The STEM Cell
- (c) 2017 - 2024 and onwards until the end of time ( or perhaps a bit longer! )
(Designed for browser resolution 1024 x 768 - but bigger is better! - hold down [Ctrl] and roll your mouse’s centre scroll wheel)
Saturday
18th August 2024
Welcome
Throughout this site I have used Buxton Sketch (the font you’re looking at now) as the predominant font. In certain places I tried to use an alternative
called “squeaky chalk” but it wasn’t a particularly easy font to use throughout a document such as this, as a result I hunted round the Internet and found
Buxton.
The software I use to create the website is first class, but I did start to have some display issues with certain web browsers. The rendering problem was
reported to the developers of the software, they did not appear to have any issues with it. Fortunately, most browsers can now “render” the font
correctly, but there may be one or two out there that I have not tested.
I must stress that I am not stating this is a fault with any of the applications that can’t display the font properly, but it seems to be a problem that I
cannot overcome in some cases.
I hope that these issues do not spoil your experience on the site, please now click your browser’s “back” button or click on the home button above to
continue your browsing experience of the website. (Don’t forget, you can make the page bigger or smaller on-screen by using your [ctrl] key with your
mouse scroll wheel).
UPDATE: Since the problem arose, I have started to find that most browsers will now render the font, but if yours still doesn’t work you can download the
font and install it locally to your computer, 2 minutes and you’re up and running again **
If you want to download and install the ttf font >> click here <<
Open the ZIP file and double-click on the TTF file, then follow your computers prompts to install it.
** NB: Update July 2021 - to date there doesn’t seem to have been any reported issues, but the font is still available and quite a nice one anyway!!
Welcome
History and a bit about me too......
My philosophy is quite simple and it goes back many years. I was fortunate enough to experience very little
difficulty with Mathematics and Sciences whilst studying at Comprehensive / Secondary level. Inspired by
some good teachers it led to a deeply ingrained passion for study which I have managed to maintain for many
years.
I studied at the University of Aston between 1979 and 1982 obtaining a Lower Second Class honours degree
in Chemistry, but being at a somewhat loose end I decided to attend local educational establishments in
Dudley and Halesowen, West Midlands, UK and obtain City and Guilds accreditation in Visual Basic Programming, “C” Programming, Network Installation and
Maintenance and an Institute for the Management of Information Systems Applications Programming Certificate.
In 1999 I contacted the Open University and embarked (in 2000) on an eight year part time Bachelors Degree in IT and Computing, graduating in 2007 with
Upper Second Class honours.
I completed a 2 year certificate in Mathematics with the Open University in the UK and then a 2 year certificate in Spanish .
In April/May 2011 I obtained the PTLLS qualification at Level 4 and this confirms my competency in the area of tuition.
In August 2016 I became a qualified Teaching Assistant QCF Level 3, eventually obtaining a Post Graduate Certificate in Studies in
Secondary Education in October 2019. Presently (July 2022 ) I am a FT SEMH HLTA at a local school, employed by a first class child
care, education and fostering organisation, additionally still working through Top Up Teachers Plus Ltd (UK) as a 1-2-1 tutor.
I can therefore offer the benefits of a skilled tutor with honours degrees in Chemistry and IT, Diplomas in IT and Computing, Certification in Mathematics
and Spanish to a level equivalent to that of “A” Level and a continued drive for self improvement.
For more information please leave me some feedback (Feedback > Leave Feedback)
Martyn J Cox
PG Cert Studies in Secondary Education (Newman, Birmingham) BSc(Hons) Chem (Aston) BSc(Hons) IT&Comp (Open)
Dip Comp (Open) Dip IT (Open) Cert Maths (Open) Cert Spanish (Open) PTLLS MBCS
Welcome
The Stem Cell’s Mission Statement is quite simple. Students seem to fall into three broad areas, and a histogram would serve to demonstrate this very
clearly.
Note that this is MY personal view, from my own observations and experiences, so anything you agree or disagree with is by no means any reflection or
criticism of any educational establishment I have been associated with, it is, as I said, a viewpoint only.
The distribution curve shown represents my view. I believe that in most schools
there are those self sufficent students who seem to rarely “put their hand up” and
require help, very often these students will scaffold each other. There are also
those students who just “don’t get it” and eventually these are the ones that,
without careful handling, will “fall off the radar”. The vast majority of the curve
represents those students who need a push every now and then, but generally
cope.
TSC has an ethos of support for all students, to try to demystify what is causing the misconceptions and blocks to learning.
TSC will never get tired of explaining until the “lightbulb” moment appears.
Many students I have worked with have had the “realisation” and have told me what a great feeling it is when the difficulty vanishes.
I tell all of my students that there is no such thing as a silly question, NEVER be afraid to ask. The question they want to ask
is almost certainly the one that all of their friends want to ask too…..but they’re all waiting for someone else to do it !!
Some sections on this website will cover areas where the end objective, for example how to work at square roots, can lend itself quite nicely to being
computerised. As well as being keen on mathematics, science and information technology I am also a keen (albeit amateur) computer programmer with
experience in “C” and “Visual Basic”.
Welcome
The small free downloads here have all been written using Visual Basic Dot Net, they are independent applications, so they do not need to be “installed”
in the conventional sense, they are not dependent on any library files, OCX, DLLs or anything like that over and above those that you already have
installed on your computer. What this means is that there should be no interference with the way your computer runs, if you choose to download and
run these. Of course the Windows registry may receive slight updates and the occasional ‘temporary’ file may be created.
These are offered free, but of course I can’t be responsible for how they are used. If you download one and use it then I have to take this as an
unconditional acceptance of the risks that may be involved. I’m not trying to scare you off, I’m just being honest!
Click on the owl to download a small program which will show you how
square roots are calculated using the “repeated estimate”method.
Click on the owl to download a small program which will show you how to
approximate broadband download times depending on file size and line speed.
Click on the owl to download a small program which will compute, where
possible the roots of a quadratic equation.
Click on the owl to download a small program which will demonstrate long
multiplication using the popular secondary school “grid method”.
Teach yourself BINARY with this little desktop
clock !
Passwords with a Black Country twang eh ?? -
click on the owl “mah mon / wench!”
Perhaps the simplest note pad in the world,
but it works, and its FREE!!
The Teacher’s Toolkit is a combined toolkit, media
player, message taker and much more besides.
Click on the owl to download a small program which will let you identify
the RGB and HEX values of the colour under the mouse cursor.
Passwords the easy way, but almost
impossible to crack.
Date calculations - calculate the days between two dates or the date after
a set number of days.
A very simple, basic screen grabbing application.
for follow up in a fully functional image editor.
Do you run the same applications all the time? This little freebie gives
you an easy, manageable way to keep all of the path names together so
that you can “launch as required”.
Learn the SPDF electron configuration of the
elements with this interactive tool.
Do you like the idea of very long, complex passwords for security online
but get put off by the laborious typing or even error-prone copying from
other text files? This little utility might be useful to you but keep your
list secure.
Working on Prime Factor trees?, is that number
“prime” ? is it divisible by “x” (as a new branch in
the prime factor tree). This little gizmo should
help with all of that.
Welddddddddddddddddddddddcome
Science and Mathematics downloads - choose from the below labels or from TSC RESOURCES above.
BIOLOGY
Animal And Plant Cells
Binary Fission
Cell Differentiation
Chromosomes
Diffusion
Exchange Surfaces
Homeostasis
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Welcome
CHEMISTRY
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Electron Configurations
States Of Matter
Balancing Equations
Atoms And Molecules
Chemical Bonding
Chemical Equations
Electrolysis 1
Electrolysis 2
PHYSICS
Circuits Current And PD
Conduction + Convection
Energy Stores/Transfers
Kinetic/Potential Energy
Lenses and Images
Moments
Momentum
Parallel Circuits
Series Circuits
Resistance
Ray Diagrams (Convex)
Specific Heat Capacity
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
Questions Answers
SCIENCE FACT SHEETS (In No Particular Order)
SCIENCE PUZZLES
Learning can be fun, and it doesn’t always mean that the student has to “listen”, “write” and then “work out”. There have been
lots of developments in the preceding years such as crosswords, word searches, Sudoku and Kakuro puzzles to aid learning
and throw a bit of fun into the mix too. I hope to bring a selection of puzzles to these pages in the coming weeks/months.
Choose from the index but please remember that in the early stages there won’t be much of a selection, I’m a “one man band”
and things do take time.
There will eventually be other puzzle types, as and when available - thanks.
CROSSWORD PUZZLES
MATHS Gen CW 01 Medium
Crosswords might not seem much, but if you think about it, it’s a short test and can be quite challenging, even if the answers
are only one or two words. The crosswords here will of course vary in content and complexity (Easy, Medium or Hard).
Download the solution only if you want to cheat (a bit!).
BIOLOGY Gen CW 01 Medium
CHEMISTRY Metals CW 01 Easy
SCIENCE Gen CW 01 Medium
WORD SEARCH PUZZLES
Word Search puzzles are a useful time filler and can be quite demanding when you include 40-50 words. The puzzle
complexity varies with word count for each example which is shown in brackets.
BIOLOGY Plants WS 01 Easy (10)
CHEMISTRY Salts WS 01 Easy (10)
SCIENCE / MATHS PRINTABLE DOCUMENTS
This page will hold links to some printable “blanks” created by myself. If these are printed in A4 they can be distributed as
handouts for school work. If printed in A3 and laminated, they can make quite useful demonstration documents which can be
reused if written on with dry wipe marker pens.
Electrolysis basic setup and Reactivity
Series (2 page PDF)
Two scalene triangles for Sine and Cosine
rule explanation (2 page PDF)
Triangle types and some triangle
rules(1 page PDF)
Printable / Laminate templates for Long
Multiplication and Division
Printable / Laminate PPT for Collecting “Like” Terms. Print different
variable sets on different coloured sheets, laminate and cut into rectangles.
Can be used on a flat surface or magnetic whiteboard with a bit of magnetic
tape on the back of each card.
The Gallery
An idea came to mind during one of my tutorials. I routinely use a dry wipe board to explain certain aspects of the science and maths that I teach, but
once the factoid moment has passed, I usually just rub ‘em off.
Some of these take ages to write out, so why not at least photograph them before deletion, and put them up as images for students to view? Enter
“The Gallery”. There won’t be that much, but I hope that what does end up on there is useful, to somebody.
Welcome
The bulk content of The Stem Cell lies in the WEISAM e-book which is linked from the menu above
“WEISAM - Worked Examples In Science And Mathematics”
As most text books tend to explain in great detail the science, mathematics or art of the
subject, with a few examples here and there, I have decided to reverse this and concentrate
on providing a number of examples fully explained, with only that level of theory
explanation deemed necessary to support the examples.
I would like you to understand though, that this is a work in progress and there may be
some areas which contain more than others, also there will be some that are more or less
empty, apart from the section title.
This is only because I have not made it to that point yet…..it will come, please bear with me.
To view the book, please click on the WEISAM menu link (TSC Home>WEISAM Book).
Once inside you will be directed to a new set of web pages which is the book itself. Use the
tree view on the left to navigate and don’t forget to look for the little triangles telling you
that there are further pages to unfold.
There will be a link at the bottom of the “Introduction” page that will bring you back to the
home page of this site.
All feedback is appreciated.
Welcome
It would be really appreciated if you would spare a few minutes to drop me a line telling me your thoughts on The STEM Cell and the
WEISAM information.
Yes please - I’ll happily send you some feedback (click on
my chubby icon face, or choose the menu option).
Use the browser’s “back button” to come back here.
No thanks - I don’t want to leave any
comments just now.
Welcome
As a keen computer user / scientist / programmer / mathematician for … ahem … many years it won’t surprise you that in that time I have come across
hundreds of resources in all of the disciplines I have been interested in.
With this in mind I have decided to create a set of add-on pages simply to share some of my findings and objective recommendations. It’s true to say that for
almost anything you want to do with technology, especially computers, there are probably already dozens of applications and resources already available so my
findings here cannot in any way be seen as exhaustive, they are simply some of the best I have personally used.
Please note that I am not affiliated in any way, other than as an ‘end-user’ myself to anything I mention or recommend, and of course the decision to follow my
recommendation rests with yourself.
Welcome
In an increasingly IT dominated age, students and workers are becoming more and more dependent on technology to store
information, reference articles, coursework and finance information amongst a myriad of other things. We are encouraged
to refrain from printing documentation unless absolutely necessary to save valuable trees and indeed in an electronically
connected world where we can communicate to anywhere on the planet by email there is a reducing need for paper.
The “upside” of this is quite clear, millions of trees saved, fewer rooms full of dusty lever arch files
The “downside” - how do we store our prized work safely, and securely, from intellectual property theft and plagiarists ?
A “Personal Information Manager” or PIM, has become indispensable in the area of research, study, authoring etc but they are numerous, and
deciding which one is the “best” is not easy, as they all have features which suit different users in different ways.
DoogiePIM, from Bitespire is a British PIM and lots more besides. Please browse the thumbnail images below to get a taste for what it can offer
you in your studies, research etc.
DoogiePIM is highly customisable, the colours shown for each section are just a small
sample as the colour scheme can be preset or customised to your own taste, from
the usual Windows colour pallette of 16.7M colours (24 bit).
It would take me forever and a day to describe the extensive array of features that the
application offers. The developer is highly skilled and efficient, listening to customers
and offering first class support and feedback.
Step through the thumbnails - each will expand to a larger size to make the features
easier to read. For those with a reasonable knowledge level in IT will be amazed at the
depth and breadth of this amazing “killer” application.
Click >> here << or on the Bitespire image (above left) to reach the home of Doogie.
The Students section is intended to house downloadable, bespoke work and resources for the purposes of supporting tuition. Some resources will be
“open” in that ANY student will be able to access them, however any “tailored” resource for my private students will, by necessity, be encrypted and
accessible only to them. Whilst NO information will be held in contravention of any data protection legislation, encrypted documents will be secured this
way to protect the individual student’s privacy and intellectual property rights.
1. How will this work?
Each student will be set documents and worksheets, pre or post
tutorial, according to needs. These can be completed on paper and
handed in at the tutorial, or completed on screen and emailed in. Any
communication will be encrypted, with the parent or student ONLY
having access to the password. This is to protect the academic rights
of each tutee.
2. Students will receive:
User ID and Password to their own page (where privacy is important).
Your User ID will be based on your school and your password will be a
complex one, best to use “copy and paste”
Eg: “The Springfield Elementary School”
User ID = Springfield01 (or 02, 03 etc - no spaces)
*Question Password (students and feedback)
*Answer Password (parents)
* Passwords will usually be a horribly long and complex mess of characters, numbers and ASCII codes (usually about 20 characters long). This is deliberately
engineered to make sure that passwords cannot be easily guessed. Copy / Paste should be used to enter the password where necessary.
When the need arises, some previously available notes etc will be placed into a
compressed “zip” file and stored offline. This is usually for students who no
longer use or need TSC services.
Notes are filed, stored offline and available on request.
WINDSOR01
Please note that there may be explanatory “session notes” inside the QA papers so I might not always specify separately - thanks
THIS PAGE IS ARCHIVED OFFLINE
These MS PowerPoint files are the ones I use when tutoring. I have decided to open them up for free download and use. Should you wish to avail yourself of
their use I would really appreciate a short comment or two especially if there are any questions - many thanks.
Please note - this page is a “work in progress” and more presentations will be added over time.
Also Please note - the Buxton Sketch font isn’t embedded in many of the files (yet), If MS Edge preview doesn’t look right please download the PPTX - thanks
These MS PowerPoint files are the ones I use when tutoring. I have decided to open them up for free download and use. Should you wish to avail yourself of
their use I would really appreciate a short comment or two especially if there are any questions - many thanks.
Please note - this page is a “work in progress” and more presentations will be added over time.
Also Please note - the Buxton Sketch font isn’t embedded in many of the files (yet), If MS Edge preview doesn’t look right please download the PPTX - thanks
These MS PowerPoint files are the ones I use when tutoring. I have decided to open them up for free download and use. Should you wish to avail yourself of
their use I would really appreciate a short comment or two especially if there are any questions - many thanks.
Please note - this page is a “work in progress” and more presentations will be added over time.
Also Please note - the Buxton Sketch font isn’t embedded in many of the files (yet), If MS Edge preview doesn’t look right please download the PPTX - thanks
These MS PowerPoint files are the ones I use when tutoring. I have decided to open them up for free download and use. Should you wish to avail yourself of
their use I would really appreciate a short comment or two especially if there are any questions - many thanks.
Please note - this page is a “work in progress” and more presentations will be added over time.
Also Please note - the Buxton Sketch font isn’t embedded in many of the files (yet), If MS Edge preview doesn’t look right please download the PPTX - thanks
These MS PowerPoint files are the ones I use when tutoring. I have decided to open them up for free download and use. Should you wish to avail yourself of
their use I would really appreciate a short comment or two especially if there are any questions - many thanks.
Please note - this page is a “work in progress” and more presentations will be added over time.
Also Please note - the Buxton Sketch font isn’t embedded in many of the files (yet), If MS Edge preview doesn’t look right please download the PPTX - thanks
This area and its sub pages will hold worked examples and best practice hints and tips. This will, like WEISAM, be a “work in progress” so
you will need to revisit from time to time - thank you.
Step 1 - remembering that the objective is to get ‘r’ on its own, multiply BOTH sides by 3 to remove the fraction:
The volume of a sphere is given by the formula on the left. If you are lucky the examiner will give you a
value for the radius ‘r’ and a value for pi, then ask you to calculate the volume. However a sneakier option is
to ask you to work out the radius given a value for the volume and pi. You need to know how to rearrange
or transpose the equation to show ‘r’
A “step by step” method will now follow:
Step 2 - Now divide BOTH sides by 4 pi to isolate r cubed:
Step 3 - Take the CUBE ROOT of BOTH sides, this will leave ‘r’ on the left, the rest of the expression on the right is your final answer:
