Yesterday was the last day of the 5 days O Level Chemistry Intensive Revision Bootcamp and was a really emotional one for me. Especially when i was handling out the Certificate of Acheivement to this special group of committed students. I can see the smile and brightness in the eyes, and feel very proud that i decided after so long, to hold such an intensive program for a group of students that wants more help to learn Chemistry in a simple, more fun manner & to score the grades they truly deserve for their Chemistry in O Levels.

With the completion of 40hrs (aka 5 days) of intensive program, we have covered 70-80% of the current GCE O Level Syllabus whereby main-stream secondary schools takes close to 11/2 years to “teach” theirs students. My graduates from this bootcamp are shocked to find out how efficiently and effectively we can cover those “big” chapters in super short time using Accelerated Learning Techniques (ChemKidz…u still remember those Reviews & Participation huh??!) and Lots Lots Lots of Life Examples and Analogies (i almost lost my voice @ towards the end of the bootcamp).

We were at Rendezvous Hotel, and many passer-bys and their own staff are surprised at the speed and effectively levels of our accelerated coaching teachniques used. In fact, Accelerated Learning Techniques has been around for sometime, but only adults that seek personal development understands about it and believe in it. For us, we are the 1ST to incorporate Accelerated Learning Techniques into Chemistry Coaching & fused it with my knowledge of Chemistry Phenomenons in everyday lives. Based on what i observed for last 10 years, our current secondary schools under MOE are still using their own “ONE-WAY” teaching methods and this does not cater well for students that have either loose their interest and have weak foundations in Basic Chemistry Concepts. We AIM to be different by providing a totally different way of coaching Chemistry.

Hereby, i wish this special group of students The Best In Their Chemistry Examinations and also other academic achievements! ChemKidz –> Remember one of my many taglines @ the end of each set of notes –>

“Wanting Leads to Wanting, Doing Leads to Having”

You learned about the Basic Chemistry Essential Concepts. Now you need to carry on Step 2, that is to APPLY it, and Step 3, that is to REVIEW it. I will be following up with you shortly to help you review your progress.

Hi Avid readers of this Chemistry website,

Good to see you visiting this website and wanting to learn more about chemistry. I have been less active here for the last 2 weeks as i was busy with the GCE ‘O’ Level Intensive Chemistry Bootcamp program for a special group of students in Singapore. If you are one of the students in the Bootcamp, Give yourself a HIGH-FIVE!!! for being so committed to learn more about Chemistry Phenomenons, Tips and Strategies.

Today is the 2nd day of the Chemistry Intensive Bootcamp and i am enjoying it more and more. These special group of students which have committed 5 days of their holiday to spend time with us, in order to learn more and improve their grades in Chemistry. They have been AWESOME! I congratulate their attitude and energy in making the bootcamp so interesting and fun!

Yesterday, i was going through the Chapter on BONDING in the Bootcamp, and lots and lots and lots of examples were shared and many analogies were given. One of those we mentioned is DIAMOND, a giant macromolecule. We all know diamond, a part of woman’s life some say. 

 (Image by theappraiserlady)

Diamond is one of the hardest material on earth. It is not easily stretched, bent or worn out. Diamond exists as a solid in nature and has high Boiling Point and Melting Point. Melting point of diamond is in fact 3500 degrees Celsius. Diamond does not conduct electricity and is insoluble in water (of course not soluble, imagine your few thousands dollars diamond dissolve in water and you get nothing!!??)

Diamond has the above physical properties because of its chemical structure. It has all the typical properties of a Giant Covalent Molecule. A crystal of diamond contains millions of Carbon (C) atoms joined together by strong covalent bonds. Each carbon atom is bonded tetrahedrally to 4 other Carbon atoms. A lot of energy is required to break these strong covalent bonds, and this explains why diamond is so hard and difficult to melt. All the valence electrons in C atoms are used for bonding in diamond, and no free electrons to move around. Thus, diamond cannot conduct electricity.

 (Image by zeroion)

Besides uses in Gemstones in Jewellery (Diamond Ring, Pendant, Necklace, etc), diamonds are also used at the Tips of drills and other cutting tools. They are used for drilling, grinding and polishing hard surfaces.

Hi Students and Avid Readers of this Chemistry Blogsite,

It has been awhile since you see my recent post. This shows 2 things: 1ST - I am the sole founder of this blog. 2nd – I am personally posting all the strategies, tips, solutions and discussions, etc into this site on my own.

I was away to prepare for the Comprehensive Yet Condensed Materials for a special group of students in Singapore, that will be joining me in the Chemistry Intensive Revision Bootcamp. It really takes quite a large amount of time from me, as i need to select the materials, make sure they are current/related and comprehensive enough, yet trying to condense them into short notes (in point forms).

I was also involved in the 2 FREE Introductory Workshops on last Thursday and Sunday. Turnout was good for both days, and the crowd are getting more and more participative. In fact, both the parents and students are participating so much that i can see the level that are committed to their their child success.

For those that saw me on the other 2 days, the image of flip-chart on this post should not be too unfamiliar right. Hope you have brought something home on those evenings and shared it with your child and practiced it immediately to see the change in results and attitude.

Now, for local students, we will be holding the 2 hrs FREE Introductory Workshop this Thursday @ Hotel Rendezous for one last time. Details shown in earlier post. Hope to see you there.

For overseas students, my apology not able to conduct such 2hrs Chemistry Introductory Workshop & the subsequent Chemistry Intensive Revision Program in your countries. Even with great infrastructure in the world, i just did not have the time to fly to your country to conduct such a training. I am looking into web-service technology to give me the capability of conducting such programs via the internet. Will inform you once i make some break-thru in it.

 PS: I will find time to continue supporting you to achieve the Chemistry grades you truly deserve

Latest Update on 30 May 2008: Register for your FREE Introductory Workshop to O Level Chemistry Intensive BootCamp here

www.simplechemconcepts.com/register  

The March’s Chemistry Intensive Revision Program was conducted in mid-March 08 and prove to be very successful. We had lots of fun and saw tremendous amount of participation from the students and this certainly will help them in their Chemistry learning. Several topics such as Atomic Structure, Elements, Compounds & Mixtures, Different Types of Bonding, Properties of Bonding Structure, etc was thoroughly revised and discussed.

For those that missed out on our March Chemistry Intensive Program, we will conduct another 2 programs during the coming June Holidays. These ones will cover even more extensive topics of Chemistry in an open interactive manner.

We will be conducting GCE O Level Chemistry Intensive Topical Revision Bootcamps to prepare students for Sec 3 Final Year Examinations and GCE O Level/Preliminary Examinations respectively.

Chemistry Intensive Topical Revision Bootcamp :
–> Extensive Coverage of Sec 3 Fundamental Topics
* Kinetic Particle Theory
* Purification & Separation
* Elements, Compounds & Mixtures
* Atomic Structure
* Covalent, Ionic & Metallic Bonding
* Balancing Chemical Equations, Mole Concepts & Chemical Calculations
* Acids, Bases & Salts

–> Extensive Coverage of Sec 4 Application Topics
* Oxidation & Reduction (Redox)
* Electrolysis
* The Periodic Table
* Metals & The Reactivity Series
* Energy Changes
* Speed of Reaction
* Ammonia

Do send me an email to sean@simplechemconcepts.com and leave down your contact number if you are interested to enroll for this workshop or for any other enquiries. Priorities will be given to students that have never scored an A before in previous major Chemistry examinations. You can also contact me at 98287357 for discussion.

Do contact us early as first come first served basis. Once the class size is full, we will not be able to accept any more students due to venue constraint.

PS: For students & parents interested in Combine Science (Chemistry) Intensive Revision Programs, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will look into setting up a revision program once we have the minimum number.

“Determination: Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way”
- Abraham Lincoln