Holiday Plan: Learning Guitar

It can be a long holiday for those who had just finished their SPM exam. Why not take this time to learn something useful. Click on the banner below to get more information.

If you are not SPM Student, but interested in learning guitar for leisure or even for church performance, you can also check out the guitar lesson.

100% SPOTTED in Paper 3!

Update of Year 2009 Spotted Topic In SPM Chemistry Paper 3. I am proud to share that all three questions of SPM Chemistry Paper 3 year 2009 came out from the list that I had made on 7 December 2009.

1. Exp 1.1 pg 294 (Question No 2 in Paper 3)
2. Exp1.2 pg 296*
3. Exp 1.3 pg 299
4. Exp 1.4 pg 301
5. Ac 2.6 pg 377*
6. Ac 2.8 pg 391*
7. Exp 3.2 pg 422
8. Exp 3.3 pg 425
9. Exp 3.5 pg 439*
10. Exp 3.6 pg 441*
11. Exp 3.7 pg 443
12. Exp 4.1 pg 493*
13. Exp 4.2 pg 500
14. Ac 3.2 and Ac 3.3 pg 55*
15. Exp 6.2 pg 138
16. Exp 6.3 pg 140
17. Exp 6.4 pg 141 (Question No 1 in Paper 3)
18. Exp 6.5 pg 149 (Question No 1 in Paper 3)
19. Exp 6.7 pg 159
20. Exp 6.8 pg 160-161
21. Exp 7.3 pg 191 (Question No 3 in Paper 3)
22. Exp 8.2 pg 219
23. Exp 9.1 pg 260*
24. Exp 9.2 pg 262

Congratulations to those who finish studying the above list before the exam!

Update of Year 2009 Spotted Topic In SPM Chemistry Paper 2

Chemistry SPM 2009 exam had finished, I wanted to update my spotted topics with the real SPM Chemistry papers. Those I bolded with colour are the topics that came out in the real SPM Chemistry Paper 2.

1. Empirical formula – study for both CuO and MgO
- Precautions when carry out the experiment
- Draw set-up of apparatus
- Observation
- Calculation in determining the empirical formula ( Question No 3 in Paper 2)

2. Periodic Table
- Group 1 element – both physical and chemical properties (Question No.2 in Paper 2)
- Group 18 element – physical properties and uses
- Transition element – special characteristics
- Amphoteric

3. Carbon compound
- Alkane
- Alkene (Question No 4 and No7 Paper 2) ( Alcohol also came out again this year)
- how to prepare ester - when an ester is given, you should be able to name the
alcohol and carboxylic acid used

4. Chemical bond
- Describe formation of ionic and covalent bond
- Conductivity of electric and heat
- Solubility in water and organic solvent

5. Redox reaction (Experiment about reduction and redox reaction by the transfer of electrons at a distance) (Question No 9 Paper 2)
- Explain the process of rusting
- Define term of Redox reaction

6. Electrolysis
- Chemical cell (Question No 8 Paper 2) (Factor of concentration for electrolytic cell also came out this year)
- Define term of chemical cell

7. Soap and detergent
- How to make soap
- Advantages and disadvantages of soap and detergent
- Process of cleansing action

8. Contact process and Haber process
- uses of sulphuric aced
- uses of ammonia
- industrial process of ammonia

9. Thermochemistry ( Heat of neutralisation, I didn’t spot this heat because it has came out before. It seems like next time we should cover all the heat. Heat that had come out will come out again and heat that haven’t come out not necessarily will come out in the following year)
(Question No 6 Paper 2)
- Heat of displacement/ precipitation – same concept in calculation
- Heat of combustion

10. Salt
- Prepare soluble salt or insoluble salt – learn to draw apparatus set up
- Indentify anion or cation in a given solution (Question No 10 Paper 2) (Question about acidity came out again this year in this same question)

11. Rate of reaction ( The factor of concentration, I didn’t spot this factor because it has came out before. It seems like next time we should cover all the factors. Factor that had come out will come out again and factors that haven’t come out not necessarily will come out in the following year) ( Question No 5 Paper 2)
- Factor of catalyst
- Factor of temperature

12. Manufactured substances in industry
- Uses of alloy, glass and polymers
(Question No.1 in Paper 2)

13. Experiment of vulcanized and unvulcanized rubber

List Of Experiments That You Should Focus

Dear students, below are list of experiments that you should focus for this coming SPM Chemistry Paper 3. It is a long list, therefore if you are running out of time, just try to at least go through the experiments that are in BOLD in red.

I am using SUCCESS Chemistry SPM published 2008. Please note that the experiment with * are the experiments that had come out a few years ago but might come out again in any of the present year. The experiments in BOLD in red are the spotted experiments that most likely to come out in this year Paper 3. Again, there is no guarantee that the experiment will surely come out in Paper 3 but it’s still no harm for you to go through them.

1. Exp 1.1 pg 294
2. Exp1.2 pg 296*
3. Exp 1.3 pg 299
4. Exp 1.4 pg 301
5. Ac 2.6 pg 377*
6. Ac 2.8 pg 391*
7. Exp 3.2 pg 422
8. Exp 3.3 pg 425
9. Exp 3.5 pg 439*
10. Exp 3.6 pg 441*
11. Exp 3.7 pg 443
12. Exp 4.1 pg 493*
13. Exp 4.2 pg 500
14. Ac 3.2 and Ac 3.3 pg 55*
15. Exp 6.2 pg 138
16. Exp 6.3 pg 140
17. Exp 6.4 pg 141
18. Exp 6.5 pg 149
19. Exp 6.7 pg 159
20. Exp 6.8 pg 160-161
21. Exp 7.3 pg 191
22. Exp 8.2 pg 219
23. Exp 9.1 pg 260*
24. Exp 9.2 pg 262

If you really can’t finish the whole list, I suggest that you start study the experiments bolded in red, followed by the experiments with*, only then followed by other experiments.

I will refine again and narrow down the number of spotted experiments when I know what topics come out in the real SPM Chemistry Paper 2 on 8 Dec 2009 noon time.

Good Luck and May God Bless You All The Time.

Chemistry SPM 2009 Spotted Topics (Updated)

Dear students, below are lists of topics that I think are important and might be asked in this year Chemistry SPM exam papers. Paper 1 will cover all topics from form 4 and form 5. The spotted topics below are for both Paper 2 and Paper 3.

1. Empirical formula – study for both CuO and MgO
- Precautions when carry out the experiment
- Draw set-up of apparatus
- Observation
- Calculation in determining the empirical formula

2. Periodic Table
- Group 1 element – both physical and chemical properties
- Group 18 element – physical properties and uses
- Transition element – special characteristics
- Amphoteric

3. Carbon compound
- Alkane
- Alkene
- how to prepare ester - when an ester is given, you should be able to name the
alcohol and carboxylic acid used

4. Chemical bond
- Describe formation of ionic and covalent bond
- Conductivity of electric and heat
- Solubility in water and organic solvent

5. Redox reaction
- Explain the process of rusting
- Define term of Redox reaction

6. Electrolysis
- Chemical cell
- Define term of chemical cell

7. Soap and detergent
- How to make soap
- Advantages and disadvantages of soap and detergent
- Process of cleansing action

8. Contact process and Haber process
- uses of sulphuric aced
- uses of ammonia
- industrial process of ammonia

9. Thermochemistry
- Heat of displacement/ precipitation – same concept in calculation
- Heat of combustion

10. Salt
- Prepare soluble salt or insoluble salt – learn to draw apparatus set up
- Indentify anion or cation in a given solution

11. Rate of reaction
- Factor of catalyst
- Factor of temperature

12. Manufactured substances in industry
- Uses of alloy, glass and polymers

13. Experiment of vulcanized and unvulcanized rubber

There is no guarantee that which topics will come out in Paper 2 or Paper 3. Anyway, there is no harm for you to focus on the above topics because they are really popular exam topics. I will make a post particularly for Paper 3 spotted experiment, just like what I did for Biology Paper 3. I hope this will help narrow down the number of spotted experiment in Paper 3. Please come back later tonight or tomorrow for my latest update. In order to receive post update notification, just subscribe to my blog.

I wish you all the best and study hard. Don’t give up until the last day!

Chemistry SPM 2009 Spotted Topics

Dear students, below are lists of topics that I think are important and might be asked in this year Chemistry SPM exam papers. Paper 1 will cover all topics from form 4 and form 5. The spotted topics below are for both Paper 2 and Paper 3.

1. Empirical formula – study for both CuO and MgO
- Precautions when carry out the experiment
- Draw set-up of apparatus
- Observation
- Calculation in determining the empirical formula

2. Periodic Table
- Group 1 element – both physical and chemical properties
- Group 18 element – physical properties and uses
- Transition element – special characteristics
- Amphoteric

3. Carbon compound
- Alkane
- Alkene

4. Chemical bond
- Describe formation of ionic and covalent bond
- Conductivity of electric and heat
- Solubility in water and organic solvent

5. Redox reaction
- Explain the process of rusting
- Define term of Redox reaction

6. Electrolysis
- Chemical cell
- Define term of chemical cell

7. Soap and detergent
- How to make soap
- Advantages and disadvantages of soap and detergent
- Process of cleansing action

8. Contact process and Haber process
- uses of sulphuric aced
- uses of ammonia
- industrial process of ammonia

9. Thermochemistry
- Heat of displacement/ precipitation – same concept in calculation
- Heat of combustion

10. Salt
- Prepare soluble salt or insoluble salt – learn to draw apparatus set up
- Indentify anion or cation in a given solution

11. Rate of reaction
- Factor of catalyst
- Factor of temperature

12. Manufactured substances in industry
- Uses of alloy, glass and polymers

13. Experiment of vulcanized and unvulcanized rubber

There is no guarantee that which topics will come out in Paper 2 or Paper 3. Anyway, there is no harm for you to focus on the above topics because they are really popular exam topics. I will make a post particularly for Paper 3 spotted experiment, just like what I did for Biology Paper 3. I hope this will help narrow down the number of spotted experiment in Paper 3. Please come back later tonight or tomorrow for my latest update. In order to receive post update notification, just subscribe to my blog.

I wish you all the best and study hard. Don’t give up until the last day!

I have spotted the Biology planning experiment question 2009

After knowing what was the questions came out in Biology Paper 2. I refined my spotted questions in Paper 3 to six experiments at around 12:30pm. My first spotted experiment was Experiment 4.1 Studying the effects of temperature on the activity of salivary amylase Page 92, and it came out in the real Biology Paper3 2009! The biological detergent contain protease and amylase.

I want to praise the Lord and give all the glory to Him! Because He answered my prayer and gave me wisdom to spot the question.

Let us continue praying to our Lord Jesus to ask for wisdom for all of our coming exams!

Announcement

I have made a post on SPM tips for today Biology Paper 3. Please check out http://biology-spm-tips-and-helps.blogspot.com/

Good luck and wishing you all the best!

Tactic That You Can Use To Score Better In Chemistry (Part 4)

Hi again, I hope you are doing well with your revision. By this time, you should completed Plan B. Now let’s see what you should do in Plan C. In Plan C, you will be answering all the essay questions in Paper 2, Section B and Section C.

Since you don’t have so much time left, I suggest that you learn straight from the answer given. Below are steps that you can follow:

Step 1: Read and understand the essay question
Step 2: Underline or circle the action word/keyword in the question so that you know what to
answer
Step 3: Go through the answer given
Step 4: Underline or circle the main point/keyword in each paragraph of the answer
Step 5: Remember the main point/keyword and then understand the answer given
Step 6: Rewrite the essay based on the main point/keyword that you have memorized without
referring back to the answer
Step 7: Check the essay you wrote with the answer given
Step 8: If you get your answer correct, then repeat the steps above with a new essay question. If
your answer is wrong, rewrite the essay.

When you go through the answer given, please make sure that you understand the answer. If you not sure or feel that the answer is incorrect, you should always check back in the reference books or check with your chemistry teacher.

Lastly, Plan D is that you set a day and doing a full set of the question papers following the exact time given in answering the SPM Chemistry Exam paper.

Well, that’s all about the tactics that you can use in order to score better in SPM. I will compile some spotted questions for this coming SPM Chemistry 2009 in my coming post. Just subscribe to my blog so that you know when I update my blog.

All the best to you!

Chemistry: Multiple Choice Problem Solving Question 3

Which of the following does not involve oxidation and reduction method?

A.Electrolysis of molten lead(II) chloride using carbon electrodes
B.Addition of zinc powder to copper(II) sulphate solution.
C.Steam is passed over hot magnesium powder.
D.Addition of silver nitrate solution to sodium chloride solution.

Explanation:

This is a double decomposition reaction. It doesn't involve changes in oxidation numbers of ions.

AgNO3 + NaCl --> AgCl + NaNO3

If you calculate the oxidation numbers of each ions, they does not change before and after the reaction.

Question asked by Ryane.

Chemistry: Multiple Choice Problem Solving Question 2

Which of the following methods is suitable for preparing lead(II) bromide?

A. Heat lead(II) sulphate and potassium bromide
B. Heat lead(II) oxide and bromine.
C.Add lead powder to aqueous sodium bromide.
D.Mix Lead(II) nitrate solution with sodium bromide solution.

Explanation:

Lead(II) bromide is the stable salt of lead and hydrobromic acid. It is typically formed by precipitation from lead(II) nitrate by the addition of a water-soluble bromide, for example sodium bromide solution. This method is called Double Decomposition Reaction.
Therefore, the answer is D.

Anyway, Lead(II) bromide is not in the SPM syllabus.

Question asked by Ryane.

Chemistry: Multiple Choice Problem Solving Question 1

2HCl + Na2CO3 --> 2NaCl + CO2 + H2O

What volume of 0.2moldm-3 solution of sodium carbonate is required to react completely with 50cm3 0.5moldm-3 hydrochloric acid?
A.31.5cm3
B.62.5cm3
C.125cm3
D.250cm3

Explanation:

No. of moles of HCl = (50x0.5)/1000
= 0.025

From the balanced equation given,
2 mol of HCl react completely with 1 mol of Na2CO3
Therefore, 0.025 mol of HCl will react completely with 0.025/2=0.0125 mol of Na2CO3

0.0125 = (0.2V)/1000
0.2V = 12.5
V = 12.5/0.2
= 62.5

Therefore, volume of sodium carbonate required is 62.5 cm3.

Question asked by Ryane.

Tactic That You Can Use To Score Better In Chemistry (Part 3)

Welcome back! Today I will continue sharing about what you should do in Plan B. If you have completed Plan A, then you should be more familiar with the subject because you have done a lot of questions in Paper 1 which the questions are from all the Form 4 and Form 5 topics.

After completed Plan A, you start doing all the questions only in Section A of Paper 2 until you finish the entire model test work book. You should also find proof of the answers given by referring to reference books while answering the questions. If you find some topics that you are not so familiar with, study the topic again.
If you need more explanation about certain questions, please don’t hesitate to seek help from your chemistry teacher. You may also post your questions to me, and I will try my best to clear your doubt. Please go to Need My Help? for more information.

Well, Plan B is quite simple and straight forward. In order to get better result from my tactic, make sure you complete Plan A before proceed to Plan B.

Wishing you all the best and we will talk soon.

Tactic That You Can Use To Score Better In Chemistry (Part 2)

Hi and welcome back. Today I am going to share with you about plans that you can use in order to score better in Chemistry. In order to make things simple, I will divide the plans into Plan A, Plan B, Plan C and Plan D. The four plans show the sequence that you can follow to master the exam format so that you can score better. First you need to get a SPM model test work book. I always recommend my students to start with the most difficult model test work book which is from Oxford Fajar. After finish the Oxford Fajar work book, you can continue with any model test work book from any publisher.

Plan A: Do only Paper 1 and Paper 3 from the work book until you finish all model tests in the work book
Plan B: Do only Section A in Paper 2 until you finish all model tests in the work book
Plan C: Do Section B and Section C until you finish all the model tests in the work book
Plan D: Get a new model test work book from another publisher and do the full papers until you finish all model tests in the work book

The whole process will take about 4 weeks to finish if you do it on a daily basics. Now let’s look at more details on what you should do in Plan A. If you still not so familiar with the subject, you might find yourself unable to answer almost all the questions. That is fine because that’s why you need to have strategy to learn better. Don’t give up too soon, you CAN DO IT! Start doing Paper 1 questions by referring to reference books. That is perfectly okay for you to answer Paper 1 while referring to books because this is also a learning process. There is one very important thing that you MUST do when answering Paper 1. That is to find proof for the answer given and write down whatever notes or facts that are related to the particular question. Repeat the process for every question that you are unsure about the answer. This might take some time to do these but it really worth the time because by doing the above, you are not only answering one particular question, you also learning other facts that are related to that question. I have tried this strategy with my students and most of my students score very well in their Trial Exam for Paper 1.

Now let’s talk about Paper 3. In order to score well in Paper 3, you need to know some answering techniques for Paper 3. You can learn the answering techniques from your chemistry teacher in school. I believe most of them know about the answering techniques for Paper 3. So, apply the answering techniques in Paper 3 and get your teacher to mark it for you. I strongly believe that your teacher will be more than happy to help you.

Therefore, repeat the same process for other Paper 1 and Paper 3 until you finish all model tests in your work book. Most model test work book consist of 5 model tests, you can finish them within two weeks time if you do it every day.

Your action steps:
1. Buy a chemistry SPM model test work book from your local book store.
2. Start answering one paper a day regardless you want to Paper 1 or Paper 3 but you must finish all of them in the work book.
3. Learn answering technique for Paper 3.
4. Get you chemistry teacher to mark Paper 3 for you.

Believe it or not, if you can master Paper 1 and Paper 3, you already gain 50% of the total score. Keep it up. I will be talking about action steps for Plan B in my coming post.

Don’t forget to subscribe to my post so that you can get updates from my post in your email. We will talk soon.

Tactic That You Can Use To Score Better In Chemistry (Part 1)

Today I am going to share with you the tactic you can use to score better in exam papers that consist of 3 papers. In SPM, chemistry consists of 3 papers. This also applies to biology and physics papers. I believe you can use the same tactic for the other two pure science papers.

Before I continue, you have to understand the marks distributions of the 3 papers.
• Paper 1 (Multiple choice questions) - 50 marks
• Paper 2 (Structural and essay questions) - 100 marks
• Paper 3 (Questions about experiments) - 50 marks

Some students will focus on exercises for Paper 1, because they think Paper 1 has answers to choose from, hence should be easier to score. This is not always true, because Paper 1 actually covered all the topics from Form 4 to Form 5. You should be familiar with all the topics in order to score well in Paper 1. Besides that, sometimes the multiple choice questions provide very similar answers to choose from, you should know how to choose the best answer. Sometimes, the answers can be very tricky.

Some students will focus on exercises for Paper 2; because they think Paper 2 contribute the most marks. If they can score in Paper 2, they should be able to score well. This is not always true as well. Paper 2 consists very limited numbers of questions. You might not cover all the topics that you need to know. If exam come out with the questions you had seen before, then you can score. What if the exam comes out with the questions that you never seen before? Then you might not be able to answer the questions correctly.

Paper 3 should be the easiest paper to score because Paper 3 asks questions about conducting experiments. By knowing the techniques of answering Paper 3, you will be able to score well in Paper 3.

Students nowadays are very busy with a lot of tuitions until they complaint that they don't have enough time to do revision. But the truth is, there is no short cut for you to skip the study of reference books and memorize facts before you can go on to do revision exercises. Therefore, before you do revision exercises, you MUST go through all the notes in reference books in details.

After you have gone through the notes in reference books, then you can apply the tactic that I am going to show you later. I don't want to make my post too long. So, please come back later for Part 2. If you want to know my updates, please subscribe to my blog posts by entering you email in the form on your right. We will talk again soon.

Let Me Pray For You

SPM is just around the corner. Are you already in exam mood or still can’t really concentrate on your revision? Or you already study very hard but still don’t really understand what you are studying and can’t answer exam questions correctly?

I know there are so many things that are out of our control. Don’t give up too soon. We can put our faith and hope to God. When you trust in Him and try your best do all the things that you should do to achieve your goal, then let God do the rest for you.

I am a Christian and I am willing to spend a little of my time to pray for your preparation in the coming SPM exam. Regardless you are a Christian or not, if you want me to pray for you, just email me at nicobella.tutor@gmail.com with your real name and subjects that you want me to pray for. Or you can let me know by fill in the comment box below. You can try and see what God have prepared something wonderful in your life.

All the Best and May God Bless You,

Nico Bella

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Need My Help?

Hi to my fellow students,

If you want me to give further explanations on chemistry problem solving questions, here are some of the things that you need to do:

1. Send me your full questions with answers by email me at nicobella.tutor@gmail.com. Please provide me your full name, school name and valid email address when sending your requests. Your information is safe with me; I will not share your information to anyone. Please visit Privacy Statement. Requests without the above information will not be fulfilled.

2. Please understand that my main approach in helping you is giving you explanations, not doing home work for you. Therefore, questions with answers will be given priority in giving the explanations. Questions without answers will not guarantee to be answered.

3. Due to high demand in explaining the questions, please allow 2 to 5 days for me to answer your request.

4. All explanations given by me will be posted on this blog. Please subscribe to my blog so that you will get the latest updates of my blog posts.

5. If you have any question after I answered and posted your requests, please send me your questions in the comment box below the post.

I hope you do benefit from my helps. Happy study in chemistry!

All the best and to your success,

Nico Bella

About

The “Chemistry: SPM Tips And Helps” blog is created with the purpose to help Form 4 and Form 5 science students from Malaysia in their study in chemistry subject.

My main approach in helping the students is through provide further explanation in problems solving questions. Most of the questions in work books only give answers without further explanation on how to get the given answer. So, I am here to try my best to help to the students in answering their questions, like

* how to get the answer
* why that kind answer is given
* how to calculate the question
* and so on…

I will also provide some general tips in coming SPM examination on chemistry and some answering techniques that can help the students to score better in the SPM examination.

In order to begin my post, I will start with explaining the problem solving questions asked by my own students. I want to thank my beloved students because of their encouragement and support for me to create this blog. I hope my effort not only helping them in their chemistry study but also to all the students who studies chemistry in high school level.

If you need my assistance in explaining your problem solving questions in chemistry, please visit Need My Help? I will try my best to help you, of course with FREE of charge.

If you find my blog useful, I would truly appreciate if you can share my blog with your friends.

Wishing you all the best! And good luck in your SPM examination.

All the best to your success,

Nico Bella