### Thinking [email protected] #5

[email protected] is a series of questions that we, as tutors feel that are useful in helping students think and improve their understanding.

Thinking [email protected] is curated by Aaron. More of him can be found here.

Given a chance to counter Sir Isaac Newton’s famous quote of “What goes up must come down”, do you think it is true in all scenarios?

### Thinking [email protected] #4

[email protected] is a series of questions that we, as tutors feel that are useful in helping students think and improve their understanding.

Thinking [email protected] is curated by Aaron. More of him can be found here.

Can you explain how a privacy screen protector works on your smartphone?

### Thinking [email protected] #3

[email protected] is a series of questions that we, as tutors feel that are useful in helping students think and improve their understanding.

Thinking [email protected] is curated by Aaron. More of him can be found here.

In designing a circuit, an engineer needs to use five 5KΩ resistors to design a resistors network of approximately 4.3KΩ. How should he place the resistors to achieve that resistance?

### Thinking [email protected] #2

[email protected] is a series of questions that we, as tutors feel that are useful in helping students think and improve their understanding.

Thinking [email protected] is curated by Aaron. More of him can be found here.

Assuming an object is moving in a circular motion in a polar coordinate system given by $x = r \text{cos} \theta$ and $y = r \text{sin} \theta$. Can you derive the formula of the centripetal acceleration? Hint: look at one of the axes and think of the direction and what is centripetal acceleration

### Thinking [email protected] #1

[email protected] is a series of questions that we, as tutors feel that are useful in helping students think and improve their understanding.

Thinking [email protected] is curated by Aaron. More of him can be found here.

Kepler’s Third Law states that the period of a planet’s orbit is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit. This allows scientists to calculate distances of planets in our solar system. Can you derive the equation using what you have learned in Motion in a Circle and Gravitational Field?

### [email protected] #1

[email protected] is a series of questions that we, as tutors feel that are useful in helping students think and improve their understanding.

Thinking [email protected] is curated by Aaron. More of him can be found here.

Why study Physics?

I have questioned many students and getting answers ranging from “Just a subject that I have to take in A-Level” to “I do not know what else to take?”

It is not just a subject:

Physics can be seen as a ‘tool’ to enable you to be more logical and you practise and learn to question ‘Why’, which is an invaluable asset to many other jobs or careers

A student’s dad was having a good chat with me and he was a control systems engineer back in his younger years in The States for a good decade or so. Thereafter he went on to take an MBA and he is now an MD in a local bank. Even if you are not going to major in engineering, it can be a good training.

Helping out with the house:

You can of course repair and fix things in the house without studying Physics but if you know more about topics like pressure, forces, electricity and how things work, won’t it be awesome that you are more knowledgeable? It can be a general knowledge and it will help you out in life along the way when things are screwed at home.

It puts your maths to good use:

Lots of formulas? Well, they help physicists and engineers to understand the world we live in.

Becoming an Engineer:

It is a myth that only bankers are being paid well. Only the good bankers are well paid, similar to engineers. If you excel in the things you do, you will be rewarded. Engineers are not technicians. Yes, they can fix things but they innovate and SOLVE problems too.

A world without Physics:

You will not be looking at this now on your computer/laptop or mobile device literally. Engineers continuously apply Physics to push the frontiers of technology.

It is not just a subject:

Physics can be seen as a ‘tool’ to enable you to be more logical and you practise and learn to question ‘Why’, which is an invaluable asset to many other jobs or careers

A student’s dad was having a good chat with me and he was a control systems engineer back in his younger years in The States for a good decade or so. Thereafter he went on to take an MBA and he is now an MD in a local bank. Even if you are not going to major in engineering, it can be a good training.

Helping out with the house:

You can of course repair and fix things in the house without studying Physics but if you know more about topics like pressure, forces, electricity and how things work, won’t it be awesome that you are more knowledgeable? It can be a general knowledge and it will help you out in life along the way when things are screwed at home.

It puts your maths to good use:

Lots of formulas? Well, they help physicists and engineers to understand the world we live in.

Becoming an Engineer:

It is a myth that only bankers are being paid well. Only the good bankers are well paid, similar to engineers. If you excel in the things you do, you will be rewarded. Engineers are not technicians. Yes, they can fix things but they innovate and SOLVE problems too.

A world without Physics:

You will not be looking at this now on your computer/laptop or mobile device literally. Engineers continuously apply Physics to push the frontiers of technology.

### Meritocracy? Junior colleges merger and its implications

It’s pretty interesting that shortly after our post on meritocracy, we have news about the junior college (JC) mergers. For more information about the news, you could take a look at this weblink.

This drastic move by MOE has sparked a lot of concerns among the public and has brought up a few issues for us to consider. First, it would be the falling demographics of Singapore. The falling birth rates is cited as the main reason for the merger of schools, so that resources would not be wasted, and there would not be under-utilized staff in the system. With such falling birth rates, what would you think is going to happen to the future of the educational landscape (would teaching/tutoring as a profession still be lucrative? We know that MOE has cut back on the hiring of teachers from 3000 at its peak yearly to about 1000 right now).

Second question to think about would be the larger implications of these schools merger. Why are these schools selected? Some have argued that it is a strategic move by the government to level the playing field by merging these colleges so that academic standards would be streamlined? of course, we cannot merge schools like RI and HCI together as it would only further consolidate their super-elite status in society (besides strong school culture and powerful alumni).

Finally, school culture and history is being destroyed when merger takes place. If that’s the case, what does it say about how the nation values history? It is all about the future and progress right, the past no longer matters if it is holding us back. Pragmatism is the view of the Singapore’s state.

### Post-Results 2016

Let’s face it. Some of us will not get the dream results we want. Don’t give up and let fear conquer you.

For students unsure of the available courses, they can check out the following post. It contains the grade profile for local universities.

Our Team will be here if you need help/ advice. Feel free to text us.

P.S. Today, I saw an image shared by Mr Wee, which said that “You’re the architect of your own life”. So let’s not let the grades define us.

### Release of A’levels Results 2016

For students who took A’levels in 2016, please note that information for the release of A’levels Results 2016 can be found in the following!

Release of A’levels 2016

Grade Profile (i.e. Number of As you need to get into courses for)

SMU

NTU

NUS

P.S. Results does not define you. When one door closes, another opens.

### 2016 A Level H2 Physics (9646) Paper 1 Suggested Solutions

All solutions here are SUGGESTED. Casey will hold no liability for any errors. Comments are entirely personal opinions.

1. B
2. C
3. B
4. D
5. D
6. C
7. D
8. D
9. B
10. C
11. A
12. D
13. D
14. C
15. C
16. A
17. D
18. A
19. B
20. D
21. Question 21 is a flawed question. When unpolarised light goes through a polarizer, the I is halved while the A is reduced by a factor of root 2. But based on the information Cambridge provides, the answer is C.
22. D
23. D
24. C
25. C
26. B
27. C
28. A
29. B
30. B
31. A
32. C
33. D
34. B
35. B
36. B
37. D
38. C
39. C
40. C

Note to all: Casey will not respond to most of the comments as he is busy. You may contact him by SMS at  +65 9474 5005 if you have a burning question.

Feel free to explain the answers, if you are confident. Many thanks.