School-based assessment system may replace exams

2010/06/23
NST

KUALA LUMPUR: A school-based assessment system may be used to replace an exam-oriented education system in the country, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said the Examination Board would determine the type of questions that can be used by teachers for such assessment in schools.

"We will replace exams with an assessment system. It has not been finalised but a study has been done and found to be acceptable because such a system is used in many countries.

"The system might not be very different from other countries, provided the education system - how teachers teach and how students study - is not affected. The concern is how to evaluate achievement of students - through examinations or assessment," he told the Dewan Rakyat when winding up debate on the 10th Malaysia Plan, for his ministry, here today.

He added that the government would not make hasty decisions on policy matters like proposals to scrap the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) and Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) exams.

"Many experts have said that it should have been done long ago, why now? We have carried out a research and study since 2007 because we have a team to look into such issues," he said.

Muhyiddin said reducing public examinations would actually save the government money in aspects of management, human resource and the burden of teachers to carry out such examinations process.

As for revamping technical, vocational and skills education system to become part of the premier education system of the country, Muhyiddin said the government would increase the number of vocational schools and introduce new curriculums to cater for growing demands.

"I myself am going to chair the meeting at ministry level to look at the main changes involved in the revamp of vocational, curriculum, infrastructure, facilities and training," he said.

He added that the Education Ministry would also take over the implementation of the Permata Negara programme from 2012.

The Permata programme, a model for the national childcare and early childhood education curriculum, is an effort by the government to educate children below the age of five and the system had been expanded to 457 centres nationwide, benefiting 17,565 children so far.

Meanwhile, Muhyiddin said overall RM26.093 billion was allocated to the Education Ministry as a whole, to carry out 15,324 projects, including an additional 808 projects under the Economic Stimulus Package.

"Until June 15, 8,870 project have been successfully completed, 5,312 projects are in various stages of implementation and 942 will be carried forward to 10MP," he said.

Muhyiddin said as of May 31, 2010 the ministry had spent RM16.668 billion or 85.12 per cent of the overall allocation. -- BERNAMA

[Biology Form 4] Program Bestari Fasa 2 - Cell Division

1. The diagram shows a somatic cell during mitosis.
   
   
   
   
   • a) State the mitotic phase in the diagram and give your reason.
     
     • Metaphase. Chromosomes are arranged at the equatorial plane.
     
     
   • b) After the mitosis is completed,
     
     • i) how many daughter cells are produced?
       
       • 2.
     • ii) how many chromosomes are there in each daughter cell?
       
       • 4.
     
     
   • c) Give an example of technology currently used which applies the mitotic process.
     
     • Cloning / tissue culture.
     
     
   • d) Name 2 cells which do not undergo mitosis.
     
     • i) Nerve cell.
     • ii) Red blood cell.
   
   
2. The figure below shows the different stages of cell division in the mammalian ovary.
   
   
   a) Using the letters in the diagram, arrange the stages of cell division in their correct sequence.
   
   • G → F → A→ C→ E → B→ D
   
   b)
   i) Name the type of cell division illustrated in the figure above.
   
   • Meiosis.
     
     
   ii) With reference to the figure only, state two evidences to support your answer in [b) i].
   
   • There are 2 cell divisions.
     
     • 4 daughter cells are formed.
     • bivalents are formed.
   
   c) What biological term is used to describe the cells in stages D and G with respect to the number of chromosomes in their nucleus?
   
   • D : haploid cell.
   • G : diploid cell.
   
   d) State one difference in appearance between the chromosomes in stage G and F and give your reason.
   
   • Chromosomes in stage G appear as one stand but the chromosomes in stage F appear as two strands.
     
     • Reason: As the chromosomes in G continue to thicken, it is then seen as two sister chromatids in phase F.
   
   
3. The cell life cycle of an organism consists of phases X and Y. Phase X comprises of subphases P, Q and R. Phase Y comprises processes U dan V.
   
   
   a)
   i) Name process U.
   
   • Mitosis.
     
     
   ii) State the role of process U in living organisms.
   
   • For the growth of organism.
   • Replace worn-out tissue // for asexual reproduction.
     
     
   b) Diagrams I, II, III and IV below show the stages in process U.
   
   
   i) Arrange the stages of process U in the correct sequence below.
   
   • IV → II → III→ I
   
   ii) Name the stages in process U.
   
   • I – Telophase.
     II – Metaphase.
     III – Anaphase.
     IV – Prophase.
     
   
   c) What is phase X?
   
   • Interphase.

[Biology Form 4] Program Bestari Fasa 2 - Chemical Composition Of The Cell

1. General properties of enzymes.
   
   • i) Enzymes are proteins produced by living cells.
     
     
   • ii) Enzymes are biological catalysts which speed up the rate of biochemical reactions.
     
     
   • iii) Enzymes are not destroyed at the end of a reaction.
     
     
   • iv) Enzyme-controlled reaction is irreversible
     
     • Example : lactose + water , glucose + galactose
       
       
   • v) Enzymes are sensitive to changes in temperature, and are very active at an optimum temperature of 40°C. Enzymes are denatured at high temperature .
     
     
   • vi) Enzymes are sensitive to changes in pH of medium.
     
     
   • vii) Enzyme action is very specific, One type of enzyme can catalyse only one type of substrate.
   
   
2. The figure represents the action of an enzyme.
   
   
   • a) State two properties of enzyme illustrated by the above figure.
     
     • Enzymes action is very specific.
     • Enzymes are not destroyed by the reaction they catalysed.
       
       
   • b) Name two digestive enzymes, their substrate and products.
     
     • Enzyme : Amylase, Substrate : Starch, Products: Maltose.
     • Enzyme : Trypsin, Substrate : Polypeptides, Products: dipeptides.
       
       
   • c) Figure below shows the relationship between enzyme activity and temperature. Complete the line to show the effect of increasing the temperature from 10°C to 60°C.
     
     
   • d) Uses of enzymes.
     
     

     Enzymes	Usage types	Effect
     Protease	Leather Industry	Remove hairs from skin
     Papain//Protease	Digestion	Tenderise meat
     Cellulase	Industrial use	Softening vegetables, removing seed coats
     Protease//Lipase	Daily use	Add to washing powder to remove protein stains
     Lipase	Digestion	Convert fat to fatty acids and glycerol
     Amylase	Digestion	Convert starch to maltose

     
     
   
   
3. The figure shows an experiment set-up to investigate the effect of pH on enzyme activity. Enzyme Q is found inside the mammalian digestive system.
   After 24 hours, the following results were obtained:
   

   pH	Reduction in length of egg white strip (mm)
   1	7
   2	9
   3	6
   4	3
   5	1
   6	0

   
   
   • a) Using the results in the table, plot a graph to show the reduction in length of the egg white strip against pH of the medium.
     
     • P – axis with scales ----1
     • T – points plotted accurately ------ 1
     • B – shape of line – smooth, single curve ------1
     
     
   • b) Explain the observed reduction in the length of the egg white strip.
     
     • Increasing the pH value of the medium will decrease the action of enzyme Q on egg white. The optimum pH of enzyme Q is 2. Enzyme Q works at its maximum rate at this pH/ At this pH, the reduction of length of the egg white strip is the greatest.
   • c)
     
     • Name enzyme Q and the products of its action on egg white.
       
       • Enzyme Q : Pepsin,
         Products: Polypeptides / Peptones
       
       
     • Which part of the mammalian digestive system produce enzyme Q?
       Stomach.
       
   
   
4. Below shows the structures of four organic compounds which are found in living cells.
   
   
   
   • a)
     
     • i) Name the structures of compounds X and Z.
       
       • X : Protein/ polypeptide.
         Y : triglyceride/ lipid.
       
       
     • ii) State the monomer of X and Y.
       
       • X : amino acid.
         Y : glucose.
     
     
   • b) What would happen if pancreatic cells unable to synthesis compound X?
     
     • Enzymes / any pancreatic enzyme / hormones /any pancreatic hormone cannot be synthesised.
     
     
   • c)
     
     • i) In the space below draw and label the structure of the basic unit of organic compound W.
       
       
     • ii) Name two types of organic compound W.
       
       • DNA & RNA.
       
       
     • iii) State two structural differences between the organic compounds you have named in (c)(ii).
       
       
       • DNA consists of two/double strands polynucleotide but RNA consists of a single / one strand of polynucleotide.
         
         
       • Strands of polynucleotide in DNA are twisted (around each other) / in a form of double helix but strand of polynucleotide in RNA is linear.
         
         
       * reject: molecules of DNA is big but molecules of RNA is small