In Vitro Fertilisation

In vitro fertilisation is a process by which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside the body. IVF is one of the most widely used method to solving infertility.

IVF works by a woman donating a a few eggs, ranging from 10-15. This is accomplished by stimulating the ovaries through production of FSH. The eggs are then retrieved and fertilised with a sperm in a lab. After the embryo grows for a few days, it will be placed inside the mother.

Even thought the chances of IVF succeeding are not very high, with only a 41.4% live birth rate for women below the age of 35 and an even lesser chance for older women, it is still a popular option to counter infertility.

There have been many ethical issues with IVF, as the child born from IVF is not natural. However, I do not see any problem with it and I believe that it can actually further help the world's progress.

Entire Year's Scheme-of-Work

Over this whole year, we have learned the following:

For Chemistry, we learnt about elements, how they react with each other, and acids and bases. They can be categorised into
- Periodicity
- Atomic Structure
- Acids, Bases and Salts
- Chemical Bonding
- Equation Writing

For Biology, we focused on two main topics,
- Sexual Reproduction in Humans
- Ecology

For Physics, we learnt about light rays and this can be classified into,
- Reflection & Refraction
- Lenses
- Colours
- Dispersion of Light

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)

In term 2, when Mr Chia had to go to Beijing with the upper secondary students, we had Ms Sandra Tan to teach us biology. She gave us many tasks, of which one was to create a video that showcased all the Sexually Transmitted Diseases and their symptoms.

I had a lot of fun doing this project and I think it really taught me a lot about diseases. I hope to be able to make more videos for Science.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GvYUJYE2p0

Genetically Modified Crops

In Term 2, Ms Sandra Tan told our class about this Genetically Modified Crops video creation competition. It seemed very good opportunity for me to not only broaden my knowledge about Modern Sciences, but to also get a chance to work together with a few of my friends. It would have been foolish of me to pass such an opportunity up, needless to say, I took it.

This video has been a positive learning experience from me and I hope that more assignments will require us to do similar tasks.

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIKqBuwUbx0

Term 1 - What I've Learnt

In Term 1, we learned Chemistry, about elements and compounds. I learned that an element is a substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by chemical methods. There are currently 118 known elements. A periodic table which lists all the elements exists to make life easier for us. Elements with similar properties are placed in the same group or column. Every element has a name and symbol. For example, the first element is called Hydrogen and its symbol is H.

Elements consist of a particular type of atom. The atoms of one element are different from the atoms of any other element. An atom is the smallest unit of an element, having the properties of that element.

Most substances on earth occur as compounds and not elements. A compound is a substance containing two or more elements chemically joined together. When elements combine to form compounds, heat is usually given out.

Compounds are made up of molecules and ions. The atoms in molecules must be of different kinds. For example, water is made from the elements hydrogen and oxygen.

Ions are atoms that have an electrical charge.

Mixtures are two or more substances that are not chemically joined together. The difference between compounds and mixtures is that compounds have fixed melting and boiling points, its own physical and chemical properties which are different from the elements that it was formed from and cannot be separated into two or more other substances by physical means. Mixtures, however, have variable melting and boiling points and usually has the same properties as it components and it can be easily separated into its components by physical means.

MacRitchie Reservoir

In term 2, we had a field trip to MacRitchie Reservoir for the purpose of analysing the different biological factors present there.

I found the trip quite interesting as not only did it allow us to have a chance to interact out of the class room, we got the chance to experience nature for ourselves. Many times we do not stop and just enjoy the beauty of nature in this busy city life. On the trip, we went on a trail around the Reservoir, observing different insects and animals as we went through. I feel that it is trips like these which allow us to escape the classroom to go out and learn which are the most beneficial to our learning. With the change of environment, many people are refreshed and ready to learn and absorb more.

I truly enjoyed myself on this trip and hope that more trips like these can be arranged in the future.

Term 3 Reflections

This was an extremely fast term compared to term 2. Mr Chia Kean came back from the Beijing Satellite Campus to teach us physics. I think physics is an interesting topic, and it is very similar to math which I excel in. For the test, I achieved 31/40, an A1. However, I could have done better had I studied more and harder.

With 3 terms over, all that is left is the final end-of-year exam. It is the last lap and I plan to sprint. Revising science as a whole then focusing on the parts which I am weak in is my strategy. I hope to see an A1 on my report card at the end of the year.