Cell efficiency
When you tutor Biology 12, one topic that comes up is cell efficiency. It’s a bit tricky for some people, because it involves some math. Putting it simply, imagine a cell is a sphere. Its volume is what it needs …
Author: Jack
Conservation of momentum
Every year, the physics tutor fields a few questions on conservation of momentum. It’s an interesting phenomenon because you can use it to explain some familiar, everyday situations. Momentum is mass times velocity. Something that is 50 kg, traveling at …
Does 0.33333….. really equal 1/3?
Hello. What rain yesterday, here in Campbell River! Well, we sure needed it. It’s nice to have more seasonal temperatures after the oven that was last week. A math tutor often encounters the topic of converting decimals to fractions. Terminating …
Distance vs Displacement: Scalar vs Vector
When you tutor physics, a concept that soon comes up is scalar vs vector. It’s not something most people ever think much about, but the difference is very important – especially in Science 10 and Physics 11. For example: distance is …
The double ‘l’ controversy
The other day my wife Diane got on my case about my spelling of “canceled”: Diane: You spelled canceled wrong. It only has one l. There should be two. Jack: You can spell it either way. Diane: I’ve been a …
Exponential Growth
Good morning from Jack, your tutor from Campbell River. It’s brilliantly sunny here, with a high of 27 (or 81 F) expected. This kind of weather can be so hard for kids just returning to school. The people entering math 12 …
Algebra: basic
When you tutor math, you see various approaches to algebra. Here’s my interpretation: 1) Decide which side you want “x” (or whatever variable you have). 2) Get all the x terms to that side, and all the numbers to the …
School Supplies: A tutor’s point of view
Last year, listening to French radio, I heard a surprising report: school supply shopping is the second most stressful occasion for a great many parents, second only to Christmas shopping. If that’s true, it doesn’t need to be. What’s more, I can explain why: 1) …
Reasoning: Inductive vs Deductive
A couple of years ago, a new topic came up during math tutoring: deductive reasoning vs inductive reasoning. What’s the difference? There are many ways to explain how the two are different. I’ll explain it this way: With inductive reasoning, you notice a few similar situations that …
Story Elements: Setting vs Character
During English tutoring, elements of story creation are sometimes explored. Among them are plot, setting, character, symbol, and irony. When I was in English 12, I was taught that great writers don’t develop a story by plot, but rather, by character. The real story is how the …