Agham

by Marvin Diegor (Student Contributor)

Another day, another class; and the subject for today: Science. It is defined as the study-of-the-physical-and-natural-world-and-phenomena- especially-by-using-systematic-observation-and-experiment! Well, that’s a mouthful isn’t it?

To be honest, I’m not very good at it. But for today, we were tasked to answer General Science, Biology, Chemistry and (heartbeat sound effects) Physics. I was lucky enough to correctly answer at least 7 questions out of 20 per topic! Phew, it was so hard.

Right then and there, I thought: would this be my situation when I’m sitting in the once-a-year UPCAT? Or maybe, the Ateneo College Entrance Exam or that of De La Salle University? Would my minimal knowledge in Science be a hindrance to achieving my dreams? I shuddered at the thought. Well, that won’t happen… I hope. AND I trust my lecturers at Ahead to teach the right things to me.

Just recently, I actually had fun learning about Science thingamajigs. We were grouped into fives and I was lucky enough to have knowledgeable group mates. But even with their knowledge, we still didn’t win. It was a close fight though. The winning team was only 2 points ahead of us. Anyways, I realized that I didn’t have to know everything, only the important things that I need to get through life. Most professionals didn’t need to know everything, but at least they’re not dumb-struck when they are asked, “What is the most abundant gas on Earth?” Well? FYI, it’s Nitrogen which comprises 70% of the Earth’s atmosphere (nope, it’s not Oxygen, which was my mistake too).

My confidence has developed a bit and that’s good enough for me! I still got a year left (which is my fourth year). Well, two months actually since UPCAT is on August 1 or 2, 2009 (heartbeat sound effects getting louder). Well, when the time comes, I’ll be sitting there with all the things I learned. And when I pass, the rest, as they say, will be history; and I shall never forget how a little group of five had fun on how they learned what kind of animals develop a placenta.

Good luck to all aspiring Iskolars ng Bayan, Green Archers, and Blue Eagles!

Battle of the Brains

De La Salle University-Manila recently organized a Math and Science quiz bee. Junior and senior students from the premier high schools within the Metro and surrounding provinces competed to know who the best is. To give you a taste of what happened, here are the winners:

Champion:
School: Philippine Science High School
Participants: Raymond Alibutud
Elvis Ayroso
Ralph Ugalino
Coach: Sir Jose Andaya

1st Runner Up:
School: Philippine Science High School
Participants: Julio Raphael U. Santos
Lance Co Ting Keh
Immanuel V. Encarnacion
Coach: Jose Andaya

2nd Runner Up:
School: Chang Kai Shek College
Participants: Ervin Fredrick Dy
Aldric Cristoval Reyes
Aibeemae Cua
Coach: Miss Monnette Estacio


Congratulations to the winners! See you next year for a more brain-wracking quiz contest!