Happy Teacher's Day

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”
 – by William Arthur Ward
..Selamat Hari Guru untuk semua warga pendidik ..

Bernoulli Principle

Another important physics principle in SPM is Bernouli principle. For those who hates doin physics' calculation, Bernoulli will be a gud news for u coz no formula is involved at this stage. However u really need to grab a genuine understanding on its concept.

Ok..what is Bernoulli Principle ??

In simple words Mr Bernoulli stated that..
"if the velocity of fluid increase, the pressure decrease"...

Bernoulli is one of the fascinating physics principle & yet it's easy to understand..it relates the effect of fluid velocity on pressure.
..if u notice, the term fluid is used just like in Archimedes..
just to remind those yg dah lupa, fluid means 'benda mengalir' i.e it can either be air (gas)or liquid.

Common mistakes among students, they always think that pressure causes the increase in velocity. In fact it is the movement of air or liquid velocity that causes the change in pressure.

Here some cool & interesting lectures which i collected from the net. If u understand nothing on bernoulli,you must watch these videos to clear the air :)




Besides knownig the principle, in exam u must be able to apply and explain the bernoulli effect on venturi tube, floating ball, water sprayer, aerofoil etc.
Lets analyse the video about water sprayer below..can u explain why the water rises ??


Another interesting facts about bernoulli, it allows an aeroplane gain its lift force from the wing's aerofoil shape. If u intersted to further study in aerospace or aeronautical engineering, u need to fully understand the working principle of an aerofoil.
Look at this video..even this cute little girl can explain the aerofoil concept.. i think u should be ashamed of yourself if u r still too lazy to think about it ;)



To understand what causes different water level in venturi tube is also important aspect in bernouli principle. It always being asked in the exam. U need to fully understand & be able to explain the change in water level.
Who knows it might come out in this year SPM...so apa tunggu lagi, get your book & revise them now!!! :)

Archimedes Principle's Application

Learning the application part of each physics principle is a must in SPM. You must know the working priciple of each application. For example in archimedes principle, you should know how submarine can float & sink. Then u must be  able to explain it by using relevant physics concept. This kind of question will always being asked in paper 2.

If u really wanna get an A, u must learn all the physics application. For this reason i 've selected the following clips for u to revise on archimedes's application. Some of these videos only gave u a general idea on the practical aspect of the application. U need to refer a physics book to fully understand how each application works. So please make sure u have your reference book next to you while watching these videos...enjoy your  revision :)

Examples of Archimedes' application:

1. Plimsoll line

2.Hydrometer

3. Submarine

4. Cartesian diver

Lets Learn physics like "A" students

Hi everyone..lately there are quite number of students asked me these questions;
-How to learn physics??
-How to improve my physics??
-How can i get A for physics??
So i think its time for me to share something about the art of learning physics..
Basically all those questions have the same purpose, i.e to learn, understand & perform in exam.


In studying physics, it is essential to develop an ability to analyse problems, to give logic reason, and to differentiate between important and irrelevant material. You should start to train your analytical thinking skills by practicing simple problems, so that later on you can tackle more difficult problems. However,please take note.. trying to memorise physics is practically useless!!


In order to understand physics stuff properly, it needs patient and gonna take some time. For me, learning physics is easier if you have a group of ‘physics friends’ in a study group. Trust me,cooperative learning can be really powerful & it would save most of your time. BUT..please find someone who really want to discuss physics..not someone who love gossiping each other...


"Identifying the DONTS"
A common misunderstanding in studying physics , most students focused too much on calculation questions.
Physics in SPM is not just solving maths problems, although this is an essential part of ‘doing physics’.

A common approach to ‘solving’ problems is to read the question, look for an equation that seems to apply, ‘plug’ some values into the equation and do the maths to ‘swallow out an answer’. You may get the ‘right’ answer without the brain being fully engaged, and therefore u learned very little from the process.

Physics is not simply abaout plugging the values & substituted it to get the right answers.U must actually understand the relationship between each physical quantity in the equation. Usually each equation or formula  came from an experiment conclusion.. but ask yourself,do u know how to design those experiments???

Dont simply Memorise!!!

You may try to memorise all the patterns of sample problems, hoping that similar problems will be asked on the exams. Memorisation does not equal to understanding.  In SPM they loved to twist the questions..So if u simply applies memorising technique, then u'll be in big trouble during exam.

Dont simply follow examples!!

You must be able to follow a set of instructions correctly and intelligently. However, if you find you can only solve problems by following the pattern of a worked-example problem, you obviously have not yet grabbed the basics. You should think again about the basic concepts & principles – or ask for some help. The problems on an exam will be different from the examples worked in class and in the textbook, yet the same strategies and principles will work.

Learn like 'A' students...

To get an "A"..mainly it’s a matter of focusing on the right things. You may think that the only important thing is getting the ‘right’ answer. Teachers, of course, like ‘right’ answers, but beyond that, 'A' students focus on the process of using basic principles of physics to correctly analyse each physical situation.

When you achieve genuine understanding of basic principles and laws, the answers often come easily. Getting right answers with ease is a good indication that you understand the basics. Genuine understanding needs to come first, then continuous practise on solving problems will strengthen  that understanding.

So how can you achieve genuine understanding?

• Do critical thinking..Question everything, especially things that seem obvious.
• Always ask yourself, where does the equation comes from?. Is it from an Experiment or Theory?
• Look for the logical and mathematical connections between equations, laws, theories and experiments. Using a ‘Concept Map’ might help..
• Don’t be too easily satisfied with a correct answer. Ask yourself what that answer tells you.
• Discuss what u've understood with teachers, tutors and fellow students.
• Do exercises.. keep practise, practise & practise :)

SPM Physics: The 'Untold' Facts

Recently, a form 4 student who scored straight As in PMR asked me for my opinion.
He asked me; "Sir,..i want to do ‘medic’ after SPM, but i want to drop physics coz some said it is irrelevant. Should i drop it or not ??

Listening to the question made me remained in silent mode. I took almost half a minute to think of the best way to answer it. I neither say 'no' or 'yes' to his question. At the same time, i'm not going to leave him in clueless. After a carefull thought, i gave him a very  useful facts which i think has broaden his perspective on how important physics gonna be in his future. For me, if u undecided about something, u need to gather as many facts as u can. However, please make sure those info are genuine facts & not a hearsay that u collected from unreliable sources.

Ok.. back to this student, what did i tell him that made him changed his mind? Its simple, i said when u studied something u must learn the art to relate it in our real life. I provoked him with these questions, .. "U intended to do medic,..are u good in biology??"  He replied "yes..i love science & human anatomy". Then..I asked him about basic human blood system, it seems that he could answer it very well. Finally, i trapped him with this question..,
"Have u ever heard about this medical term..."blood pressure"?? ..he answered 'yes'.
Next, i asked him "do u understand what causes that "pressure"??? Then he looked at me with a puzzled look.. His face suggested,he admitted that he knew nothing about pressure & yet if he'll become a doctor, he'll be learning in detail about 'blood pressure'. So if  he didnt take physics, it is going to give some disadvantage for him in the future.
In the end i dont need to answer Yes or NO.. all i did is to let him think of what kind of  facts that he needs in order to decide his future.

Almost the same skills are needed in answering physics questions.All u need to do is to gather as many facts  as u can in a given question. Nevertheless, u shouldnt forget the most crucial part, ie the 'untold' facts. Identifying the untold or hidden facts is vital to solve any problems whether it is a calculation or subjective questions.In exams, some words or phrases has hidden meaning...for examples:

stationary object or at rest = it tells,the object has zero initial velocity or all the forces acting are in equilibrium

uniform/constant velocity = it has zero acceleration, thus the net forces acting is zero,ie equilibrium

boiled water = it tells that it has 100 degree celcius

'cooled under ice point' = it tells that the temp is 0 degree celcius

denser object = the object is heavier

There are many other words or phrases with double meaning in physics questions..so please watch them out!!

Ok now lets get back to the 'blood pressure' stuff. Ok seems most of my visitors are this year SPM candidates, so i want u to give some thought on the following statement:

For those who has 'penyakit darah tinggi', doctors advised them not to eat too much salty food.Can u explain by using relevant physics concept, why they discouraged them not to take too much salts?


U can discuss it in a comment section or the chatbox. Give it a try!! Lets see who has the talent to become a 'future doctor' that took physics :)