Be careful - Maths books that can mislead

wee_ws SG

Hi,

Maths books by Thomas Bond and Chris Hughes contain content which may mislead students.

In one book containing solutions to past year papers, they highlighted comments made by examiners. I have verified with colleagues in schools that the comments are highly questionable.

In another book containing JC questions (is this a copyright infringement?), numerous problems are not relevant to the H2 Maths syllabus.

The keen parent and student should be well-informed about content relevance when they plan to buy learning materials. I have presented facts for that purpose.

Thank you.

Cheers,
Wen Shih

quailmaster SG

think just stick to TYS and JC prelim papers is the safest ...

eagle SG

The same for physics as well. I have students asking me questions from the book which are already out of syllabus.

UltimaOnline SG

Caveat emptor.

For 'A' levels H2 Chemistry students, I can in good conscience, recommend only the following titles, no more no less :
http://infinity.usanethosting.com/Tuition/#Books_for_H2_Chemistry

For 'O' levels Chemistry students, there are many locally available titles, so while you do have considerable freedom to choose your 'O' level Chemistry books, remember as always : caveat emptor.

Three particular "exam practice questions" type books that I would highly recommend for 'O' level Chemistry students (these are Pure Chem books, but I would recommend them for Combined Science* Chem students as well), in no particular order, are :

- Longman's 'O' level Chemistry Workout by Lim Eng Wah and JGR Briggs
- GLM's Understanding Chemistry 'O' level by Li Geok Jin
- EPB Pan Pacific's Understanding 'O' level Chemistry through Problem Solving by Woo Chang Hong and Alaric Koh Chin Wai.

( *Combined Science Chem students who are doing well may attempt to progress on to practicing the Pure Chem TYS, and then onto the 3 titles recommended above. This is specifically recommended for combined science students who are seriously aiming for an A1 grade, and/or intend to continue studying Chemistry in the JC at H2 level, or take Chem based courses in the Polytechnic.)

Darkness_hacker99 SG

Longman's O Level Chemistry, that book is good for most student. There is also the Sci (Chem) version. Both book are quite the same, except that the Pure chem version contained more information. Other than that, I recommend student to purchase the pure chem version.

EPB Pan Pacific's Understanding. This book... many of my students find it challenging at first, but were able to tackle the questions after a period of time.

wayne471 SG

Contents that are outside of said syllabus do not usually mislead students, unless the information presented is erroneous. They merely present extra information for the students. deepen understand. I don't think a strict line should be drawn between syllabus and non-syllabus.. After all, students should be able to think for themselves and not told what to think. But yea.. unless it is totally out of the syllabus..

quailmaster SG

if you have the time, you can learn or remember extra info ..however it is important to note that cambridge the examining authority sticks closely to the syllabus .. information outside of the syllabus will not be asked for .. in fact one of the ways to tackle difficult questions is to recall what you have learnt for that particular topic, this will provide clues as to how to answer the question

Almond Cookies SG

This is a good article.