Malaysian U in QS World University Rankings.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 — Universiti Malaya (UM), Malaysia’s oldest institution of higher learning, leapt 40 spots this year to breach the top 200 mark in the London-based QS World University Rankings.
But at rank 167, UM lagged more than 100 paces behind Singapore’s National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), which ranked at 28 and 58 respectively.

Apart from UM, the only Malaysian university that made it as the world’s top 300 universities was Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) at rank 279, dropping 16 spots from last year’s rank of 263. The QS World University Rankings currently considers over 2,000 and evaluates over 700 universities in the world. The rankings assess factors including academic reputation, employer reputation, graduate employability, research and staff-student ratios.

QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) Ltd Intelligence Unit head Ben Sowter was quoted in English daily The Star today as saying that UM was the only Malaysian university to have improved in its academics, employer scores and international aspects. According to the daily, Sowter said UKM had faltered in the employer reputation review and citations per faculty but improved in terms of academic reputation.
Going by academic reputation alone, the QS list ranked UM at 176 while Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) made it to 209, ahead of UKM at 220.

The Star also quoted Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khalid Nordin as saying that UM’s improvement was a reflection of the university staff’s hard work. In the world rankings list, USM made it to the 335th spot compared to 309 last year while Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) ranked at 358, dropping from 319 last year. UK’s Cambridge University held on to the top spot in the international league table, followed by United States’ Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University and UK’s Oxford University.

The highest ranked Asian universities in the same table are the University of Hong Kong at 22, University of Tokyo at 25 and NUS at 28. In the Asian University Ranking 2011 by QS, UM made it to the 39th spot, ahead of UKM at 53, USM at 54, UPM at 57 and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) at 76.
Topping the list was the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, followed by the University of Hong Kong and NUS. Singapore’s NTU made it to rank 17.

Chemistry Form 4: Chapter 7 - Preparing a Standard Solution

• Standard solution is a solution whose concentration is known accurately.
• The solution is normally expressed in mol dm^-3
• Standard solution can be prepared by using a calculated mass of solute or dilution method from concentrated solution.

MAKING STANDARD SOLUTIONS FROM CONCENTRATED AQUEOUS

Equipment typically used when preparing a solution in a volumetric flask includes the volumetric flask and its glass stopper, pipette, a medicine dropper, and a funnel. Water can be delivered from the beaker or wash bottle.

Procedure:

MAKING STANDARD SOLUTIONS FROM CALCULATED MASS

Procedure:

• Volumetric flask is more accurate than beaker for the preparation of standard solution.
• Water is added using dropper to bring the solution to the graduation mark.
• Standard solution must be covered by stopper to prevent the contamination of the standard solution by foreign particles.
• After preparing the standard solution, shake it well to ensure thorough mixing.

Logos Hope Docked at Penang

Vision and Purpose: 

Bringing Knowledge
Over 40 million people in 158 different countries have walked up the Ships gangway to visit one of our ships' floating book fairs. For many, it is their first ever opportunity to purchase good quality literature at a fraction of its retail value. Many people without the means to study have learnt vital skills and been able to enhance their lives through a purchase from over 6,000 available titles, including books for studies, professional and career interests, individual development and personal growth.
Cultural variety abounds with over 40 nations meeting on board. For visitors, opportunities to meet crew provide insights into the wider world, while interactive programmes offer fresh perspectives on living in a multi-cultural society. For volunteer crew, time on board the ships provides a chance to experience countries and cultures for themselves, as well as opportunities to learn valuable skills for the future.

Bringing Help
Sailing from port to port, crew experience the needs of the world first-hand. Being in a position to help – whether by donating supplies, building a house, or offering a listening ear – is both a privilege and a responsibility. The ships seek to bring aid and relief in situations of particular need as a practical demonstration of God’s love for mankind. Coupled with their promotion of education, this approach aims not only to alleviate immediate needs, but also to bring long-term change in each community.

Bringing Hope
Every person has a inbuilt need for hope and purpose in life. Our volunteer crew seeks to bring new hope by their service on board as a community focused on the needs of others. They offer hope through their actions and their interaction with others. Every crewmember has a story to tell of a transformation in their personal life that has given them hope and purpose.

Come and visit the world's largest floating book fair in Penang

Physics Form 5: Chapter 5 - Radioactive Decay

Radioactive decay is the breaking up of unstable nuclei into more stable nuclei with the emission of radioactive rays.

There are three main types of radiation:

• Alpha decay
• Beta decay
• Gamma decay

A) Alpha decay

The reason alpha decay occurs is because the nucleus has too many protons which cause excessive repulsion. In an attempt to reduce the repulsion, a Helium nucleus is emitted. The way it works is that the Helium nuclei are in constant collision with the walls of the nucleus and because of its energy and mass, there exists a nonzero probability of transmission. That is, an alpha particle (Helium nucleus) will tunnel out of the nucleus

 

B) Beta decay

Beta decay occurs when the neutron to proton ratio is too great in the nucleus and causes instability. In basic beta decay, a neutron is turned into a proton and an electron. The electron is then emitted

C) Gamma decay

Gamma decay occurs because the nucleus is at too high an energy. The nucleus falls down to a lower energy state and, in the process, emits a high energy photon known as a gamma particle.

 

Physics Form 4: Chapter 4 - Specific Heat Capacity

Specific Heat Capacity is the amount of energy (in Joules) needed to increase the temperature of 1 kg of a substance by 1 degree Celsius

Different material have different specific heat capacity value

High specific heat capacity ===> good insulator of heat

Low specific heat capactiy ===> good conductor of heat

Click on the diagram below to play!
 

Chemistry Form 5: Chapter 3 - Conversion of Iron (II) to Iron (III) and Iron (III) to Iron (II)

Conversion of Fe²⁺ to Fe³⁺

Oxidising agent : bromine water Reducing agent :  Fe2+ ions Oxidation half equation: Fe2+ ions lose electrons and are oxidized to Fe3+. The presence of Fe3+ ions is confirmed by the formation of brown precipitate with excess of NaOH solution.                      Fe2+ -------->    Fe3+    +     e Reduction half equation: Bromine molecules which give bromine water its brown colour gain electrons and are reduced to colourless bromide ions.                      Br2    +    2 e   ------->  2 Br- Overall ionic equation: 2 Fe2+   +    Br2    ---------->  2 Fe3+    +    2 Br- Observation: Brown bromine water decolourises. The solution changes colour from pale green (Fe2+)  to yellow (Fe3+).

Conversion of Fe³⁺ to Fe²⁺

Oxidising agent : Fe2+ ions Reducing agent :  zinc Oxidation half equation: Zinc atoms lose their electrons and are oxidized to zinc ions, Zn2+. Zinc powder dissolves in iron (III) chloride. Zn    ------->   Zn2+    +    2 e Reduction half equation: Fe3+ ions accept electrons and are reduced to Fe2+. The presence of Fe2+ ions is confirmed by the formation of green precipitate with excess of NaOH solution. Fe3+    +     e    -------->    Fe2+    Overall ionic equation: 2 Fe3+   +    Zn    --------->  2 Fe2+    +    Zn2+ Observation: Zinc powder dissolves into solution. The solution changes colour from brown (Fe3+) to pale green (Fe2+).

Page accuses Putrajaya of ‘buying time’, wants English-language option restored

The MalaysianInsider News, August 17, 2011 By Debra Chong

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 — The Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (Page) wants Putrajaya to restore ‘teaching science and maths in English’ option before it kicks off a new policy next year.

Its vice-chairman, Sulaiman Mahran, ticked off Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for saying the Education Ministry will study further the possibility of using two languages to teach the two subjects in national schools, as reported by state news agency Bernama yesterday.

“It’s only buying time until 2012 when the MBMMBI will be fully implemented,” Sulaiman said in a statement, referring to the “Upholding the Malay Language and Strengthening Command of English” policy that is to take over the existing language policy for science and maths (PPSMI).

The English-language lobbyist pointed out that the long-term advantages of English had been identified during the Mahathir administration but that its implementation was miscarried during the Abdullah administration.

“Datuk Seri Najib’s administration should repair its implementation, not dismantle it,

“What should be studied deeper is MBMMBI, which is clearly defective because it reduces the students’ exposure to English by 50 per cent,” Sulaiman said.

Prior to the Sarawak polls on April 16, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had also announced he would consider using dual languages as the medium of instruction for Mathematics and Science in schools.

PPSMI was first introduced in 2003 but the Education Ministry decided last year to stop it by 2012 after consulting with teachers and parents around the country.

In the uproar that followed after PPSMI was abolished, Putrajaya introduced MBMMBI, which will see the teaching of Mathematics and Science revert to Bahasa Malaysia from 2012 while more contact hours for English would be offered in order to improve students’ skills in the language.

In May The Malaysian Insider reported that the Najib administration had not decided on switching back to English for Science and Mathematics (PPSMI) because several Cabinet ministers felt any change would be another embarrassing flip-flop.

The Education Ministry has also announced it would hire 10,000 teachers to teach English in local schools.

Najib has also got a promise from the United States to send Peace Corps volunteers to teach the language in the country.

Chemistry Form 4: Chapter 7 - Strength of Acid

The strength of an acid depends on the degree of dissociation of the acid in water to produce hydrogen ions and anions. The pH of an acid solution depends on the concentration of hydrogen ions.

Strong Acid	Weak Acid
·     Strong acid have a higher degree of dissociation. ·     A strong acid is an acid which dissociates completely in water to produce a high concentration of hydrogen ions. ·     Thus, pH value for strong acid is lower than weak acid.	·     Weak acid have a lower degree of dissociation. ·     A weak acid is an acid which ionises partially in water to produce a low concentration of hydrogen ions. Only a part of the molecules ionises and the remaining still in covalent molecules. ·     Thus, pH value for weak acid is higher than strong acid.

Click on the diagram below to play!

Weak Acid

Strong Acid

Examples of strong acid

HCl	Hydrochloric acid		HNO3	Nitric acid
HBr	Hydrobromic acid		H2SO4	Sulfuric acid
HI	Hydroiodic acid		HClO4	Perchloric acid

Examples of weak acid