Actual and Apparent Position

Do you know the reason why there is an apparent shift in the position of the sun during sunrise and sunset. Well if no, this video will explain the reason behind it. Atmospheric refraction is responsible for apparent shift in position of the sun during sunrise and sunset. Our atmosphere is not a single layer but is composed of many layers of different densities. Atmospheric refraction is caused by the varying density of air among the different atmospheric layers. The optical density of our atmosphere decreases as we go higher. Light from the sun undergoes multiple refractions in different layers of air. This bending of light shifts the apparent position of the sun. An observer on earth would observe the sun rise two minutes before the actual time.

Watch more education videos at http://www.meritnation.com/products/demo/online

Meritnation.com launches NCERT Solutions for Economics & Sociology!

Meritnation.com brings good news for all students who have opted for Economics or Sociology at the plus two level! By launching NCERT solutions for Economics for class XII & NCERT solutions for Sociology for class XI, Meritnation.com hopes to help students studying these subjects learn concepts in their NCERT textbooks thoroughly by providing answers to the end-of-chapter questions. These solutions to the end-of-chapter questions are available at www.meritnation.com absolutely free!

Now you can refer to the NCERT solutions available at Meritnation.com & check the accuracy of your answers against the ones available at the website. Following are the key features of Meritnation.com’s NCERT solutions-

• NCERT solutions for Economics & Sociology are arranged chapter-wise and within each chapter they are arranged by page number
• NCERT solutions are enriched with relevant graphics for effective understanding
• NCERT solutions have been prepared keeping in mind the instructions/guidelines for each question

We at Meritnation.com hope that the NCERT solutions for Economics & Sociology will help all you students understand these subjects better. Keep watching this space for more launches for your class!

Cheers!

Team Meritnation

Meritnation launches Summer Pack!

Utilize your holidays to strengthen your fundamentals in Maths & Science this summer! Meritnation.com launches Summer Pack exclusively for CBSE students of classes 6th to 12th. With Meritnation’s Summer Pack you can now brush up your understanding of important concepts in Maths & Science from topics covered in previous classes, to help build a more thorough understanding of concepts in this class.

The resources in Meritnation’s Summer Pack that includes videos, animations, tests, puzzles & more, has been organized to promote a complete and progressive understanding of all related concepts.

Meritnation.com’s Summer Pack is available absolutely free on purchase of any Meritnation Online Course. Summer Pack by Meritnation.com is available for a limited period only!

So what are you waiting for?! Subscribe to Meritnation’s Online Course now to start studying using the resources in Meritnation’s exciting Summer Pack. We at Meritnation are confident that our latest offering will give all you an edge over your classmates when the school re-opens!

Cheers!

Team Meritnation

Think and decide!

It is time for all those students who appeared for their class X exams to put on their thinking caps and decide about their subject choices for class XI. It is a very crucial time for students. Selecting the right subject at the right time is always beneficial as it is rightly quoted “a stitch in time saves nine”. Before selecting your subjects think about your interests and explore possible fields that you may want to get into.

Students have several options if one were to talk about their subjects vis-a-vis their future careers. Some years back those students who opted for Science were considered to be aiming only for the medical field and those who took Commerce were limited to pursuing B.com and other Commerce courses. The education scenario has changed considerably. There are now ample higher education options available at hand.

If you want to get into a professional field other than medical and engineering, then do consider the Humanities and Commerce streams. While subjects like accountancy, business studies can help you get into some really exciting amazing fields in the areas of Management, Finance, Chartered Accountancy (CA) etc, subjects such as Geography, Political Science, Economics in the Arts stream pave the way for some equally exciting career options Career options such as Business administration, Hotel management , and many more are open for students from all streams, but it helps if you have studied Maths at the +2 level

Students considering the Science stream have plenty of options when it comes to the selection of subjects. The science stream is not limited to Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Biotechnology as a subject is also available in some schools at the +2 level. Moreover subjects such as Technical drawing, Mathematics and Computer are some of the other options available. While Physics and Chemistry are typically compulsory subjects in the Science Stream, you have the freedom to choose any one or any two subjects out of Mathematics, Biology, Biotechnology and Computer. Some schools also offer fine arts and physical education as options to students. Career options for the science students offer variety. Occupational Therapy; Biotechnology; Agriculture; Dairy Farming; Traditional Medicine; Genetics; Microbiology; Medicine, Horticulture and Floriculture; Aquaculture; food Processing; Marine Biology; Dentistry; Veterinary Science; Pharmacy; Physiotherapy; Home Science; Poultry Farming; Environment Science; Forestry; Zoology; Detective (forensic Science); Wildlife Science; Research; Tea Industry; Botany; Cosmetology. These are just a few options from among the several that are available.

A small piece of advice that I think can help the students in a big way - be very sure while choosing your subjects because once decided you will have to stick with them your whole life. If you are facing any confusion while selecting your subjects then you can always use the help of certain websites like www.meritnation.com that provides online facility of stream selector.

Study about a few things and look for your interest. A good choice can help you in achieving desired career. So think timely and choose wisely.

How to conquer Maths Anxiety?

Math anxiety is a concern for many students. Some students experience occasional problems in understanding the facts of mathematics while others have deep performance related issues in this subject. Many students all over the world tend to freeze during Maths tests, even if they known the procedure to solve the problems, understand all the formulae, equations and arrive at correct answers. So far it has been observed that fear of maths is the biggest obstacle in the path of learning Maths. 

Learning Maths is just like learning any other subject where true mastery can be achieved through practice. Students can outweigh the fear for the subject if they are honest and brave to make mistakes and learn from their mistakes.

Origin of Maths Anxiety
Maths anxiety generally occurs from a limited understanding of the subject. It also arises as a result of poor teaching that leads to unpleasant experiences. Most of the students who don’t understand the concepts, procedures and rules of the problem but try to memorize it, face the problem of anxiety.

Fear factor for Maths would no longer exist if the students follow few simple tips mentioned below:

Ask for early help:
If students face difficulty in a particular chapter, they can ask for tutorial help. Extra help can provide right boost to overcome Maths anxiety and add to their confidence to perform well in tests.


Cramming should be avoided:
Cramming for exams can often enhance Maths anxiety. So, students are advised to avoid cramming. They are suggested to break their study sessions into small portions. It is also advised to deal with problem areas as quickly as possible. All these would help minimize Math anxiety upto a large extent.


Emphasis on regular practice:
The best way to overcome Maths anxiety is to show a student that he/she can solve it correctly and can derive right answers. For the same, students should regularly practice problems related to their weaker sections. Rigorous practice and meticulous efforts would help the students get rid of their fear of Maths and side-by-side would also promote their conceptual understanding.  More and more practice ahead of an exam would help students identify their problem areas, rectify it and consequently boost self-esteem.

Learn Maths in an innovative way
Students who are tired of practicing problems from boring and mundane books can surely add a punch to their study schedule by practicing Maths from online puzzles, quizzes, graphics and animations. Students can go through various animated videos where problems are explained in a simple language for a complete understanding of concepts. These online study material and videos are available 24*7. Students have complete freedom to access this content at their own convenience.

Ask questions if confused:
Students should start learning Maths with a positive attitude and determination. They shouldn’t settle for anything less during the instruction sessions by tutors or teachers. In case of any confusion, they should ask for clear illustrations, demonstrations and simulations.

Teachers and parents of the students can play an important role to make certain that students understand problems in Maths presented to them without any confusion or ambiguity. They can also encourage them to work hard and get more practice. Once the students realize that they can learn Maths like any of the other subjects, the whole notion that Maths is a ‘tough’ subject and the resultant Maths anxiety can become a thing of the past.

Simplifying CBSE Science

Driven by a perception related to better career options after studying CBSE Science in school, most parents and students prefer opting for CBSE Science at the plus two level. There used to be a time when only the very ‘studious’ and ‘serious’ students who would like to pursue a career in medicine or engineering opted for CBSE Science. Not any more. Nowadays, more and more students are opting for CBSE Science over the other available options. In such a scenario it becomes even more important for students to understand the CBSE Science syllabus and identify websites that provide quality CBSE Science sample papers, revision notes, science animations and other related study material.

CBSE Science syllabus- Structure

To start with, the syllabus for CBSE Science for all classes has been conceived in a manner that facilitates sequential and progressive conceptual understanding of a student. The entire model of structuring and imparting conceptual knowledge has been well thought out. ‘What’, ‘when’, ‘where’ and ‘how’ form the basis of the delivery model for the CBSE Science curriculum. The systematic and smooth transition of imparting knowledge from a basic level to an expert level can easily be observed in the approach adopted in the NCERT Science books.

For classes 4th to 6th the science books by CBSE encourage students to explore the world around and learn through a hands-on experience. This is followed by encouraging students in higher grades to involve themselves in group discussions and simple experiments that allow them to share and learn information. CBSE Science syllabus further imparts knowledge through advance study modules to students studying in classes till the X. Once they have chosen CBSE Science as their subject/ stream in class 11th, it is taught as a full-fledged discipline. While pursuing it as a discipline, Science as a composite subject is bifurcated into Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology.

CBSE Science animations, revision notes, model tests & more

While preparing for your CBSE Science exam, you can choose to seek help from science animations. These science animations are available in 3D and 2D formats that explain complicated and time consuming processes/concepts effortlessly. These science animations stress on conceptual understanding of the topic and are a valuable aid while revising for the final CBSE Science exam.

While revising, students can support these science animations with readymade revision notes and model tests. There are a few e-learning websites that provide such animations, model tests and readymade revision notes. These e-learning websites are dedicated to developing learning content specially aligned to the CBSE curriculum that helps students to prepare better for their CBSE Science exam.

Such comprehensive knowledge of the syllabus structure and online study resources for CBSE Science will surely give you an edge over your peers. So go ahead, use the information provided in the article for an excellent performance in your exams.

All the best!

CBSE Physics

Get your act together for CBSE Physics if you aspire to crack the toughest entrance exams in India and secure a seat in the best engineering college. Thousands of students each year sit for these competitive exams that just have a few hundred seats to offer. With increasing number of students aiming to crack these entrance exams each year, competition levels are soaring. In a situation like this how to keep stress levels under control and prepare well for these entrance exams and also be sure of the performance? After reading this article, questions like these will no longer trouble you. This article will help you arrive at ways that will make cracking the most difficult engineering entrance exam easy. 

• Plan for the academic years in advance! If you are in class XI, now is the right time to start planning and preparing for your engineering entrance exams. Students in class XI and XII should lay emphasis largely on three subjects i.e. CBSE Physics, Maths and Chemistry. Thorough understanding of concepts in these subjects is imperative to help them emerge with flying colours. The engineering entrance examination papers are primarily geared to check the conceptual knowledge of students majorly in these subjects. Therefore, students are advised to start planning for their entrance exams while they are studying in class XI. However, if you have lost out on some precious time, there is no point getting stressed out. Start preparing for these entrance exams right away!
• Get your basics clear! It is of utter importance for students preparing for these engineering entrance exams to have their knowledge of basics concepts and processes in CBSE Physics, Chemistry and Maths crystal clear. The questions asked in these entrance exams are based on the concepts taught in CBSE Physics, Chemistry and Maths for classes XI and XII but of a higher difficulty level. Therefore, before starting to prepare for these engineering entrance exams students are advised to thoroughly go through their NCERT books for CBSE Physics, Chemistry and Maths. While preparing for the entrance exams students should practice hard the end-of-chapter questions in these NCERT books. Students can also choose to seek help from various websites that provide free NCERT solutions for CBSE Physics, CBSE Chemistry and CBSE Maths.
• Pass your CBSE board exams with more than 60% marks! Some students may not know that majority of the engineering institutes in India have an eligibility criteria for admission. As per this eligibility criterion, students should have passed their CBSE board exams with more than 60% marks. A condition like this gives more reasons to students preparing for these entrance exams to take their NCERT books for CBSE Physics, Chemistry and Maths seriously. While preparing for the board exams, students should also practice from the previous years’ board papers for CBSE Physics, Chemistry and Maths. There are a few websites that provide previous years’ solved board papers, model tests and practice tests for these subjects to help students score well in their board exams.
• Seek help from entrance exam aligned test papers! After preparing for your board exams, students should practice concepts from the model question papers and test series for entrance exams. This will help students get a hang of the type of questions that are usually asked in these engineering entrance exams from CBSE Physics, Chemistry and Maths.

Now that all you students know how to prepare for your engineering entrance exams, I am positive that cracking these exams won’t be difficult.

All the best!

CBSE Notes

Preparing the right kind of CBSE notes is one of the most essential ingredients for scoring good marks in the final examinations. In order to gain the maximum out of this revision activity, it is very important for students to adopt the right technique for preparing the CBSE notes.

While preparing the CBSE notes students should keep in mind a few essential points to increase the overall relevance of their notes. 

• While preparing the CBSE notes students should take into account three vital points i.e. identify that which is important in the chapter, assess the current knowledge levels and try to fill the existing conceptual gaps. Rather than being a word-to-word reproduction of the major points from the chapter, the CBSE notes should be a customized document that briefly covers all the essential highlights and also helps in optimizing the understanding of the topic.
• Efforts should be made to prepare the CBSE notes in such a manner that they are a complete resource in itself. Apart from being comprehensive, enough care should also be taken to keep the CBSE notes brief. 
• The CBSE notes should be prepared in accordance to the preferred learning style. Learning styles can be defined as the preferred mode of learning for an individual that accelerates the pace of understanding. For example for a visual learner, components like illustrations, mind maps etc. will make understanding easy and fast. Therefore, a student should prepare the CBSE notes as per the learning style that suits them the best. CBSE notes prepared as per the learning style can increase the efficacy of these revision notes manifold.

While preparing and revising from the CBSE notes students often commit some common mistakes. In order to optimize the benefits from CBSE notes, students should aim to avoid such mistakes. Here are some pointers that you may keep in mind to avoid making silly mistakes:

• Last minute exercise! While planning the study schedule, students typically only focus on completing the syllabus within the available time and do not allocate time for the essential revision exercise. With less or no time in hand for revision, preparing the vital CBSE notes takes a back seat for students. Keeping in mind the benefits of preparing CBSE notes, students should prepare and plan their study schedule in such a manner that they do not miss out on preparing the indispensable CBSE notes. If students are experiencing a time crunch, instead of completely skipping this exercise of preparing revision notes, students should instead seek help from readymade revision notes available on various websites.
• Keep a check on your watch! Either students do not prepare these CBSE notes for revision and on occasions when they do, they tend to spend an excessive amount of time on preparing such notes, leaving them with little or no time for memorizing key points. Therefore, it is advised that students manage their time effectively while revising from the revision notes.
• Avoid over-revising! While preparing for the final examinations students usually get stressed out and start panicking as the examination date draws near and the preparation seems far from complete.  In order to compensate such extreme emotions, some students tend to over-revise from their CBSE notes. Extreme exam anxiety such as  this may also create a state of mental block and result in reduced recall leaving the student even more stressed. During such a situation, it is important for students to relax and stop studying for some time. They should resume their revision from the CBSE Notes only after they feel relaxed and refreshed.

I am positive that if all you students out there keep all these essential points in your mind while preparing and revising from the CBSE notes, learning will become fun and scoring good marks will be easy.

CBSE- Working towards Stress-free Learning

It is the conviction of CBSE India to make education stress-free for students that has prompted it to take various initiatives to bring about meaningful changes in the current education scenario. This has paved the way for a host of fresh and innovative changes in the age-old education system in India. From introduction of Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation (CCE), completely doing away with class X board exams, to the introduction of a whole new curriculum i.e. CBSE-International curriculum for CBSE schools outside India, CBSE India has done it all. 

To refresh your memory about the series of changes proposed and implemented by CBSE, India here is a list elaborating the same:

• CCE is the ‘in’ thing! To enable student to grow holistically and also to help schools to accurately rate their students in curricular and co-curricular areas, CBSE India has introduced the system of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation. The testing system under CCE encompasses two summative and four formative assessments. Formative assessments assess students understanding during learning through symposiums, classroom quizzes, surprise tests, projects etc. Summative assessments, on the other hand aim to test the conceptual understanding of students through full- length conventional tests. To encourage students to pursue knowledge for its own sake rather than for marks, the system of CCE has also replaced marks with grades.
• Doing away with class X board exams! The one announcement that left everybody happily surprised was the news of optional class X board exams. CBSE India in its initiative to make schooling a stress-free affair decided to completely do away with class X board exams. However, students who still wish to take class X board exams can opt for ‘exams on demand’. Such a flexible system of examinations has removed undue pressure from these young minds.
• Common syllabus for Maths & Science! To give a level playing field to students studying under various boards in India during their engineering & medical entrance exams, CBSE India has proposed the idea of a common syllabus for Maths & Science for class XI & XII across all Boards in India. This change was initiated keeping in mind the needs of students studying different syllabi under the various educational boards in India. To bring students at par, this initiative by CBSE India was lauded by various boards in the country and also got the approval of COBSE. This common syllabus will come into play from the academic session starting 2011.
• Different curriculum for CBSE international schools! To cater to the needs of students studying under CBSE board in countries outside India and provide them with the right course material, CBSE India recently launched an international curriculum. This international curriculum will equip students with learning material that helps them stay abreast with their counterparts in western countries.
• Joint Medical and Engineering entrance exams! CBSE India has recently mooted an idea for single entrance exam for medical and engineering streams. Under this joint entrance exam, Physics and Chemistry paper will be common for both the streams. Students who wish to appear for the engineering entrance exam will have to additionally appear for Maths exam whereas medical students will have to take the Biology exam. However, this idea is just in the proposal stage and the modalities still need to be worked out.

Such changes by CBSE India has certainly made the academic culture more student friendly and has considerably made learning truly an enriching experience.