacuum). On a another case, it will also stop spinning due to the friction between the coin and the table. I'm pleased with the feedback that I got, but is that really the complete explanation for the given question?

This post has been edited by RED-HAIR-SHANKS: Jul 24 2014, 02:32 PM

I was a form sixer once,

we were considered as some of the hardest, and toughest assessment around.

and we all survive, to consistently proof to others non-form sixer of our better developed capability.

sadly, the new format for form 6 now is just utter bullshit.

Q1) Centrifugal force is not a 'force'. Even if you believe in this fictional force, where does it come from? Forces are a result of interaction, either between bodies or a body with a field. No force can ever manifest itself out of nothing. Plus it's not even mentioned in STPM books.

Q2) Again, what is this centripetal force? Gravitational force, of course!

Q3) You're an STPM student now, you need to eliminate vague and inaccurate Physics terms when describing something. How does friction act? On what does air resistance act? How does air drag 'interrupt' kinetic energy? Can you model this situation using Physics? This problem is from Brilliant, and you'd have to ask more people to come up with a rigorous answer.

Quite incorrect. The inertia does not cause Ali’s glasses suddenly slid toward the opposite direction (left) of car's heading direction (right), as if there was a hidden repulsive force. That's an ILLUSION!

While the car moves in the circular arc at the roundabout, it is in uniform circular motion; that is, it has an acceleration that is directed toward the center of the roundabout. By Newton’s 2nd law, a force must cause this acceleration. Moreover, the force must also be directed toward the center of the roundabout. Thus, it is a centripetal force, which means center-seeking force, where the adjective indicates the direction. The centripetal force, in this case, is provided by the friction between the road and the car’s tires.

Because Ali drove the car, naturally, we assume that he strapped the seat belt on his car’s seat that held him firmly in the seat. This assumption is critical or else, Ali will slide across the seat toward the left and then jam against the car wall for the rest of the turn. Since Ali was wearing his glasses when he turned right, rounding the roundabout, and if his glasses was to move in uniform circular motion along with the car, there must also be a centripetal force on his glasses.

However, apparently the frictional forces on Ali’s glasses from his nose-bridge and ears were not great enough to make his glasses go in a circle with the car. The dirt and oil on Ali’s face could have affected the frictional force. Thus, Ali’s “face” slid beneath his glasses, until he pushes it up with his forefinger so that the frames sit rightly on the top of his nose. Then, the push that Ali provided the needed centripetal force on the glasses allows his glasses to join the car’s uniform circular motion.

If Ali does not attempt to prevent his glass from sliding to his left as he turns right, however, there won’t be a centripetal force acting on his glasses, which would slide off in the direction that is tangent to the circle due to it inertia (according to Newton’s 1st law). This gives Ali the sensation of his glasses slid toward his left. In fact, to a stationary observer, Ali’s glasses are sliding off in a straight line until it jams up against the left wall of the car. The centripetal force from the car wall is required to push the glasses inward along the car’s uniform circular path.



This post has been edited by Critical_Fallacy: Jul 25 2014, 04:51 AM

As stated by maximR, a centripetal force is NOT a new kind of force. The name merely indicates the direction of the force. It's an adjective!! Therefore, it can be a frictional force, a gravitational force, the force from a car wall, the tension force from a string, or any other force in this universe you could name it.



Artificial satellites are continually accelerating towards the Earth. This is because of the gravitational force of attraction between the satellite and the Earth. If a satellite stopped moving forwards, the Earth’s gravitational pull would make it fall to Earth.

This post has been edited by Critical_Fallacy: Jul 25 2014, 04:25 AM

Walau, you posted all these at 4am in the morning haha. Salute!

How are you?

I'm “busy-body” as usual.

Recently I'm expanding my collection of books. A peculiar bibliophile, huh?.

I noticed that your Physics of Motion is now at a whole new level after entering Sunway.

You were talking about “modeling”, a process that most scientists and engineers employ to represent and study a particular real-world system or phenomenon, when many Pre-U students are probably still struggling to understand its concept.

Keep up the good work!

According to the above statement, you've mentioned that Ali's glasses would slide off in the direction that is tangent to the circle due to Newton's First Law if there won't be a centripetal force acting on it. But now I have another question that bugs me.

If we consider a ball that moves in a circle due to the tension(T) of the string, which in this case, is the centripetal force, why it is said that the Newton's Second Law would cause the ball to move tangentially to the circle if the string snaps? Why inertia isn't the cause for the ball to behave in that way, considering the fact that once the string snaps, there won't be any more resultant force that acts on the ball?


This post has been edited by RED-HAIR-SHANKS: Jul 25 2014, 03:27 PM

I'm wondering, what do they tell you about centripetal force in your Physics textbook?

In reality, this is a Projectile motion. If you ignore air resistance and resolve the motion of the ball into vertical and horizontal components, you will see that the norm of the horizontal velocity vector stays the same, because the tension from the string is no longer acting on the ball (Newton's 1st Law). The varying vertical velocity vector shows the motion of the ball during its free fall and this is due to gravity acts on the ball (Newton's 2nd Law).

What year?

I disagree though, as the new format is much more harder and it's more rigorously tested compared to the older STPM syllabus... The topics are condensed but it is much harder to master...

the syllabus are similar, matter a fact, it's lesser and easier as they are aiming for the "holistic" method of teaching to alleviate student from "memorising" the syallbus but instead "apply", learned knowledge!

generally is a good thing, but given the fact that it's going to be applied into a per semester basis,

well... that basically translate into " blah...blah...blah... blah, less to memorise!"

and also looking at the general population of student, and their mentality, we are lights year away from being capable of such practices!

Im from 05' batch!

I would like to thank maximR and you for helping me out in clearing my misconceptions and doubts regarding those questions that I posted. I need to find out more stuffs that are pertaining to circular motion as I cannot totally get the hang of it currently.

Erm... not really. The questions require some extensive thinking... Sure there's a lot of stuff that needs memorizing but you do need to realize that is only one part for you to excel in STPM...

I recall that I shared a link with you on how to get the free & good quality, “OpenStax College Physics” textbook (Web / PDF / EPUB) in this post 3 months ago.

You can also get nearly a dozen of Higher Education textbooks. Just click the image. Choose a high-quality text now!

Yes, I still remember it. Thanks once again for your aid. Anyway, considering the fact that you fond of books, do have an A-Level book which looks like this :

Title: A Level Physics (4TH)
Author: Muncaster, Roger

The reason I ask is that one of my classmates do get his hands on it, and it seems more appetising than any other STPM Physics books so far. I've skimmed the contents, and it can be used from the 1st until the 3rd semester.

I have that book. Are you from Penang? Because a guy on Facebook asked me for recommendations and I mentioned this one, and his book arrived a few days ago. I think that's your classmate.

It is a good book, which is very suitable for STPM Physics because it's Calculus based ( A-Level textbooks these days only use algebra ). But you can have all the books in the world and yet learn nothing from them. Physics is not about reading and then being content that you've understood what you've read. It's about thinking. Doubting. And attempting HARD problems which can teach you a lot. So, whether or not you want to get Roger Muncaster's book, it's up to you. If you think you can utilise it, why not? It's more detailed than ALL of the STPM books that are being sold. But it's costly. And heavy.

Sunway has got nothing to do with it. We're still in Introduction to Physics.

During my post-SPM break, I registered for Mechanics Review by MIT on edX. That course changed the way I look at Mechanics now. I thought I knew Mechanics, but boy, was I wrong. The SIM approach is the backbone of the course. SIM stands for System, Interactions and Models. I completed 5 of the modules, but I think I might fail the course because at college, I didn't have time to finish the others. I ended up not completing the 6th and 7th modules, which is a shame. But I learnt a lot from the course so I'll continue with it, regardless of whether I'd earn the certificate or not.

As for Sunway, I have a long story to tell. But for now ( I just arrived at my hometown, extremely exhausted ) I met quite a few brilliant people. And when I say brilliant, they are really brilliant. It is a humbling experience, coming to Sunway. To give you a clue, I have a classmate who recently obtained a Gold Medal in the IMO, a January intake guy with a Silver medal, a few who made it into the Top 20 for OMK, a senior who was the first Malaysian to win the Gold Medal in IMO. My classmates are very enthusiastic when it comes to Maths. We discuss problems, find new approaches to a problem, attempt our own proofs, and spend a lot of hours in the library.

By the way, I'm taking Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Economics. A little bit sad at the fact that I'm forsaking Chemistry.

Thanks for MaximR for explaining the doubts in physics!

Has anyone got the question for Maths T coursework??

And do any of you have guide to complete the coursework?

Actually, NO3- ion has dative bond. This is because N is located in Period 2 and it can only accommodate a maximum of 8 electrons at its valence orbital. N atom cannot expand it's octet, so it has to donate a lone pair of electrons to O atom which has empty orbitals.

What you draw is actually correct, but you didn't indicate the dative bond.

This post has been edited by scgoh123: Jul 26 2014, 09:15 PM

My coursework is about Chapter 2: Sequence and Series.

Guide? I'm not quite sure about that, but my Maths teacher just hand them over to us and ordered us to get it done before the end of August. If we have any troubles, we will just discuss among us and only seek help from teacher after we truly reach a dead end.

How about your's ?

Mine is same as yours.
I have to hand in after raya holiday instead

Other than that, do you receive any Chemistry related sheets from your teacher? It's because I got mine before the holidays and that I've found out that we're going to do 5 experiments for first term(Experiment 1-5), 5 experiments for second term(Experiment 6-10), and only 3 experiments for third term(Experiment 11-13). I hope that our school doesn't instruct us to pile up the whole experiments and deal with them in the third term next year...

This post has been edited by RED-HAIR-SHANKS: Jul 28 2014, 11:00 PM

No. You'll carry out each experiment as its respective terms as you need the knowledge of the respective terms. Third term experiments would be the most interesting, and the synthesis is quite challenging. Just wait.

But, my teacher told me the other day that if we don't have sufficient amount of time allocated to complete those experiments in the first term(let alone completing the first term syllabus), then we will have to conduct them in the second term. I hope that's not the case for my batch though. Besides, we have a lot of catch up to do and we are roughly 1 month away from first term trial.

This post has been edited by RED-HAIR-SHANKS: Jul 29 2014, 08:22 AM

I got the paper. 15 experiments and 1 project work to be carried out in 3 terms. My school had finished 2 out of 5 experiments. What makes me annoying is the project work.

P/S: Not trying to show off here, but my chemistry teacher is one of the authors of the Oxford Fajar STPM book. (there are 4 of them, u guess it) So she'll guide us in conducting those experiments.

16 experiments for Chemistry + 16 experiments for Physics + 3 assignments for Maths T + 2 assignments for PA + damn wide syllabus for the four subjects = extremely heavy workload!!!!

For those who have time to enjoy despite this workload, they are insane, and I salute you.

I have downloaded the copy, and I like that book very much. but to print out?! Thats ridiculous~~
1000+ pages !!!!!

You'll cope, and you'll manage. We, seniors, did.


Who?


You play hard, and you study hard. I played very hard when I studied form 6, and also studied hard.

You have plenty of time to play. Just manage your time well. You do it, and form 6 life will be brilliantly colourful.

We haven't even started on any Chemistry experiment yet, as my teacher wanted to quickly finish the syllabus. But, I bet that we will do it by next month.

You must be grateful then. You should take this chance by asking her to lend/recommend you some good exercise books or worksheets, considering the fact that she's an author and it will not be surprising at all if she has literally tonnes of them. I don't know if it works the same for you, but I prefer most of the STPM books from the old syllabus(terminal system) compared to the new ones.

One of those insane student that you've pointed out just so happens to be one of my classmate. I've known him since we're in Form 1, and if you take the level of visibility he is in library into account, or the frequency of revision he does on every single day, you will bet that he ain't some serious academic-type of guy.

It turned out that I was wrong. He's easy-going, and it seems to me that he takes every single thing lightly. But, I was flabbergasted by the results that he produced so far in his schooling years, be it in the academic stuffs or not. While there might be lots of students that I know that will go at great lengths to ace in the class, like studying more than 5 hours every single day, going to every single subject that a tuition centre has to offer, or burn midnight oil till 2am in the morning. But, he is different than any of them. He told me numerous times that he stopped going to tuition since he was in Form 1, and that his daily routine will only be completing any homework that his teachers give and that's it. He will not revise till 12 in the midnight, or even trying to cram.

After observing his study patterns for some time, I found out the reason behind his success of achieving relatively good academic results despite the short amount of time he invests in his studies when I was in Form 3. Unlike spending incessant amount of time cramming at home or tuition, he only listens to his teacher's lessons at school and he usually won't revise further when he's at home. That's because the amount of intensity of his concentration at school is extremely high with little amount of time he spent studying, which is the contrary to mine, where I usually spend a huge amount of time cramming with little burst of concentration. When he's at home, he will prioritise in completing his homework as fast as he can and that's the exact moment that he will revise. Ergo, it wasn't surprising anymore after I got to know that he's consistently one of the top students in my class with an easy-going and laid back attitude all the while when he was in secondary school.

I have also come to this realization of no matter how diligent or hardworking I am, there will be other students out there that are far more intelligent than me and can even party harder than me.

P/S: The workload of 4 subjects are overwhelming enough for all of us as you've mentioned, but, he's the only one taking 5 subjects and is still going strong. It will be amazing if he is able to secure a 4.00 CGPA in the STPM exams.

This post has been edited by RED-HAIR-SHANKS: Jul 30 2014, 10:03 PM

You don't give yourself enough credit. From here, I can tell that you read up a lot of what's outside the syllabus. And you have a genuine interest in what you're studying. A lot of people, even STPM students, don't bother.

Both physics and bio? wow!

This post has been edited by OTRoad: Jul 30 2014, 10:13 PM

Your friend has the right idea of how studying for STPM should be done =)
Everybody has their strengths and weaknesses. I can totally relate to your situation as I don't see myself as inherently smart as well, so I make up for it by working harder than my peers.

I don't think there is anything wrong about being slightly envious of others, as long as you don't let it eat you up. You have nothing to lose by being diligent and hardworking, and if anything, I'm sure that if you have the right attitude towards things, you can inspire others such as yourself too.

It'd be nice if I'm able to thoroughly enjoy my Form 6 life like you've mentioned. But, all of the pressure for the imminent trial exams and inordinate amount of workload has given me the least amount of time to look for some space and time to 'play' .

One of my STPM teacher even told us all that: ''你们一来到 Form 6 就已经没有这个东西叫 holiday''.

First term is tough. It'll get better and later on you will see what I meant. Time will show you everything but you must allow it to appear and register.

Most college textbooks on Science and Mathematics are usually very thick. Some authors split the subject in 2 or 3 volumes.

If you really like the book, you should find a printing service center to print out the book in Black & White (or colors) with hardcover binding.

For 1,000++ pages, you can probably negotiate the price.

This is free stuff with bloods & sweats from the Authors. So, don't ridicule!

This is the problem I'm facing right now. Time flies, and it's too fast

And this is also what teacher told us. And my teachers are so hardworking that they stuffed us with endless homework so that we will not be enjoying our holiday

My teacher said, first term for physics stream is the most easiest term?! If cannot score in first term, how about 2nd and 3rd term?!

This post has been edited by scgoh123: Aug 4 2014, 10:49 PM

Not possible. Everyone who has completed STPM would no doubt agree that the 2nd term Physics is the easiest. The first and third term are both insanely hard, with some people saying third term's the hardest.

This post has been edited by Just Visiting By: Aug 1 2014, 05:54 PM

Isn't this subjective? One could have mastered Mechanics before Electricity and Magnetism, so one finds Term 1's Physics to be a breeze. Or one could have poured his heart and soul into studying E/M during SPM, while only look at Mechanics in passing before STPM.

Consider reading outside texts? Cambridge A-Level and Singapore GCE 'A' Level students use texts outside the syllabus, for example Fundamentals of Physics by Haliday and Resnick. I think STPM syllabi have recommendations on books, and I would recommend getting a hold of one of the texts to supplement, or even replace your current STPM textbook. For extra challenge you might want to buy Singapore GCE 'A' Level practice books, especially for Maths, Physics and Chemistry.

Aside from Rice's free Physics textbook, here are a few more which have survived the test of time, for pre-university students or first year undergraduates.

1. University Physics by Young and Freeman
2. Physics for Scientists and Engineers ( with Modern Physics ) by Serway
3. A-Level Physics by Roger Muncaster
4. New Understanding of A-Level Physics by Jim

I think one of them should be enough, as they are very dense and you won't need to study all the chapters.

Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics by Serway & Jewett is my primary college physics reference book.



Here is a sample chapter :: Motion in Two Dimensions