Berry Berry Easy’s STPM 2009 Chemistry Paper 2 Analysis : General Prediction – Accurate
December 8, 2009
It would somehow be misleading to say that the predictions are accurate as Berry Berry Easy mentioned that the questions will be well distributed and students should study everything for Chemistry Paper 2. So Berry Berry Easy predicted everything and everything came out. For the benefit of teachers and future STPM students who might want to do some analysis, Berry Berry Easy will present you with the analysis for STPM 2009 Chemistry Paper 2.
Berry Berry Easy STPM Chemistry Paper 2 Analysis
| Volume / Chapter | Topic | Status in STPM 2009 | Marks Contribution |
| Physical Chemistry / Chapter 2, 12 | States of Matter Gas / Equalibria – Phase | Section A / 1 (a) | 7 |
| Physical Chemistry / Chapter 5 | Electronic structure of Atoms / Periodic table | Section A / 1 (b) | 3 |
| Physical Chemistry / Chapter 12 | Equilibria – Phase | Section A / 2 (a) | 6 |
| Inorganic / Chapter 6 | Group 17 | Section A / 2 (b) | 4 |
| Physical Chemistry / Chapter 6 | Chemical Bond | Section A / 3 (a,b,c) | 6 |
| Inorganic / Chapter 6, 4 | Group 17 & 14 | Section A / 3 (d) | 4 |
| Organic / Chapter 7, 6 | Hydroxy Compound / Haloalkanes | Section A / 4 (a, b, c) | 7 |
| Organic / Chapter 9 | Carbonyl Compound | Section A / 4 (d) | 3 |
| Physical Chemistry / Chapter 4 | Electronic structure of atoms | Section B / 5 (a) | 7 |
| Physical Chemistry / Chapter 14 | Thermochemistry | Section B / 5 (b) | 8 |
| Physical Chemistry / Chapter 11 | Equilibrium | Section B / 6 (a, b) | 15 |
| Inorganic / Chapter 1, 4 | The Periodic Table / Group 14 | Section B / 7 (a, b) | 10 |
| Inorganic / Chapter 6 | Group 17 | Section B / 7(c) | 5 |
| Physical Chemistry / Chapter 13 | Electrochemistry | Section B / 8 (a) | 8 |
| Inorganic / Chapter 7 | d-block Element | Section B / 8 (b, c) | 7 |
| Organic / Chapter 1, 2, 3 | Hydrocarbons | Section B / 9 (a, b) | 15 |
| Organic / Chapter 7, 13 | Hydroxy compound / Amino Acids | Section B / 10 (a) | 12 |
| Organic / Chapter 14 | Polymers | Section B / 10 (b) | 3 |
All the questions are well distributed. Overall the questions are clear and there are separated in many sub-questions especially essay in Section B. This is a way to guide young berries to get the exact answer rather than confuse you.
So in a way, Berry Berry Easy’s advice on studying everything is accurate. Hope students this year did not skip any topics when they studied for this paper.
Berry Role Model No.1 – Artist/Freelance Designer – Kendrick Ng
December 7, 2009
Despite the proliferation of the Internet which allows the rapid dissemination of information, students remained largely uninformed regarding the career choices. Hence, Berry Berry Easy is starting a series called “Berry Role Models” where real people in various different fields will be giving advices to our Young Berries who would be making decisions regarding their career choices. We intend to make this more of a light-reading, so it will be in an “Q&A format“.
First off, we have with us, Mr Kendrick Ng, a talented young artist/freelance designer (his job scope is ever-expanding). He is the person behind Kendrick’s Art Blog, which has many excellent designs. (His blog was also featured in the Berry Friends section prior to this interview) Without further adieu, let us soak in the experience of Kendrick, the artist/freelance designer:
Role Model #1 – Artist/Freelance Designer – Kendrick Ng
Kendrick Ng
1) Who are you?
I am Kendrick Ng Tiong Heng. I came from a small town of Sipitang at the west coast of Sabah, Malaysia. I am currently enrolled in Computing Science majoring in Multimedia.
2) Why did you enter the field? Who/What was/is your inspiration?
I choose this field because I loved it and I really enjoyed it. In the beginning, I only helped my friends to solve web design problems…it started from Friendster layout, then slowly I decided to design wallpapers for my friends and finally an active blogger which I posted my designed wallpapers and I wanted to improve it and this is how I choose this field. By the same time I was also the official Student Council photographer, designer and multimedia/creative director for my University and sometimes you could see my designs in blogs, web pages, advertisements,magazines, newspapers or even tickets!
My inspiration dates back to when I was 4 years old…..this inspiration came from a Japanese animation “Doraemon”. He has been my idol even till today, whenever I want to design something, I will think of him and he really inspires me a lot.
3) So what do you do daily as an artist/freelance designer” ?
Because I am still a university student, being a freelance designer is always my first option to earn some income and also to build my port folio before I could work as a full timer. Everyday, there are e-mail requests from many customers. All I have to do is to accept it or not based on their offer.
4) What satisfaction do you gain from your job?
Hmm….In my opinion, my greatest satisfaction is to see the smiles and satisfaction of my customers, friends, family and colleagues. Their support, satisfaction towards my designs is what keeps me going.
5) Words of advice for our readers who wish to enter your field.
Dear readers, this is a very interesting field and all you need is creativity and passion in art, as simple as that. If you love capturing photos, or like to edit photos, or even love to draw and design. I recommend you to enroll in photography, designing, web designing-related course. My course, in fact is a little different because it’s a mix course because it consists of science and art. But no matter what university or institute you are enrolled in, as long as your love in arts and creativity is strong, this is the field for you!
-End-
The following designs are a small portion of his work thus far. Picture paints a thousand words, and the following pictures scream talent:
If you want to see more of his design, please visit Kendrick’s Art Blog
Berry Berry Easy comments: It seemed that the key to be successful in the field of arts and designing are having the passion in art and also the creativity in expressing yourself. So if you have these qualities, you might want to consider a career in this field.
Berry Berry Easy wishes Kendrick all the best in his future undertakings.
[If you know of anybody who could be a Berry Role Model (could also be yourself) and wants to share some career advices and experiences, please drop us a line]
SPM/STPM 2009 Tips and Predictions Availability
December 5, 2009
Berry Berry Teacher has received numerous e-mail regarding the request for tips and predictions for various SPM and STPM subjects. It has become a bit impossible to be replying each and everyone personally, hence the availability of tips and predictions for SPM and STPM 2009 will be posted on BerryBerryEasy once and for all for see.
Avalable tips and predictions for SPM and STPM 2009:
- STPM 2009 Biology (So far being considered as accurate – Paper 2 60% accurate ~ Score A already)
- STPM 2009 Chemistry
- SPM 2009 Biology (Analysis not done, but according to comments on the post, tips were accurate too)
- SPM 2009 Chemistry
Heavily requested tips and predictions :
- STPM 2009 Physics
- STPM 2009 Mathematics T
- STPM 2009 General Paper
- SPM 2009 Physics
- SPM 2009 Additional Maths
Unfortunately, due to the site being new and only having at the moment 2 permanent contributors (Isabelle Wong and Jo-Han and 1 guest contributor (DonFrank), we are unable to provide the expertise to spot the questions for the heavily requested tips and prediction this year. We hope to increase our manpower in order to predict those heavily requested tips and predictions for SPM and STPM 2010. So for those who are taking those next year, stay tune.
If anybody wants to contribute last-minute tips (for papers that have not elapse) or any advice for the benefit of our readers, feel free to join the team. 
For those who are looking for tips, predictions and advices, please tune in again, just in case we have any last minute updates.
BerryBerryEasy also aim to provide students who are leaving their secondary education with knowledge to make the correct decision before they step into their tertiary education life. So after the SPM/STPM exams, make sure to come back for decisional tips before you make any life-altering decisions.
Upcoming posts for the holiday season:
- Open Letter to my other two Form 6 Classes for 2009 – Berry Berry Teacher
- Pros and cons of studying in Form 6 (For SPM leavers) – Berry Berry Teacher
- Higher education pathways – Berry Berry Jenius
- Career path: Interview with a physics teacher – Berry Berry Teacher
- Career path: Interview with a chemistry teacher – Berry Berry Teacher
- Things to buy before entering colleges/universities – Berry Berry Jenius
- Engineering – The various choices and disciplines – Berry Berry Jenius
- Mechanical Engineering course – Are you suitable? – Berry Berry Jenius
- Budgeting for student life in colleges/universities – Berry Berry Jenius
Need guest contributors on these topics:
- Any information related to colleges and universities
- How to search for universities and colleges
- Scholarships
- Best place to further your studies
- Personal experience in colleges and universities
- Personal reflection on secondary school life
- Personal experiences on the National Service programme
[Will be trying to liaise with some active Berry Readers to be a Berry Contributor after their exams. Get ready to be called up.]
How to Study
December 2, 2009
This article is written to help students who have difficulty in learning. The learning method is not necessarily good so you should choose what best suits you. Hopefully some of you find it useful.
How to Study – by Don Frank
Most students tend to believe that doing many exercises would help them understand something better. Well, it is only true if you have understood the concepts well but what if you don’t? The answer is that you become more confused than you were before.
There are two types of learners, namely holistic learner and shallow learner. Holistic learner is the one who has very strong and logical understanding about certain topics but shallow learner uses rote memory.
It is without doubt that most students resort to rote memory learning today because it is one of the easiest and at the same time, one of the most ineffective and time-consuming learning process. For example, shallow learners, while learning PA kertas 1, they tend to memorise all the facts instead of understanding them. By understanding I mean knowing the intuition behind something you learn.
I found that our brain will only remember things that come with logical reasons. The stronger the reasons, the longer it will remember. For example, if your friend tells you that A = B and and he explains why A = B, you would remember it with ease but if he never explains the intuition behind, your brain will struggle in remembering (such is the problem in rote memory learning).
1) Always understand the intuition behind something that you learn. For example, learn how to derive certain formulae instead of memorising them.
Let say for a chemical reaction – aA + bB <—> cC + dD
Its equilibrium constant, Keq = [C]^c . [D]^d / [A]^a . [b]^b
Why should we times the exponent a for [A]? Have your teachers ever taught you how do they derive Keq? I guess most teachers don’t.
If you want to know how, go here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONBJo7dXJm8&feature=fvsr
2) Uses your internal dialogue to learn.
Internal dialogue is the sentences that people tell themselves and the debate that often goes on “inside their head” a form of self-talk, or inner speech.
You talk to yourself on how to solve a certain question, when you are making decisions or when you are choosing which path to go in future and so on and so forth and in the end you choose. So internal dialogue is something that we do since the moment we are born. So how are you going to use it in your learning process? Well, whenever you come across any topics that are mind-blowing, you must use internal dialogue to learn. You must try to give yourself some reasons why something occurs, why is it so, why is that so and so on. Even if your reasons are ludricous, so be it. The stronger the opinions you have towards that certain topic, the better is your understanding and your memory towards that particular subject. The important thing is that you keep talking to yourself about that topic until your brain accepts it without a shadow of doubt.
*The more logical is your reasons, the better your brain can accept and thus remember for a long time. I’m using this to learn biology, chemistry and most of the subjects that are quite abstrative.
3) Learn with heart
Perhaps this is the element that most students lack – the passion to study. A student without heart will have to force himself to learn subjects being taught. Hence, he has to struggle to make himself learn and he of course would not be talking to himself about these subjects so he wouldn’t remember much of it. Imagine if you talk to yourself about those academic subjects you learn, everything would be at your fingertips.
Students who learn with heart will always find learning easy. They would never have problems in learning, even when they have, they would happily solve it without hurry and worry. A student with heart does not have to force himself to learn. Even when learning is difficult, students with heart will not have any problems but students without heart would have headaches.
4) Always understand how something works first before attempting any questions.
Such is the case with vectors, deductive geometry and many math topics which base a lot in understanding rather than simple calculations (matrix).
As emphasised by all the points before, understanding is of pivotal importance. You must make sure you have understood those concepts before you attempt any questions. Doing questions without comprehension is nothing more than bumping your head against the wall. Those examiners who set questions essentially want to test your understanding on certain topics. They are not going to award A to students who don’t understand the concepts. For easy questions, even if you don’t understand the concepts , you still can do. But how about long questions?
4.1) Only do questions when you have understood the concepts.
Knowledge is important, so is application. When we do questions, we are applying what we have learnt into the situations set by questions. This process is important because it makes us think. The prerequisite for doing questions is that you must understand the concepts first.
5) Don’t memorise unless no other options
Believe me or not, memorising is the harder than understanding. This is because memorising is not supported by reasons.Things that are not supported by reasons is usually short term. Memorising is different from using internal dialogue. You ground yourself, trick yourself into believing something strongly with internal dialogue and most of the time they are supported by logical reasons or maybe stupid reasons. But memorising is not supported by reasons at all. Therefore, stop doing it and use internal dialogue.
6) Be light and fluid
When learning something, always leave out all your pre-conception. This is to make your brains taking up the concepts easily, it’s like a little tricking process that helps trick your mind. If you are very pre-occupied, no matter what the books say or teachers say , you can hardly take it so chances are that you will not be able to grab something taught.
7) Use mnemonics
Using mnemonics or making short notes on what you have learnt can effectively improve your memory on them. It is advisable to only include necessary facts in your short notes and mnemonics. Remember, these mnemonics and short notes don’t help you to understand but to recall.
Exam tips
Avoid being habitual
Always be prepared for new challenges. Don’t expect all questions to be familiar or some sorts of questions you usually encounter. To avoid being habitual, you have to be aware of everything. In PA exams, in math exams, read all questions real carefully and understand what they want before you attempt to solve them. Use some logic in your thinking to solve them. Most of the questions in STPM these years are tricky because they want you to really understand. They don’t set straightforward questions already because they want you to think. Always analyse the questions carefully before you start doing. Know what they want and give what they want and they will give you what you want.
by Don Frank
[It is a pleasure for Berry Berry Easy to publish this contribution by Don Frank. It gives us a good insights on the excellent study tips (both the techniques and psychological aspect) practiced by Frank. Feel free to drop comments on this post.]
[We @ BerryBerryEasy hope for more contributions from Frank and others. You may write anything, from study techniques to personal experiences as a student. Anyway, thanks to Frank again for his delightful contribution]
Berry Chemistry Form 6 Definition List Part 2
December 1, 2009
This is the second list of your berry important definitions for STPM Form 6 Chemistry. Remember, reciting them many times will help you to remember them for the exams, understanding them will enable you to remember them for life. Share this berry essential definitions with your friends.
STPM Chemistry Form 6 Definition List – Part 2:
Acid-Base Equilibria
| Term | Definition | Example |
| Arrhenius acid | Yields H3O+ when added to H2O | aq: [H3O+] > [OH-] |
| Arrhenius base | Yields OH- when added to H2O | aq: [OH-] > [H3O+] |
| Bronsted-Lowry acid | Proton donor | HX in protic solvent |
| Bronsted-Lowry base | Proton acceptor | KOH in protic solvent |
| Lewis acid | Electron pair acceptor | BF3 in aprotic solvent |
| Lewis base | Electron pair donor | NH3 in aprotic solvent |
Four important concepts (just the berry essence):
- Acid dissociation – (expressed quantitatively) acid dissociation constant, Ka, is nothing more than the equilibrium constant for the dissociation reaction of an acid in water.
Relative strength of an acid ↑ (increases), its Ka ↑ (increases) and its pKa ↓(decreases).
(The Ka and pKa of an acid depend on the strength of an acid, but not its concentration.) - Base hydrolysis – base hydrolysis constant, Kb, nothing more than the equilibrium constant for the hydrolysis reaction of a base in water.
Relative strength of a base ↑ (increases), its Kb ↑ (increases) and its pKb ↓ (decreases).
(The Kb and pKb of an acid depend on the strength of an acid, but not its concentration.) - Overall Relationship : Acid strength ↑, Ka ↑, pKa ↓, conjugate base strength ↓, Kb ↓, pKb ↑
- Strength of a reagent (Ka / pKa and Kb / pKb) – the completeness of a reaction in water. (dissociation = ionisation or electrolytic nature)
The stronger the acid, the more electrolytic it is, because it conducts electricity better due to the greater number of ions in solution.
The stronger the base, the more readily it undergoes hydrolysis when mixed with water
| Acid | Name | pKa |
| Cl3CCOOH | Trichloroacetic acid | 0.64 |
| Cl2HCCOOH | Dichloroacetic acid | 1.27 |
| H2SO3 | Sulfurous acid | 1.82 |
| HClO2 | Chloroacetic acid | 1.90 |
| ClH2CCOOH | Chloroacetic acid | 2.82 |
| HF | Hydrofluoric acid | 3.15 |
| HNO2 | Nitrous acid | 3.41 |
| HCOOH | Formic acid | 3.74 |
| H3CCOOH | Acetic acid | 4.74 |
| 2,4-(H3C)2C6H3NH3+ | 2,4-dimethylanilinium | 5.08 |
| 4-H2NC6H4NH3+ | 4-aminoanilinium | 6.18 |
| H3CO3 | Carbonic acid | 6.36 |
| 4-O2NC6H4OH | 4-nitrophenol | 7.15 |
| HClO | Hypochlorous acid | 7.46 |
| HBrO | Hypobromous acid | 8.72 |
| NH4+ | Ammonium | 9.26 |
| HCN | Hydrogen cyanide | 9.36 |
| HIO | Hypoiodous acid | 10.66 |
