What are Modal Verbs?

Modal verbs are special verbs which behave very differently from normal verbs. Here are some important differences:

1. Modal verbs do not take "-s" in the third person.

Examples:

• He can  speak Chinese.
• She should  be here by 9:00.

2. You use "not" to make modal verbs negative, even in Simple Present and Simple Past.

Examples:

• He should not be late.
• They might not come to the party.

3. Many modal verbs cannot be used in the past tenses or the future tenses.

Examples:

• He will can go with us. Not Correct
• She musted study very hard. Not Correct

Common Modal Verbs

Can Could May Might Must

Ought to Shall Should Will Would

How Can They Be Singular?

How Can They Be Singular?

Which of the following sentences is incorrect: A) It’s enough to drive anyone out of his senses. B) It’s enough to drive anyone out of his or her senses. C) It’s enough to drive anyone out of their senses.

Those who consider themselves “old school” would likely consider C incorrect: their is plural but its antecedent,anyone, is singular. Most traditionalists would consider B the best sentence (despite the clunky his or her), although they would reluctantly accept A also.

We consider ourselves traditionalists too. But after looking long and hard at the overwhelming evidence, we cannot in good conscience say that C is incorrect.

“It’s enough to drive anyone out of their senses” was written by the celebrated playwright and critic George Bernard Shaw. But Shaw was no outlier when it came to the so-called “singular they.”

Oscar Wilde: “Experience is the name everybody gives to their mistakes.” Henry Fielding: “Every Body fell a laughing, as how could they help it?” Shakespeare: “God send everyone their heart’s desire.” The King James Bible: “In lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves.”

Even despite these eminent writers’ words, we know that many of you are adamant that the plural pronoun they and its variants should never be used with singular antecedents. Perhaps you will reconsider after hearing from the language scholars.

• From A Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage(1957) by Bergen Evans and Cornelia Evans: “The use of they in speaking of a single individual is not a modern deviation from classical English. It is found in the works of many great writers.”

• British editor Tom Freeman: “Singular ‘they’ is over 600 years old, going back into Middle English. Great writers have used it, including Chaucer, Shakespeare, Swift, Fielding, Austen, Defoe, Byron, Thackeray and Shaw.”

• The American Heritage Dictionary: “Writers who choose to use they with a singular antecedent should rest assured that they are in good company—even if a fair number of traditionalists still wince at the usage.”

• The irascible Tom Chivers, writing in London’s dailyTelegraph: “If someone tells you that singular ‘they’ is wrong, you can firmly tell them to go to hell.”

So do we recommend the singular they? In fact we loathe it. You will never see the singular they in our blog posts. We stand with the English scholar Paul Bryan, who says in Common Errors in English Usage: “It is wise to shun this popular pattern in formal writing.” And we admire the passion of the writer Jen Doll: “Every time I see a singular they, my inner grammatical spirit aches … The singular they is ear-hurting, eye-burning, soul-ravaging, mind-numbing syntactic folly.”

Yes. The singular they might not be incorrect, but “not incorrect” is no one’s idea of an impressive credential.

Different from versus different than

The Lowdown on Different Than

Those who care about language sometimes discover they’ve been misled. Teachers, parents, or other trusted authority figures have been known to proclaim as rules what turn out to be myths, opinions, or whims about English usage.

In recent years we have debunked some of these baseless “rules,” and gotten a lot of heat from frustrated readers. Who can blame them?

Yet today we’re at it again, taking on another long-standing commandment: Always say different from because different than is incorrect. Upon further review this rule cannot be substantiated.

It has some impressive defenders, though: “In educated American usage, one thing is different from another, not different than another” (Claire Kehrwald Cook, Line by Line). “Comparative adjectives take than … Differenttakes from” (John B. Bremner, Words on Words).

Most writers prefer different from over different than when the phrase precedes a noun or pronoun: Dogs are different from cats. But different from does not always work preceding a clause. Consider this sentence: It is no different for men than it is for women. Using different than results in a clear, straightforward sentence. The supposedly grammatical alternative would be bloated and clumsy: It is no different for men from the way it is for women.

In Bryson’s Dictionary of Troublesome Words Bill Bryson cites this sentence: How different things appear in Washington than in London. If we changed the sentence to How different things appear in Washington from how they appear in London, Bryson states, “all it gives you is more words, not better grammar.”

“The idea that there is anything wrong with different than is a superstition,” says Roy H. Copperud in hisDictionary of Usage and Style. Bergen and Cornelia Evans’s Dictionary of Contemporary American Usageconcurs: “No one has any grounds for condemning others who would rather say different than, since this construction is used by some of the most sensitive writers of English and is in keeping with the fundamental structure of the language.” 

Does this mean you should now write different than every chance you get? We certainly wouldn’t. There may be nothing grammatically wrong with different than, but it remains polarizing. A is different than B comes across as sloppy to a lot of literate readers. If you can replace different than with different from without having to rewrite the rest of the sentence, we recommend doing so.

SCHEME OF WORK FOR FURTHER MATHEMATICS (SHS 2&1)

ABOR SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL (WEEKLY SCHEME OF WORK)
SUBJECT: FURTHER MATHEMATICS
 FORM: TWO TERM:
 THREE YEAR: 2014/2015
NAME(S) OF TEACHER(S): MR KPEMLIE DANIEL & MR TOFAH FRANCIS
REF.BOOKS: TEACHING SYLLABUS FOR FURTHER MATHEMATICS
ADDITIONAL MATHEMATICS FOR WEST AFRICA (GODMAN, ETAL)
FURTHER MATHEMATICS FOR SENIOR SCHOOLS (AKI OLA SERIES)
DATE
WEEK
ENDING
TOPIC
REF PAGE
REMARKS
24/04/2015
1
Revision of Last Term’s Exams
01/05/2015
2
DIFFERENTIATION
Max/Min values/pts., increment, Rates of change, Linear Kinematics
26-27
08/05/2015
3
INTEGRATION
Definite and Indefinite Integrals, Substitution
27
15/05/2015
CLASS TEST 1
4
INTEGRATION-APPLICATIONS
Determination of the constant of integration, Linear Kinematics, Trapezium Rule.
28
22/05/2015
5
INTEGRATION
Area between a curve and the x- axis/the y- axis Area between two curves
28
29/05/2015
6
INTEGRATION
Volume of revolution
28
05/06/2015
7
MATRICES
a) Definition of matrices
b) Types of matrices
c) Representation of matrices
d) Equal matrices
e) Addition and subtraction of matrices
f) Scalar multiplication of matrices
g) Multiplication of two 2×2 matrices
h) Determinant of 2×2 matrices
i) Inverse of 2×2 matrices
j) Determinant of 3×3 matrices
k) Applications :Solving
o Ax = B
o xA = B
o simultaneous equations (Cramer’s rule)
40
12/06/2015
CLASS TEST 2
8
LINEAR TRANSFORMATIONS
a) Definition
b) Stating the matrix of linear transformations and vice-versa
c) Finding the image of a given point
d) Finding the object given the image
e) Finding the matrix of a linear transformation given two points and their images
f) Inverse of a linear transformation
43
19/06/2015
9
(a) Composition of linear transformations
(b) Identity transformations:
 Reflection in the x- axis
 Reflection in the y- axis
 Reflection in the line y = x etc.
(c) Linear transformation of a line by a matrix
47
26/06/2015
10
STATISTICS
MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY
a) Assumed mean
b) Mode from a grouped data (formula)
c) Median from a grouped data (formula
31
03/07/2015
11
MEASURES OF DISPERSION
a) Using the assumed mean to calculate the
Standard deviation and the variance
b) Range, Quartiles, Percentiles, Deciles, Inter Quartile Range (IQR), Semi- IQR(Quartile Deviation), Mean Deviation,etc.
31
10/07/2015
CLASS TEST 3
12
STATISTICS
a) Histogram - unequal class intervals
b) Mode and median from a histogram
c) Finding the class boundaries given the midpoints
d) Ogive (Cumulative curve)
e) Finding the Quartiles, percentiles, deciles, IQR, median,etc.on the ogive
31
17/07/2015
13
CORRELATION AND REGRESSION
a) Definitions
b) Scatter diagram and types
c) Eye fitting and methods of least squares of the equation of the line of the best fit
d) Ranking (Spearman) and their interpretations
47
24/07/2015
14
Revision and Examination
31/07/2015
15
Examination
HEAD OF DEPARTMENT: MR. KPONOR CHARLES
DATE SUBMITTED: / 04 / 2015
ABOR SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL (WEEKLY SCHEME OF WORK)
SUBJECT: FURTHER MATHEMATICS FORM: ONE TERM: THREE YEAR: 2014/2015
NAME(S) OF TEACHER(S): MR KPEMLIE DANIEL & MR TOFAH FRANCIS
REF.BOOKS: TEACHING SYLLABUS FOR FURTHER MATHEMATICS
ADDITIONAL MATHEMATICS FOR WEST AFRICA (GODMAN, ETAL)
FURTHER MATHEMATICS FOR SENIOR SCHOOLS (AKI OLA SERIES)
DATE
WEEK
ENDING
TOPIC
REF PAGE
REMARKS
24/04/2015
1
Revision of Last Term’s Exams
01/05/2015
2
POLYNOMIAL FUNCTIONS
Linear and Quadratic functions,
Completing of squares, solutions to quadratic equations (factorization and formula)
4
08/05/2015
3
a) Simultaneous-solving linear and quadratic equations together.
b) Roots of quadratic equations
4
15/05/2015
CLASS TEST 1
4
POLYNOMIAL FUNCTIONS
Definition, algebra of polynomials
5
22/05/2015
5
Factor and Remainder theorems
6
29/05/2015
6
RATIONAL FUNCTIONS
a) Definition of rational functions
b) Operations on rational functions (revision from core mathematics)
c) Resolution of rational functions into partial fractions
6
05/06/2015
7
BINOMIAL THEOREM
a) Pascal’s triangle
b) Binomial expansion with positive integral
6
12/06/2015
CLASS TEST 2
8
BINOMIAL THEOREM
a) Combination method
b) Coefficient and exponents of terms in an expansion
7
19/06/2015
9
BINOMIAL THEOREM
Approximations of any index
7
26/06/2015
10
LINEAR INEQUALITIES IN TWO VARIABLES
Sketching of Linear graphs
a) Endpoints method
b) Gradient-intercepts method
7
03/07/2015
11
LINEAR INEQUALITIES IN TWO VARIABLES
Graphical Representation of Linear Inequalities
7
10/07/2015
CLASS TEST 3
12
a) Application of Linear Inequalities to Linear programming
b) Quadratic inequalities
7
17/07/2015
13
INDICES
a) Laws, simplifications,
b) Equations involving indices
18
24/07/2015
14
Revision and Examination
31/07/2015
15
Examination
HEAD OF DEPARTMENT: MR. KPONOR CHARLES
DATE SUBMITTED: / 04 / 2015

SCIENCE NOTES FOR SHS TWO

ACIDS, BASES AND SALTS

ICT NOTES FOR SHS 1

What is Internet?

The Internet is a  network of networks that connects computers worldwide via a huge set of telecommunications links.

A computer network is a system in which computers are connected so that they can share resources such as hardware, software and data.

The World Wide Web(www)

It is a service offered on the Internet. The web consists of millions of web pages hypertext and hypermedia documents. A hypertext document is a document that contains a hyperlink to another document located on the same computer or on another computer in any part of the world.

The Internet and the web(www) are not the same. The Internet is the actual physical network which is made of up of wires, cables and satellites. However, the web is the multimedia interface to the resources available on the Internet. Being connected to Internet(net) is often described as being online.

CHATS
Chat or online chat refers to any kind of communication using the internet but primarily refers to direct one- to-one chat or  text-based group chat.
A chat room is a group of people with common interest communicating with one another interactively in real time.

INTERNET RELAY CHAT(IRC)

This is a real-time conference system that lets you talk with as many people as you like, grouped together on channels by topics using text messages.

INSTANT MESSAGING

This is where a user on the web can contact another user online and type a conversation. e.g Facebook, whatsapp etc.

MULTIMEDIA CHAT

This is where users can communicate with one another with the use of microphone and webcam in any part of the world.

BLOGS

A blog which is the short form of web log is a web site that allows persons or groups to post items on the Internet. The activity of posting is called blogging, and the person who maintains a blog is called the blogger. One of the popular blogs in Ghana is the Ghana World Cup Blog. Other example is aborsco blog which can be accessed on www.aborsco.blogspot.com

DISCUSSION BOARDS

Discussion boards are also called internet forums. An internet forum is a web application that allows users to hold discussions and post user generated content.


SYNCHRONOUS COMMUNICATION

It is a form of direct communication where all the parties involved are present at the same time and communication is sent and received immediately. e.g chatrooms, instant messaging, video conferencing, telephone conversation etc.

ASYNCHRONOUS COMMUNICATION

It is a form of communication where all the parties do not necessarily have to present at the same time. e.g e-mail, buttetin boards, blogs, text messages sent to mobile phones.

HYPERTEXT TRANSFER PROTOCOL(HTTP)

HTTP is the underlying protocol used by the World Wide Web. It defines how messages are formatted and transmitted, and what actions Web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands.

For example, when you enter a URL in your browser, this actually sends an HTTP command to the Web server directing it to fetch and transmit the requested Web page.

The other main standard that controls how the World Wide Web works is HTML, which covers how Web pages are formatted and displayed.

ELECTRONIC MAIL (E-MAIL)

 They are messages distributed by electronic means from one computer user to one or more recipients via a network.

SEARCH ENGINES

Search engines are programs that search documents for specified keywords and return a list of matching documents.

They are used especially for finding particular sites on the World Wide Web. E.g. Google, Bing,Yahoo,Ask.com,AOL.com, Blekko.com etc.

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

 It is one of the main protocols in TCP/IP networks. It enables two hosts to establish a connection and exchange streams of data. TCP guarantees delivery of data and also guarantees that packets will be delivered in the same order in which they were sent.

LISTSERV

 It is an application that distributes messages to subscribers on an electronic mailing list. E.g Majordomo.

UNIFORM RESOURCE LOCATOR (URL)

URL is a web address such as http://www.google.com . It provides a direct link to web pages.

A web page is an online document which can be read by a web browser.

A web site is a collection of related web pages.

A portal is a web site which offers a variety of services, including searching capabilities.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard network protocol used to transfer computer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet.

 Web browser

 A browser is a software application used to locate, retrieve and display content on the World Wide Web. Examples of web browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Apple Safari and Opera.

What are Soft Skills?

What are soft skills? Simply put, soft skills are the personal attributes that allow us to effectively relate to others. These skills enhance our personal interactions and lead to greater job performance and satisfaction.

Unlike hard skills, which are the technical and knowledge skill set we bring to our work, soft skills are interpersonal and can be applied in a broad array of situations.

 Soft skills encompass both personality traits, such as optimism, and abilities which can be practiced, such as empathy. Like all skills, soft skills can be learned.

Soft skills include:
• Communication
• Listening
• Showing Empathy
• Networking
• Self-confidence
• Giving and receiving feedback