INTRODUCTION One of the aims of education is to develop in us, the ability not only to understand and accept what we learn, are told or read, but also to analyse, in greater detail, the content of what we read information, data and facts. Analysis involves examining, studying, scrutinising and evaluating details contained in texts, speech and graphics and then drawing appropriate conclusions from them. The details we may need to examine range from general features to specific facts and examples. ANALYSING THROUGH CLASSIFICATION When we read something, we often organise the information in a certain way to make understanding of the information easier. The content of the text may be grouped or classified into meaningful units or categories. Categorisation helps in our analysis of the text content. 2.1 T T o o p p i i c c 2 2 Analysing LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this topic, you should be able to: 1. Analyse information, data and facts through classification; 2. Analyse data through cause- and-effect relationships as well as compare-and-contrast functions; and 3. Analyse facts as evidence.
One of the aims of education is to develop in us, the ability not only tounderstand and accept what we learn, are told or read, but also to analyse, ingreater detail, the content of what we read information, data and facts. Analysisinvolves examining, studying, scrutinising and evaluating details contained intexts, speech and graphics and then drawing appropriate conclusions from them.The details we may need to examine range from general features to specific factsand examples.
ANALYSING THROUGH CLASSIFICATION
When we read something, we often organise the information in a certain way tomake understanding of the information easier. The content of the text may begrouped or classified into meaningful units or categories. Categorisation helps inour analysis of the text content.
2.1
TTooppiicc22
Analysing
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. Analyse information, data and facts through classification;
2. Analyse data through cause-and-effect relationships as well ascompare-and-contrast functions; and
The word „classification‰ comes from the word „class‰, which means a group ofthings that have some common features or characteristics. If an object or animalis classified under a certain group, we can make predictions about its
characteristics by looking at some of the common features possessed by othermembers of the group.
In this section, we will learn some ways in which we can use classification toanalyse and understand text.
Read the passage below about the planets in our solar system.
The solar system is made up of nine planets.These planets orbit around the sun. Planetsinside the EarthÊs orbit of the sun (Mercuryand Venus) are called inferior planets.Planets outside the EarthÊs orbit of the sunare called superior planets. Mercury, Venus,Mars and Pluto, which are similar in size tothe Earth, are called terrestrial planets.
Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Saturn arecalled the major or larger planets because
they are bigger than the planet Earth.
Source: www.ioncmaste.ca.
The planets in the solar system may be classified according to:
(a) Size;
(b) Composition;
(c) Distance from the sun; or
(d) Date of discovery.
(You may choose more than one option)
Were you able to identify some ways to classify the planets of theuniverse? Good! Now let us learn more about classification.
Classification has a structure. When making classifications, we usually include:
A general class Planets The solar system is made up of nine planets.
A specific item These planets are called Earth, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Venus,Neptune, Mercury and Pluto.
A basis for classification i.e. at least one thing in common. Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Saturn are called the major or larger planets because they are bigger than the planet Earth.
There are two general ways to make classifications.
(a) Ordering classifications from general to specific
The world may be classified into five continents: Europe, the Americas,Asia, Africa and Oceania. These continents can be further divided intocontinental countries and island countries as shown in Figure 2.1.
Figure 2.1: The world
(b) Ordering classifications from specific to general
Malaysia, China and Nepal are continental countries while Indonesia,Singapore and Taiwan are island countries. They are all countries in theAsian continent. The world comprises five continents, and Asia is one ofthem. The other continents are Europe, the Americas, Oceania and Africa asshown in Figure 2.2.
When classifying from specific to general, the items do not have to cover all thesubdivisions of the general category, that is, there are many other countries in the
Asian continent not mentioned in the above statements.
Before continuing with the lesson, do the following activity to see how far youunderstand what you have learned.
(a) Passive Voice Scientific language is often marked by the passive voice and the passiveform of verbs. This means the words used to show action take priority overthe person performing the action. Look at the examples given below:
(i) Scientists classify tin as metal.(active voice less preferred in scientific writing)
(ii) Tin is classified as metal.(passive voice more preferred in scientific writing)
1. Read the text, which provides a simple classification of matter.
All things in the world are made of matter. All matters may be classifie as solid, liquid or gas. Solid matters are dense and hard. These ar usually unyielding and firm. Liquid matters are fluid and flowing whil gases are unpredictable and unstable. Solids may be further divided into two classes: crystalline and amorphous. Crystalline solids hav particular shapes and forms. Amorphous solids are formless an shapeless. Rubber and cotton are examples of amorphous solids whil wood, iron and glass are examples of crystalline solids.
2. Fill in the blanks in the diagram to show how matter is classified
The second sentence is preferred because it gives importance to the object being focused on. It focuses on how tin is classified. The fact that it is thescientists who did the classifying is recognised and understood. They are
not mentioned but can be if required. Therefore, the passive form of theverb is often used in classifying activities.
(b) Structure of Passive Sentence (see Table 2.1)
Table 2.1: Structure of Passive Sentence
Object in
Active
Sentence
Appropriate
Form of the
Verb „to
be‰
Past Participle
of Verb
Agreement
Optional
Phrase
Subject in
Active
Sentence
Tin is classified as a metal by scientists
Water is made ofoxygen
andhydrogen
Remember the following:
(i) If the action is in the present, use the present tense of the verb „to be‰ „is‰ for a singular subject and „are‰ for plural subjects.
(ii) If the action is in the past, use the past tense of the verb „to be‰ „was‰ for a singular subject and „were‰ for plural subjects.
(iii) If modals like „can‰ or „must‰ are to be used, change to „can be‰ or„must be‰.
(iv) Include the subject of the active sentence if this information isnecessary; use „by‰ as a connector.
It is hoped that you are now able to construct passive sentences. Test yourunderstanding of what you have learned by doing the following exercise.
In analysing facts and details, we may use several strategies. Two of the mostcommon strategies are looking for cause-and-effect, and comparing-and-contrasting relationships.
Sometimes, you may find that one event causes the occurrence of another and thesecond event may cause the occurrence of a third. This is where we need to knowcause-and-effect relationships. Studying such relationships will help us to
discover how and why something happens.
On the other hand, focusing on comparisons helps us to identify relationships between things. Comparisons help us to see things in new ways and solveproblems which normally cannot be solved without looking at the similaritiesand differences of the things involved.
2.2
ACTIVITY 2.2
Read the list of active sentences below carefully. Change them intopassive sentences. Include the:
Correct tense present or past
Correct form of the verb „to be‰ singular or plural
Subject of the active phrase if you think it is important
ACTIVE SENTENCE PASSIVE SENTENCE
We produce Proton cars in Malaysia.
They discovered the first rubber trees in
Brazil.
Penicillin can cure pneumonia.
Luigi Galvani invented the electric batteryin 1786.
(d) Sometimes an effect can become a cause. There can also be a cycle of causes
and effects.
Example: Continuous heavy rainfall leads to floods, which can disrupt
traffic and lead to missed appointments, as shown in Figure 2.5.
Figure 2.5: Cycle of causes and effects
Now, you should be able to identify the causes and effects of events. You shouldalso be able to understand how causes and effects work and how they relate toeach other.
Test your understanding by trying the following exercise.
Read the following sentences carefully. Underline the cause(s) andcircle the effect(s) in each sentence.
1. When wax is heated, it melts.
2. The gravitational pull of the moon creates ocean tides.
3. No sound can be heard when a bell is struck in a vacuum.
4. Chlorophyll makes leaves look green.
5. Severe droughts lead to famine.
6. Carbon dioxide turns solid when frozen.
7. Smoking may result in cancer.
8. Overeating may lead to obesity and hypertension.
9. Driving at high speed and fatigue may result in road accidents.
10. No one was killed because the landslide happened away from thevillages.
Compare and contrast are useful skills when analysing text for details. It is
important to remember the following things when comparing and contrasting.
(a) Compare and contrast involve the study of two or more items to discover
the similarities and differences between them.
Example: The world has two polar caps Arctic in the north and Antarcticin the south.However, the northern and southern polar regions are differentin many ways.
(b) Comparing involves looking for similarities between things.
Example: The Arctic and the Antarctic caps are covered with ice.
(c) Contrasting is often linked to looking for differences between things.
Example: The Arctic region is an ice-covered sea almost completelysurrounded by land. The Antarctic region is a large ice continentsurrounded by a huge ocean.
2.2.3 Language Structures for Making Comparisonand Contrast
To compare and contrast, two types of sentence can be used:
(a) Structure 1: Talking about Similarities (see Table 2.2)
Table 2.2: Similarities between a Space Shuttle and a Space Rocket
The space shuttle is likesimilar tocomparable toas important as
1. Read the text below about big things. Find as many comparisons as
you can.
The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived even biggerthan the largest of the dinosaurs. But even the blue whale is dwarfed bythe redwoods and giant sequoia trees that grow in California. TheCalifornian redwoods are the worldÊs tallest trees. Many of them reachmore than 100 metres in height. A mature redwood towers over a spaceshuttle or a jumbo jet. The redwood tree is about 50 times as tall as afully grown person. The giant sequoias are not as tall as the redwoodsbut have much thicker trunks. One sequoia tree called General Shermanis 83 metres high and the base of its trunk is more than 11 metres wide.General Sherman is the largest living thing.
Tick () the sentences that highlight the comparisons found in this
text. Put a cross () for sentences that are inaccurate.
Sentence
( 1 +
(i) The blue whale is the largest living thing.
(ii) The blue whale is bigger than the largest dinosaur.
(iii) The giant sequoia is the tallest tree.
(iv) The Californian redwoods have thicker trunks than the
sequoia.
(v) A redwood tree is taller than a space shuttle.
(vi) A jumbo jet is bigger than both the redwood and thesequoia.
(vii) The redwood is the tallest living thing in the world.
(viii) General Sherman is the biggest of all living things.
2. Underline the correct words or phrases in the text below.
Dolphins and submarines are (similar/different) because they can
both be found underwater. The dolphin is (smaller/larger) than asubmarine and in contrast is much (slower/faster). But the dolphinis (more/less) agile compared to the submarine. The dolphin canmake quick turns easily (in contrast/similar) to the submarine. Thedolphin (resembles/varies) in shape to most submarines. Thedolphin is a living creature (unlike/similar to) the submarine. Thedolphin is as (important/ unnecessary) to marine life as thesubmarine is to human transportation.
When we read or hear something, we need to distinguish whether it is fact orfiction. To do this, we must look for and examine data to obtain evidence whichwill point towards a conclusion. Evidence can be found through carefulobservation or experimentation, together with proper reasoning.
2.3.1 Learning about Evidence
Giving evidence is an important aspect of academic and scientific language. Hereare some important things to remember when giving evidence.
(a) Evidence must be based on fact, not opinion.
Examples: Fact The sun rises in the east.Opinion It rains on cloudy days. (This is not always true.)
(b) Evidence is usually introduced using clue words like „indicates‰,
„confirms‰ and „demonstrates‰.
Examples: a. The observations cited above demonstrate that all animalssleep at one time or another.
b. The observations cited above confirm that all animals sleepat one time or another.
(c) Sometimes evidence is introduced without clue words and may be
identified by the context.
Example: The lack of sleep among some animals causes their bodytemperatures to fall rapidly. The animals may die as a result ofthis.
The context in this sentence is the relationship between the animalsÊ need for
sleep and the consequence of the lack of sleep.
2.3.2 Looking for Evidence
By now, you should be able to provide evidence when presenting facts. Youshould also be able to identify evidence when you read something. Do thefollowing activity to test and improve your understanding of what has beendiscussed in this topic.
Much research on sleep has been carried out in recent years.However, we are still uncertain about how much sleep a personneeds. There is also disagreement among scientists regarding thereasons for us to sleep. Some scientists say that sleep is necessaryfor the body to restore itself while others believe that sleep is a
practice conditioned by the environment. Here are someobservations regarding sleep:
(a) Armadillos sleep 18 hours or more a day.
(b) Sheep and goats sleep less than four hours a day.(c) Many travellers sleep irregularly for a few days after flying
across time zones.
(d) Some animals sleep during the night while others do soduring the day.
(e) Gorillas sleep for several hours while small rodents sleep fora few minutes at a time.
(f) Newborn babies sleep for an average of 16 hours every daybut their sleep time decreases as they grow older.
(g) Young organisms suffer less as a result of lack of sleep thanolder ones.
(h) Sleep is important for animals that need to maintain regularbody temperatures.
Based on the above evidence, what conclusions can you draw?Read the conclusions below and identify which are appropriateand which are not.
No Statements
( 1 +
(i) Each species has a typical sleep pattern.
(ii) All living things need the same amount of sleep.
(iii) Older creatures are affected more if deprived of sleep.
(iv) Sleep helps some animals to remain young.
(v) Some animals need sleep to regulate their bodytemperatures.
2. In each of these pairs of sentences, underline the evidence (if any).
(a) Plastic is impermeable to water but cotton is not. A plastic coat
prevents the rain from penetrating but a cotton coat does not.(b) Human life exists on Mars. Scientists have found that there is
no water or oxygen on this planet.
(c) Smoking is related to many heart and circulatory ailments.Nicotine in cigarettes increases the heart rate and places morestress on the heart.
(d) The Arctic Circle has animal life. It is the habitat of penguinsand walruses.
(e) Certain combinations of drugs and alcohol may be fatal. Deathhas occurred when drugs and alcohol are used together.
(f) A person travelling south from Malaysia in a straight line islikely to return to Malaysia eventually. The earth is a sphere.
(g) Alcohol is dangerous for drivers. Alcohol impairs judgment.Driving under the influence of alcohol may lead to accidents.
(h) A glass vase dropped on a hard surface is likely to break. Glassis fragile and breakable.
3. Read the text below and answer the questions that follow.
Why Leaves Change Colour
Changes to the colour of leaves are most obvious in countries which have clearseasons summer, winter, spring and autumn.
Inside a leaf, there are millions of tiny packages of colour yellow, orange and green.These colours have special names. The yellow is called xanthophylls, the orange iscarotene and the green is chlorophyll. The green colour is stronger than the others, soleaves stay green while chlorophyll works under the summer sunlight.
Water enters the leaf through tiny tubes in the leafÊs stem and near the end ofsummer, a thin layer of cork grows over these tubes and seals them up. Now, no
more water can get into the leaf. Without water, the green chlorophyll fades anddisappears. Then, the yellow xanthophylls and orange carotene can be seen. Thisis why many leaves turn yellow or orange in autumn.
Some autumn leaves look purple or red. All autumn long, the leaves make sugarfor the plantÊs food. The sugar is carried from the leaf to other parts of the plant ina liquid called sap. But sometimes sugar gets trapped inside the leaves when thetubes are sealed up. Then, the sugar turns the sap into purple or red.
(a) Why do leaves change from green to yellow or orange?
(b) What makes leaves remain green in summer?
(c) What causes some leaves to turn purple?
(d) What happens when a layer of cork forms over tubes in leaves?
4. Read carefully and underline the effect in each sentence.
(a) Leaves turn red, yellow or orange when chlorophylldisintegrates.
(b) When sound waves reflect off a mountain, an echo is heard.
(c) Mercury melts when it is heated to 38.9ÀC.
(d) A person becomes far-sighted when his lens are too thin or hiseyeballs are too short.
(e) When acid is dissolved in water, ions are formed.
5. Read the passage and fill in the chart below.
Moss and Lichen
Both moss and lichen are usually found on tree trunks. Moss is a greenfurry cushion usually found growing on trees. If you touch the cushion, it
feels soft. It is really thousands of tiny plants growing closely together.Moss does not have seeds. At some point during the year, the moss
produces spores in cases called capsules.
These capsules look like little pips on stalks. When they split, microscopic spores are released into theair. If a spore lands in a suitable place, it sends out tiny threads. One kindof thread is like a root. Another sends out branches, and from thesebranches new plants shoot up. Moss is usually found in cool and damp places.
Lichen is the crusty patch of plants we sometimes see on trees. It can alsobe found on rocks and old walls. Lichens are actually two plants living
together. One plant is a fungus, the other is a green plant called alga. Thealga makes the food for the fungus. Lichens are amazingly tough plants.They can grow on bare rocks and in deserts. Lichens grow very slowlyand live for a very long time. But lichens do not like poisoned air orwater. That is why, unlike moss, lichens do not grow near factories.
6. Read the text below and answer the questions that follow.
Have You Ever W ondered Why M ost Flowers Have A Sweet Smell
The sweet smell of flowers attracts insects. Most flowers need insects to helpthem make seeds. All flowers are seed-makers but to make seeds, a flower
must get some pollen from another flower of similar species. Insects helptake the pollen from one flower to another. This process is called pollination.
Some flowers make a sweet juice called nectar that many insects feed on. Thesweet scent of the flowers and their white or brightly coloured petals tellinsects that there is nectar for them. So bees and other insects fly to theseflowers. The nectar is often down at the bottom of the flower. To reach thenectar, the insect has to push right down into the flower. As it does so, pollenfrom the flowerÊs anthers is brushed onto the insectÊs body. The insect thenflies off to another flower and pushes down into it. Some of the pollen on itsbody brushes off on the sticky stigma. Part of a grain of pollen travels downto the ovule where a new seed starts to grow.
Flowers that need the help of insects to make seeds usually have a strongscent. Luckily for us, these are usually sweet smells. But some plants such asthe wild arum and Rafflessia smell rotten. They attract insects, especiallyflies, that like bad smells.
Locate appropriate evidence in the text above to support thestatements below.
(a) Insects help flowers to grow seeds.
(b) Flowers produce sweet nectar.
(c) Insects transfer pollen using their body.
(d) Flowers do not smell sweet for the sake of humans.
