SOME Singaporeans may think the world of themselves, and a few
actually believe the sun revolves around the earth.
Six of them - including three Shenton Way executives - said this
when they were asked a series of basic questions on science.
They were among 100 mostly professionals and working adults polled
by The New Paper.
COMMON RESPONSE
Other questions which stumped many included those on insects' legs
and the gas that makes up most of air. (See below for
questions.)
One-fifth of those polled did not know that an insect has six legs.
Most of those who answered wrongly thought insects have eight legs.
Other answers included four, 10 and 12 legs.
A common response to this question was 'it depends on what insect
it is'.
More than a quarter could not answer half the eight questions
correctly.
And only three of the 100 people polled managed a perfect
score.
Singaporeans, however, can take heart that they fared somewhat
better than Americans in a similar poll.
Reporting on the poll held in the US this year, The New York Times
said about one-fifth of Americans believe that the sun moves around
the earth.
And only about half know that humans did not live at the same time
as the dinosaurs. However, this may not be caused by the inadequate
teaching of maths and science in US schools.
Rather, it may point to the arrogance of liberal arts and cultural
snootiness among the population, said the report.
According to some Americans interviewed for the poll, not knowing
'who Plato, Monet or Dickens is would be considered a more heinous
crime, as compared to being oblivious about Einstein's Theory of
Relativity'.
Singapore is known for having plenty of talent in science and
maths, having had students participate and win competitions
regionally and internationally.
BEST PERFORMANCE
In July 2005, five junior college students won three gold and two
bronze medals at an international physics competition, giving
Singapore its best performance in the 17 years that it has taken
part.
The Republic ranked a respectable fifth out of 74 participating
countries.
So, one may assume there is a reasonably high level of science
literacy in Singapore.
However The New Paper poll, conducted in Shenton Way and the
Tampines town centre, revealed that many working professionals here
have a rather poor knowledge of science.
'My goodness, I'm shocked,' said teacher Goh Cheo Hoon, 45, when
told about the few who didn't know that the earth goes around the
sun.
'Maybe they got it mixed up because it was a survey and they had to
give the answer on the spot.'
But it wasn't just that question.
One-fifth did not have a clue that photosynthesis is the process by
which plants convert carbon dioxide to oxygen during the day.
Mr Albert Tan, 30, a banker, thought photosynthesis is the process
by which plants flower. When told that his answer was wrong, he was
not very bothered, responding with a simple 'Oh, okay'.
One-third of those polled did not know that nitrogen makes up 78
per cent of the air we breathe.
A typical answer from Madam Tan Muey Kee, 53, a housewife: 'It has
to be oxygen. How else do we survive?'
Other answers included carbon dioxide and even hydrogen, which is
not even normally present in the air.
As the questions got tougher, such as the one which asked for the
most common hydrocarbon in petrol, almost everyone got it
wrong.
About 40 of those polled did not have a clue about this, while
about 50 tried to guess and got it wrong.
Only seven of the 100 respondents managed to give the correct
answer - octane.
On the chemical name of salt, Ms Nicolette Chan, 25, a clerk, said:
'Erm, it's sodium something, I've never used the chemical name
since I left school.'
So, are people just memorising facts while in school and forgetting
them after that?
When asked for her view on this, a teacher, who gave her name only
as Ms Tay, said: 'Upon graduation, adults are likely to lose touch
with areas involving science, unless they go into specialised
research and development.'
Another teacher, who teaches chemistry in a secondary school, said:
'Most people don't observe the things around them and they can't
relate to the questions asked.'
So it was not surprising that the only three who got a perfect
score were all junior college students who had just completed their
A-level examinations.
One of them, Mr Cheng Mao Xin, 18, said: 'People usually don't
apply what is learnt in school, so a lot of things are forgotten or
under-utilised.'
Miss Cindi Ho, also 18, felt the same way. She said: 'Some of these
facts were learnt in primary school, so they might have forgotten
them as people don't keep their knowledge up to date. Most just
study for exams and drop the facts after that.' - Additional
reporting by Yang Yanyi and Goh Su Xin
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THE QUESTIONS
1) Does the sun move around the earth or does the earth move around
the sun?
Answer: Earth moves around the sun
Correct: 94 out of 100 polled
Wrong: 6
Don't know: 0
2) How many legs does an insect have?
Answer: 6
Correct: 80
Wrong: 19
Don't know: 1
3) What is photosynthesis?
Answer: Process by which plants make food using carbon dioxide and
water
Correct: 80
Wrong: 13
Don't know: 7
4) What is the chemical name of salt?
Answer: Sodium chloride
Correct: 44
Wrong: 28
Don't know: 28
5) What is the chemical the body secretes when a person is under
stress, fear or excitement?
Answer: Adrenaline
Correct: 38
Wrong: 17
Don't know: 45
6) What's the name of the common hydrocarbon in fuel?
Answer: Octane
Correct: 7
Wrong: 53
Don't know: 40
7) Which gas constitutes the largest percentage of air?
Answer: Nitrogen
Correct: 64
Wrong: 31
Don't know: 5
How many planets are there in the solar system?
Answer: 9
Correct: 69
Wrong: 29
Don't know: 2
The Science Poll covered 100 mostly working professionals and
adults
