Hepatitis B Vaccination for Lower Sixth Formers

Posted by Chong

Hepatitis B Vaccination for Teenagers Programme is a special programme launched by Malaysian Ministry of Health for teenagers who were born before 1989. Our government has started immunizing all the babies born in 1989 onwards with Hepatitis B vaccination in order to protect them from Hepatitis B. So, babies born before 1989 including me have no Hepatitis B immunization in our bodies, except those who have inoculated through clinic with a pay of more than RM100.

For your general knowledge, hepatitis is a disease of the liver that causes fever and makes your skin yellow. There are several types of hepatitis: Hepatitis A, which is less severe, and Hepatitis B and C which are much more serious. Realising the fatality of this deadly disease, Malaysian government through the Ministry of Health has decided to extend the vaccination to the teenagers born before 1989 for free.

So, all lower sixth formers will take 3 doses of Hepatitis B vaccine through 3 injections. By the way, I was just injected for my first dose and the second injection is scheduled next month (October 2006). The last or the third dose is scheduled in February 2007. I think we are very lucky to have this vaccination for free. Besides, we have the opportunities to experience the long-forgotten pain during the injection again. Just kidding :P Actually, I did not feel any pain during the injection, maybe my eyes (and mind) were too busy looking my friend who was sitting in front of me to be injected. Suddenly, the nurse beside me told me that I was injected. I could not believe it; the injection was so fast and painless that I thought I was not injected!

Anyway, let me end this post with some information I have gathered from the Hepatitis B Vaccination for Teenagers Programme leaflet.

How does Hepatitis B spread?

• Touch of the infected one’s blood
• Blood transfusion or haemodialysis
• Sharing of needle, razor, earring, toothbrush with the infected one
• Tattooing, acupuncture and ear piercing
• Perinatal – from woman to her baby during the time of birth of the baby
• Sexual intercourse

Hepatitis B does not spread through

• Physical connection such as hugging or hand-holding
• Food prepared by the infected one
• Cheek- or lip-kissing
• Cough or sneeze

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STPM Mathematics T, Mathematics S and Further Mathematics Syllabuses

Posted by Chong

Please take note that the first eight topics (Paper 1) of Maths T and Maths S are the same. Besides, Maths T and Maths S are mutually exclusive. In other words, a STPM candidate cannot take both subjects at the same time. Maths T is taken by most science stream stuedents whereas Maths S is taken by some art stream students. Meanwhile, Further Maths is taken as the optional fifth subject by some science stream students.

STPM Mathematics T (also known as Pure Mathematics) Syllabus

1. Numbers and Sets
   Real numbers
   Exponents and logarithms
   Complex numbers
   Sets
   
   
2. Polynomials
   Polynomials
   Equations and inequalities
   Partial fractions
   
   
3. Sequences and Series
   Sequences
   Series
   Binomial expansions
   
   
4. Matrices
   Matrices
   Inverse matrices
   System of linear equations
   
   
5. Coordinate Geometry
   Cartesian coordinates in a plane
   Straight lines
   Curves
   
   
6. Functions
   Functions and graphs
   Composite functions
   Inverse functions
   Limit and continuity of a function
   
   
7. Differentiation
   Derivative of a function
   Rules for differentiation
   Derivative of a function defined implicitly or parametrically
   Applications of differentiation
   
   
8. Integration
   Integral of a function
   Integration techniques
   Definite integrals
   Applications of integration
   
   
9. Differential Equations
   Differential equations
   First order differential equations with separable variables
   First order homogeneous differential equations
   
   
10. Trigonometry
    Solution of a triangle
    Trigonometric formulae
    Trigonometric equations and inequalities
    
    
11. Deductive Geometry
    Axioms
    Polygons
    Circles
    
    
12. Vectors
    Vectors
    Applications of vectors
    
    
13. Data Description
    Representation of data
    Measures of location
    Measures of dispersion
    
    
14. Probability
    Techniques of counting
    Events and probabilities
    Mutually exclusive events
    Independent and conditional events
    
    
15. Discrete Probability Distributions
    Discrete random variables
    Mathematical expectation
    The binomial distribution
    The Poisson distribution
    
    
16. Continuous Probability Distributions
    Continuous random variable
    Probability density function
    Mathematical expectation
    The normal distribution
    

STPM Mathematics S (also known as Statistical Mathematics) Syllabus

1. Numbers and Sets
   Real numbers
   Exponents and logarithms
   Complex numbers
   Sets
   
   
2. Polynomials
   Polynomials
   Equations and inequalities
   Partial fractions
   
   
3. Sequences and Series
   Sequences
   Series
   Binomial expansions
   
   
4. Matrices
   Matrices
   Inverse matrices
   System of linear equations
   
   
5. Coordinate Geometry
   Cartesian coordinates in a plane
   Straight lines
   Curves
   
   
6. Functions
   Functions and graphs
   Composite functions
   Inverse functions
   Limit and continuity of a function
   
   
7. Differentiation
   Derivative of a function
   Rules for differentiation
   Derivative of a function defined implicitly or parametrically
   Applications of differentiation
   
   
8. Integration
   Integral of a function
   Integration techniques
   Definite integrals
   Applications of integration
   
   
9. Linear Programming
   
   
10. Network Planning
    
    
11. Data Description
    
    
12. Probability
    
    
13. Probability Distributions
    
    
14. Sampling and Estimation
    
    
15. Correlation and Regression
    
    
16. Time Series and Index Number
    
    

STPM Further Mathematics Syllabus (thanks to Ru7h)
Note: 13 - 16 are statistic topics

1. Logic and Proof
   
   
2. Complex Numbers
   Polar form
   de Moivre's theorem
   Equations
   
   
3. Matrices
   Row & Columns operations
   System of linear equations
   eigenvalues & eigenvectors
   
   
4. Recurrence Relations
   Recurrence relations
   Homogeneous linear recurrence relations
   Non-homogenous linear recurrence relations
   
   
5. Functions
   Inverse trigonometric functions
   Hyperbolic functions
   Inverse hyperbolic functions
   
   
6. Differentiation and Integration
   
   
7. Power Series
   Taylor Polynomials
   Taylor Series
   
   
8. Differential Equations
   
   
9. Number Theory
   Divisibility
   Modular Arithmetic
   
   
10. Graph Theory
    Graphs
    Paths & Cycles
    Matrix Representations
    
    
11. Transformation Geometry
    Transformation
    Matrix Representations
    
    
12. Coordinate Geometry
    Three-Dimensional vectors
    Straight Lines
    Planes
    
    
13. Sampling and Estimation
    Random samples
    Sampling Distributions
    Point Estimates
    Interval Estimates
    
    
14. Hypothesis Testing
    Hypotheses
    Critical Regions
    Tests of Significance
    
    
15. χ² Tests
    χ² distributions
    Tests for goodness of fit
    Tests for Independence
    
    
16. Correlation and Regression
    Scatter Diagrams
    Pearson correlation coefficient
    Linear Regression Lines
    

Update: Subtopics are included.

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National Examination Fees Abolished from 2007 onwards

Posted by Chong

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced that the fees of national examinations including Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR), Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR), Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) or its equivalent and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) will be abolished from next year. PM brought this good news in his Budget 2007 announcement yesterday.

National Examination Fees
UPSR RM 5.00
PMR RM 20.00
SPM RM 126.00 – RM 141.00
STPM RM 205.00 – RM 220.00
- Nanyang Siang Pau, 2 September 2006

The waiving of national examination fees is indeed a great relief for most parents. I still remember in the early months last year, my parents spent a lot of money for my education expenses such as my SPM fee, tuition fees (including annual registration and photostat fees), school fees, etc. Bear in mind that Chinese New Year was in early 2005 too! It would be a difficult time if you come from low-income family like me.

Next year, I will benefit from this budget since I do not have to pay the expensive STPM examination fees. However, I wonder whether Malaysian University English Test (MUET) fee is abolished too? For your information, MUET fee was RM50 last year and is increased to RM60 this year. MUET is one of the national examinations (test to be accurate) and logically its fee is to be waived supposedly. I can only verify this when I register for the test early next year.

Another noteworthy announcement is that scholarships will be awarded to all students from families earning RM1500 or less a month and who score ten 1As and above in the SPM examination. So, if you are taking SPM examination this year, which will commence on 14 November 2006 (SPM Prinsip Akaun), please put your best effort into scoring straight 1As in your SPM.

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