GEP science topic on electricity

You probably would have noticed that I post quite a bit on English and Maths, but nothing on Science and Chinese. The reason is simple: Kenneth and I divide the teaching subjects between us, so that we can maintain our sanity. Since Kenneth is a science graduate and took Higher Chinese in school, it was a natural division of labour - I teach English and Maths, he teaches Chinese and Science.

On paper, I passed Chinese at 'AO' level but in reality, I'm effectively monolingual. The irony is that my communications company offers Chinese translation as a service. Which means I have to engage only translators that I have complete trust in because for all I know, they could be translating, "Company XX sucks! It passes off rotten fish eyes as crab jelly!" and I wouldn't have a clue.

I also have no head for or interest in science, except perhaps in human biology. So you see, it's not that I'm biased against these two subjects - it's just that since they're not under my purview, I have no idea what my kids are learning for Chinese and Science. I don't even know what the syllabus is. (When I'm hands-off, I'm really hands-off!)

But my sense of fairness dictates that I should at least attempt to post something in this area, so I thought I'd give a glimpse into Lesley-Anne's GEP Science. GEP Science stresses a lot on practicum, which I think is great because it makes concepts come alive and is more fun than merely learning stuff from the book.

For p5, besides the regular pen-and-paper exams, their final mark for science takes into account daily work, two projects and one practical exam. As you can tell, it's pretty well-rounded. But I will state up front that I don't know how Science is taught and tested in the mainstream, so I have no idea if it's drastically different from GEP.

I won't post an exam paper here. I'm refraining from posting GEP exam papers of any kind because I know there are unscrupulous tutors out there who try to get their hands on these papers so they can charge their tutees for teaching at "GEP standard". Despicable.

But what I will share is one of the many hands-on, investigative lessons they do in class for GEP Science. This is one of the worksheets I took from Lesley-Anne's file this year. This was under the topic of Electricity and they did this exercise in groups of four. Each group was given the materials as stated in each question and asked to investigate. After they had completed the questions, the teacher went through the investigation with them and explained what the correct answers were and why. The groups who got it wrong the first time could then re-try the investigation, but this time with an understanding of how it's supposed to be done.

All answers provided below are the correct ones.

Hands-On With Batteries & Bulbs

1. "Moving electrons produce a magnetic field. The faster the electrons move, the stronger the magnetic field produced." Given 2 batteries, 1 30cm long aluminium foil strip and 1 compass, investigate to find out whether this statement is true or false. What happens when the electrons move in the opposite direction?

Observation: When one battery is used, the compass needle deflects a little. When 2 batteries are used, the compass needle deflects more. When the terminals of the batteries are reversed, the compass needle deflects in the opposite direction.

Explanation: The above statement is true. When an electric current flows through a wire, a magnetic field is formed around the wire. The compass needle is actually a magnet itself.

2. Set up the circuit as shown in the circuit diagram below. By using only 1 wire, investigate how you can make the lighted bulb go out without disturbing the set up.


(The wire drawn above the bulb is the part that was added.)

Explanation: Electrons take the path in a circuit where there is least resistance. When the wire is connected as shown above, a short circuit of minimum resistance is formed and the electrons now flow through the new path. No electrons flow through the light bulb now and so it goes off.

3. Given only 1 battery, 2 bulbs and 4 wires, how can you connect a circuit to light up both bulbs such that when one bulb fuses, the other bulb remains lighted up? Draw a circuit diagram to show your answer.


Again, I'm no scientist so the diagrams mean nothing to me and I've no idea if what is taught is normal for p5 standard or difficult. Hopefully what I've shared is more meaningful to some of you!