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Archive for December, 2011

Year 10 Maths: Quadratic Equations Poster

06 Dec

Dear Maths Gang,

Your task is to produce a poster about how to solve quadratic equations (ax^2 + bx + c = 0).

It should include:

  • How to factorise (perhaps including how to factorise equations that have more than 1 x^2 value).
  • How to use the quadratic formula
  • How to complete the square. (You might also include how to derive the quadratic formula by completing the square).
  • Examples of how to do the above.

I’d particularly like it if your poster could include the strengths and weaknesses of different methods….

Good luck! You can leave a comment if you have any questions!

 
1 Comment

Posted in Homework, Maths

 

Year 9 Assessment: How should people make their ethical decisions?

05 Dec

This next assessment task is a bit of a challenge. It’s all about the best way to make an ethical decision and looking at the pros and cons of the various systems.

Read the Ethical Decisions Handout for information on what to do. Use it to give you a suggested structure and advice on levels.

Here’s some information on the ethical systems you could consider:

Utilitarianism – Bringing the greatest happiness to the most people

  • Pros: Aims to bring maximum happiness
  • Cons: The outcomes of our actions are not always as intended. Can take advantage of minorities for the benefit of the majority. Doesn’t always take into account all relevant factors.
  • Articles to look at: here, here, hereand here.

Situation Ethics – The right thing to do is the most loving thing to do

  • Pros: Intends to produce love, which is inherently good.
  • Cons: We often don’t agree on what the loving thing to do is. “Love” is hard to count so it’s not easy to work out.
  • More useful information is here

Religious Ethics – The right thing to do is what God tells us to do

  • Pros: Often quite clear-cut (see the 10 Commandments). God knows best!
  • Cons: Religious extremists can distort the rules for evil (see 9/11). People don’t agree on which religion’s rules to use.

Virtue Ethics – Good people make good decisions

  • Pros: Focusses on the person performing the action and their good intentions, not the outcome.
  • Cons: Gives no clear guidance as to what to do in any situation. We don’t all agree on what a “good person” is and what counts as “virtue”.
  • Links here or here.

Egocentric Ethics – The right thing is what is good for me

  • Pros: Makes me happy
  • Cons: Won’t make many friends

If you find any good links to useful information please leave a comment so I can make the link available to everyone!

Make sure you read the descriptions of the levels in the Ethical Decisions Handout so you know what you need to do to answer the key question well.

This essay is due on:

  • 9B – Monday 9th Jan

Good luck! As always, leave a comment or email me if you have questions!

 
36 Comments

Posted in Homework, RPE

 

Year 8 Exam Revision

01 Dec

Hello all, hope you are having a nice holiday! As promised here is information for exam revision…

Part One – Picture Round
Remember, the trick here is to make links between what is happening in the picture and what it might therefore tell us about heaven/hell. For example, “Hell is an painful place” is no good, nor is “The picture shows a lot of people in agony”. The sentence you are looking for is: “The picture shows a lot of people in agony which tells us that hell is a painful place.” Got it? Good.

Part Two – Explanation
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS. You’ll be much better off answering one or two in detail. The first key is to explain. Think about what evidence people might have to back up their beliefs. Nobody believes something for no reason.

The second key is to analyse. This is hard to explain as what you need to do depends on the situation. However, the basic idea is that you compare and contrast. For example, if the question asks you to look at different beliefs about what happens when you die then analysis would be to identify similarities and differences between different religions and perhaps whether their beliefs make any sense (being sure to explain why/why not).

What you need to know
You’ve got some of the basics on life after death in your books. The basic distinction is between Christianity, Islam and Judaism on one hand (some concept of judgement), and Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddism on the other (re-birth of some sort). Have a look at BBC Bitesize and look at all the “beliefs about life after death” sections. You can even test yourself. This should give you plenty of extra detail to include in your answers.

You should also know about the concept of purgatory. Some Christians (Catholics) believe that after death only a few enough are pure enough to enter heaven straight away. Most of us instead go to a place called purgatory where we can spend time becoming purer so that we can go to heaven.

Good luck! Leave a comment if you have any questions!

 
3 Comments

Posted in Further Reading