Computer science previously formed an option in group 5 of the Diploma Programme curriculum but now lies within group 4. As such, it is regarded as an experimental science, alongside biology, chemistry, design technology, physics and environmental systems and societies.

 This group change is significant as it means DP students can now select computer science as their group 4 subject rather than having to select it in addition to mathematics as was previously the case.

http://www.ibo.org/programmes/diploma-programme/curriculum/sciences/computer-science/

The Diploma Programme (DP) history course is a world history course based on a comparative, multi-perspective approach to history and focused around key historical concepts such as change, causation and significance. It involves the study of a variety of types of history, including political, economic, social and cultural, encouraging students to think historically and to develop historical skills. In this way, the course involves a challenging and demanding critical exploration of the past.

Oxford University is world-famous for academic excellence. We pick the best and brightest students purely on their academic merit and passion for their chosen course. If that sounds like you, and you like to think for yourself, Oxford could be the right university for you.

https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate?wssl=1

The PAT dates and costs are designed to fit with the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) cycle for applicants to the University of Oxford.

http://www.admissionstestingservice.org/for-test-takers/pat/dates-and-costs/

Harvard University Undergraduate Application

All freshman applicants—both international and U.S. candidates—must complete the Common Application, the Universal College Application, or the Coalition Application along with the required supplements. You will need to submit:

Our highly qualified consultants will help you get in Harvard undergraduate program. Our students acceptance rate is phenomenal .

Need help with application process. Write now to our consultants. We are ready to help you!

How far apart?

To see for yourself how far apart Earth and the moon are, try this:

Materials

• Basketball
• Tennis ball
• Measuring tape

*If Earth was the size of a basketball, the moon would be the size of a tennis ball. This can give you an idea of how they compare.

Directions

1. 1. Place the basketball on the ground. This represents Earth.

1. 1. Use the measuring tape to find a spot 23 feet 9 inches away from the middle of the basketball. Place the tennis ball there. The tennis ball is the moon.

1. Are the basketball Earth and tennis ball moon farther apart than you expected? Take a picture and show your friends and family how far apart the moon and Earth really are.

Extra!

Use nearby objects to remember how far 23 feet 9 inches is from the basketball. Ask others to place the tennis ball where they think the moon is.

They will be very surprised when you show them how far away it needs to be!

SAT Chemistry Subject test

Practice tests and explained answers.

The Chemistry Subject Test is your chance to show colleges your understanding of the main principles of chemistry and your ability to use these concepts to solve specific problems. If you plan to major in engineering or a science, taking this test is a good way to showcase your skills.

There are 59 SAT Chemistry practice tests. After each test review your wrong answers to see whether you missed any clues, and make a note of points you do not comprehend.

Book your lesson now!

Read more at http://www.cracksat.net/sat2/chemistry/#BzQeOBKMkQYJULRh.99

Three IB students attending primary school in New Zealand have won an international tech competition with an app idea to help people evacuate during a tsunami.

Eimear Fitzgerald, Isabel Haupt and Jaskiran Rahi, all Primary Years Programme (PYP) students at Queen Margaret College, created an app prototype called “Evac-U-Buddy” for this year’s “Search for the Next Tech Girl Superhero” competition and won the New Zealand Primary School division . This Australian and New Zealand competition encourages girls to get involved in the tech industry and selects winners from both primary school and high school.

Isabel came up with the initial idea for the app after the magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Wellington last November, and asked Eimear and Jaskiran to join her team. The app provides a live map for tsunami evacuees to find homes for shelter.

“You either register as an evacuee or as a host. When you are a host you fill in whether your house is dog friendly or baby friendly and how many people you can take. A pin will pop up on the map of your house so people know how to find you,” Eimear explains.

The girls were thrilled about winning the competition and the next step is to decide whether they will take their app further in a Technovation Camp round.

“At the moment our app is focused on Seatoun and tsunami evacuation because that’s where Eimear and I live but it could help with bushfire evacuation and other disasters overseas. If we do the next part of the competition we would have to work on how we could take it worldwide,” Isabel says.

Read the full article here.

Scale Model of the Solar System

Summary

Astronomy is one of the oldest science in the world. Stars and other heavenly objects have been studied for thousands of years by Humans. In the modern world, the fascination with space and astronomy has increased.
These activities will stimulate curiosity of students towards sciences by teaching them about astronomy and space in an interactive way so they understand that the universe is a large place with many wonders.

Materials:

• Meter stick
• Big outdoor space, at least 33 meters long.
• Paper
• Pencil
• Large glass or small bowl
• Scissors
• Black marker
• Different sizes spherical balloons (at least one should inflate to 22 cm diameter)
• Optional: Camera to make a permanent record of model.

Project Assumes students are familiar with:

• The 8 planets and their shapes
• Length units, cm, m, km and numbers, like 1 million (1000000).
• Diameter of sphere or circle (if they don’t know, activity will help them understand)
• Ratios, comparisons of quantities

Students will learn at the end of activity:

• Planet: definition, number of planets and planet distances from the sun.
• Comparative distances of planets from the sun and their comparative sizes.
• Meaning lengths using meter rod or ruler.
• Definition of Astronomical unit.
• What is space?
• What makes planets held together? Gravity!
• Ratios
• Difference between circle and sphere

Introduction:

A solar system is a group of planets and other space material orbiting (going around) a star. In our solar system, that star is better known as the Sun and the planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

The solar system models we’ve seen before probably don’t show how much bigger some planets are than others, or, more importantly for space travel, how far away the planets are from the Sun and each other. The Earth is about 150 million kilometers (93 million miles) from the Sun. Because this distance is so important to us Earthlings, it has been given a special name, called the Astronomical Unit (A.U.) for short. The Earth is one astronomical unit from the sun. Planets that are closer to the Sun than the Earth have a measured distance of less than one A.U. while objects farther from the Sun than Earth have a measured distance of greater than one A.U.

The size of a planet can be determined from its diameter. Diameter, we remember from math class, is the distance from one end of circle or sphere to another side, going through the middle.

In this activity, we will make two scale models of the solar system. A scale model uses the same measurement ratios as the real object does.

1. The first model will compare the distance the planets are from the sun in astronomical units,
2. The other model will compare the size of the planets using diameters in kilometers. We probably won’t be able to display either of these models, but we will learn a lot about the real dimensions of space.

Problem

How can we make a solar system scale model?

We want a model to reflect the relative distances and sizes of the planets.

Materials:

• Meter stick
• Big outdoor space, at least 33 meters long.
• Hard paper (the one we use to make charts)
• Pencil and markets
• Large glass or small bowl
• Scissors
• Black marker
• Compasses
• Optional: Camera to make record of model.

Procedure: Scale Model of Distances from Sun

1. Trace 9 circles using the bowl or compass as a guide or inflate balloons corresponding to the sizes of planets. Because the distance scale model only is concerned about distances between the planets, we can make all the planets the same size.
2. Label the circles Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
3. Cut the circles out.
4. Give each of students a cut-out planet to hold.
5. Have students position themselves the following distances from each other. (Note that some of the measurements are in centimeters rather than meters. A centimeter is 1/100 of a meter, just like a cent is 1/100 of a dollar).

Materials:

• Metric ruler
• White poster board
• Pencil
• Drafting compass (the kind we draw circles with)
• Scissors
• Permanent Marker

Procedure: Scale Model of Relative Diameters of Planets

1. First, we need to compare the diameter of the Earth to that of the other planets. Remember that diameter is the length of a straight line going through the middle of a circle. The Earth’s diameter is 12,760 km. We can divide the diameter of the Earth into the diameters of all the planets, to get a relative comparison.

2. Use the ruler to draw a line for the diameter. Start with drawing the relative diameters of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
3. Using the compass, draw circles around the diameters.
4. Fit in the smaller planets (Earth, Mercury, Venus, and Mars) around where we drew the bigger planets.
5. Label the planets, so we don’t forget which is which when we are cutting them out. For tiny planets, we might have to use an abbreviation.

Results

When we build the scale model of solar system distances, we notice following things:

• Some students will be much closer together than others. Some of their friends will have to stand quite close to each other, while others will be far enough away to have a hard time hearing us!
• When we compare the sizes of the planets, Jupiter and Saturn will seem gigantic compared to the others.
• We will see the solar system will be mostly empty, and even big planets make up a tiny part of our solar system.
• Sun and 8 planets line on same plane because of gravitational attraction.

Why?

The inner planets of the solar system; Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are relatively close to the Sun and each other, while the outer planets are relatively distant from each other and the Sun. The material that makes up the solar system is not distributed evenly. The Sun, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune make up the bulk of the material in the solar system. Our own planet is tiny in comparison!

Going Further

Do we want to make a scale model of the solar system where both the distances and diameters are proportional to reality? This table expresses the diameters in A.U, so the size of the planet is correct proportion to its distance from the sun. Remember we set 1 AU, the distance between the Earth and Sun, as equal to 1 meter.

Register now to enroll your kid/s in project.