Day: 21 November 2015

Some tips to help you study for the exams!

Sibo studying

If you are writing matric – then this is probably too late for you – but for the rest of us, it might help.

  • Do some exercise before you write you exam – according to scientists, exercise boosts brain and memory power. They reckon 20 minutes of exercise before you write your exam can help a lot – try hula hooping!
  • If you read something out loud (okay – don’t try this in the library where you are supposed to be quiet) you are 50% more likely to remember it, than if you read it quietly to yourself.
  • One of the best ways to make sure that you have learned and understood something – is to explain it to somebody else. Ask one of your parental agents, a sibling or a friend to hear you out.
  • Create mental connections – Steve Jobs famously said “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something”. Worth a try hey?
  • Draw diagrams to help you see the information. This creates a visual memory in your mind – which is easier to remember than just words.
  • Make yourself flash cards for a quick memory buzz. Then you can quickly test your knowledge of key concepts, definitions, quotes and formulas using these flashcards. You can look at them when you wake up in the morning – or while you eat your breakfast.
  • Take short study breaks. After 45-50 minutes – take a 10 minute break.  If you study for longer than this your focus is diminished.
  • Strangely or not – they recommend changing the places where you study. Don’t always sit at your desk or the dining room table. Sometimes you will learn more if you go and sit under a tree outside!
  • Do not stay up all night before an exam studying. Getting a good night’s sleep will reinforce all the stuff you have learnt during the day.
  • Study in a group. This can help you gain extra knowledge or insights.
  • Reward yourself for studying with a treat. For every so many pages you read (out loud) you can allocate yourself one smartie (because… you are becoming a smartie pants of course!).

Good luck in the exams!

Sibo

 

Cool career of the week: chemistry teacher

A chemistry teacher can inspire students to explore chemistry by challenging them to create an effective, eco-friendly cleaning solution.

Water crisis

Sibo having a shorter shower

Sjoe! It’s been hot lately.

Very very hot. Usually we would have had quite a bit of rain by now – but that is not the case this year.

In fact, it’s so bad that certain areas in Gauteng have been put on water saving programmes. Like they are not allowed to water their gardens between six o’clock in the morning and six o’clock in the evening. This makes a lot of sense – if you water when the sun is shining it just evaporates and the water is gone.

You are also only allowed to wash your car with a bucket – no hose pipes. Hose pipes waste lots of water when it comes to washing cars. Anyway – who cares if cars get a bit dirty when we are having a water crisis? Much more important that there is water to drink and bathe in than cars are clean and shiny. Or I think so anyway.

People are not allowed to fill up their swimming pools either.  So if you are lucky enough to have a pool in your garden – swim nicely in it. The sun will suck up enough water without you wasting it by jumping in and splashing out lots of water.

Remember all the old basics – turn the tap off when you are brushing your teeth. Have a shower instead of a bath. And make it a quick shower too.

If you put a brick (or even half a brick) in your toilet cistern – it uses less water.

Make sure there are no leaky taps in your house. It does not seem like a few drips would matter much but you’d be absolutely amazed at how quickly they add up into litres and litres of wasted water.

Also, fill your washing machine up with clothes when you do a load –half loads are a huge waste of water.

You can spray a bit of water into a fan and stand in front of it – it’s a great way of keeping cool.

Water is very precious – we are using the same stuff that the dinosaurs used. It’s a cycle.

You can go check out the water cycle on my webpage if you are interested http://www.sibo.co.za/page12.html

Remember every drop counts!

Sibo

 

Career of the week: hydrology

Meaning: a science dealing with the properties, distribution, and circulation of water on and below the earth’s surface and in the atmosphere.