Physics Revision

Sinclair User

Dave Sayers

SINCLAIR ROUTE TO BETTER O LEVELS Dave Sayers reviews some of the growing number of cassettes for older pupils. As more and more people get to know the ZX-81 and its possibilities an increasing number of software suppliers are producing cassettes on subjects other than games. One major growth area has been education. In September we published a round-up of most of the programs which were then available. The market has continued to grow and we have decided to look again at what is an offer. Cassettes are available for children of all ages, from nursery school to GCE O level. In the upper age range we looked at programs from Scisoft, Calpac and Rose Cassettes. Scisoft of [redacted], produces cassettes for O level chemistry, biology and physics. The subjects covered in chemistry are titrations, masses, molarity, mystery metal, electrolysis, the gas equation and mystery gas; in biology are enzymes, hormones, botanical terms, alimentary canal, bodily organs; and in physics, gas laws, linear expansion, moments, electricity equations and Snell's Law. Each cassette is accompanied by a comprehensive booklet of revision notes. packed with drawings and information. They were a big plus in favour of the programs and would certainly be most useful. The programs are recorded on high-quality cassette and all loaded first time. The 'unknown' section of the biology tape contains some bugs, bad enough to stop the program and too numerous to alter, not that it should be necessary. The rest of the programs ran so well, though, that it was clear the bugs were the exception rather than the rule. The material covered was good, with useful instructions and tips. Some of the graphics in the chemistry program enlivened what can often be a dull slog of repetitious learning and the randomised questions in the programs required a sound knowledge of the subject. Suggestions of the degree of success are given at the end of each tape. Overall, the programs represent some of the best educational software so far seen and are recommended for use, either at home or in the school, and are good value at £7.50 each. The Calpac O level chemistry sent for review is a single cassette with no accompanying literature. There are four programs on the cassette, dealing with elements, compounds, mixtures, activity series, acids, bases and salts. Each program has only 10 questions and there is no random element. Well-presented and easy to load and use, they were, however, more limited than the Scisoft versions but they could still be useful for drilling. The cassette costs £5.50 and is available from [redacted]. Rose Cassettes [redacted] sent O level maths revision and O level French. The French cassette has six programs, three dealing with grammar and three with vocabulary. The maths cassette has one revision program and two test programs using questions from the O level syllabus. In classroom use children have been using other Rose programs consistently with no problems at all and so it is safe to recommend these two as useful classroom aids. The cassettes cost £4.50 each and there are no accompanying booklets.

'Overall, the Scisoft programs represent some of the best educational software so far seen and are recommended for use'

ZX Computing

Paul Holmes

PAUL HOLMES FROM SUTTON COLDFIELD REVIEWS THIS REVISION PROGRAM BY SCISOFT The revision package for O Level Physics from SCISOFT comes on cassette with a 30 page companion booklet for a price of £7.50. The booklet contains a brief introduction to the package giving instructions for use, but the main part is devoted to over 250 diagrams - a sensible idea in view of the ZX81's limited graphics. Each diagram is labelled and some have brief accompanying notes. The cassette has eight programs, each using a full 16K which is an amazing 120K+ of program power. The first program gives hints on revision and copes for those who are well organised, to those who are in a last minutes rush. For the later it portrays a gloomy outlook (it even draws a certificate with FAIL and the user's name on it!!) with lines such as 'Panicking, eh?' and 'If this is the first time you have thought about revising then we suggest you try prayer'. The other seven programs are various tests and problems so you can determine where the grey areas are in your knowledge of the course. I found the whole package a very good revision aid and as the program says, 'This will not pass your O Level for you', it is not all a tutorial but purely for revising. There are no explanations in the problems tests they are merely tell you the correct answer leaving it up to the user to find out how it should be done. Parts of the package are not quite as well finished off as I would have like them to have been. PAUSE was used for delays which gave a blink, inputs were not fully checked for illegitimate entries, and pointless moving graphics were used for the introduction and not to illustrate a point. One begins to feel he has his hands on Space Invaders, not doing a serious bit of revision. Even in view of all this, at £7.50 it seems good value for money and helps you find out how much revision, and of what, must be done. Anyone considering buying it must consider the cost of other types of revision aids such as the 'Key facts cards' or the LETTS revise books by LETTS. These are all far cheaper than the cassette package but do not hold the advantage of being able to provide an infinite variety of tests. This is something that must be thought about before a purchase is made.