2020 has been an unpredictable year for many of us. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we saw our usual daily routines being disrupted. From wearing facemasks, working from home to going out in smaller groups, our lives seem so different from what it was a year ago.
For the batch of ‘O’ Levels students graduating this year, it was even more so. Apart from donning their facemasks during examinations, they had to finish their curriculum via home-based learning during the Circuit Breaker. In order to ease the workload and stress for the students, several chapters were removed from their syllabus and students had less to study for their ‘O’ Levels.
Chapters Removed from ‘O’ Levels in 2020 due to the Covid-19 Pandemic
| Subject | Chapters Removed |
| Chemistry | – Introduction to Organic Chemistry – Alkanes and Alkenes – Alcohols and Carboxylic Acids – Macromolecules |
| Physics | – Magnetism (Combined Science) – Electromagnetism (Combined Science) – Electromagnetic Induction |
| E-Math and A-Math | – Vectors – Plane Geometry |
The reduced curriculum has helped the students manage better for their ‘O’ Levels. Students were tested less and had less questions to do during the examinations.
Unfortunately, reducing the curriculum comes with its consequences. For students entering Junior College next year, many of these ‘O’ Level topics that were removed act as a foundation for many ‘A’ level topics. Students will have themselves struggling to grapple with the concepts in time as they will not have any background knowledge to these topics.
Without the pre-requisite knowledge of these topics, students will struggle to understand and catch up with these topics by the end of JC1.
Many of the topics that were removed from this year’s ‘O’ Levels set a strong foundation for what’s in-store for ‘A’ levels.
This is especially the case for Chemistry, where the 4 Organic Chemistry chapters removed from the ‘O’ levels act as a pre-requisite for Organic Chemistry in ‘A’ Levels, constituting 40% of the subject. The list of chapters can be seen in the table below:
| ‘O’ Level Chapters Removed (4 Chapters) | Related ‘A’ Level Topics (9 Chapters) | Weightage for ‘A’ Levels Chemistry |
| – Intro to Organic Chemistry – Alkanes & Alkenes – Alcohols & Carboxylic Acids – Macromolecules | – Intro to Organic Chemistry – Alkanes – Alkenes – Arenes – Halogen Derivatives – Hydroxy Compounds – Carbonyl Compounds – Carboxylic Acid & Derivatives – Nitrogen Compounds | 40% |
As a core ‘A’ Level Subject, H1/H2 Chemistry is a compulsory subject for every JC student in the Science Stream. We would encourage students and parents to be prepared for the extra workload and effort required to bridge the Organic Chemistry topics that were removed from the curriculum this year. Be sure to seek help as early as possible, before the content overwhelms the student when examinations are approaching.
Why Habitat Learning Centre
At Habitat Learning Centre, we specialize in Secondary and JC Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics. Our JC department is led by a team of accomplished tutors with years of experience covering ‘A’ Level Subjects.
We believe in providing a high-quality tuition experience for students where students not only have the opportunity to learn from the tutors, but also have time to clarify their doubts during the lessons. This is made possible through our small group (2-5) tuition classes and individualized curriculums complementary to the student’s learning speed.
To find out more about Habitat Learning Centre and our JC Chemistry and JC Mathematics classes, feel free to contact Ms. Song at +65 9795 3323 or drop us a message on our website!
Written
by:
Leon Choo Lead Tutor,
Chemistry and Physics Specialist
Habitat Learning Centre Pte Ltd
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