1

Quote

Dear Teacher

Approach the New Year with resolve to find the

opportunities hidden in each new day.

- Michael Josephson

Jan

2020

Welcome to the first newsletter of 2020!

We hope you had a fantastic break and that you are looking forward to a new

academic year and a new group of “kids” in your class. Yes, we know that is

not the PC term, but if we could all treat every “learner” as if it is our own kid,

imagine the love and happiness there will be in every lesson!

A new year of course also means new challenges. We are also teachers and

we know how busy a teacher’s life can get with prepping, setting tests,

marking, extra lessons, extra mural commitments and a millions other things

that have to be done. That is why we would like to assure you of our

continued commitment to see how we could help you to make your life a little

easier through our innovative products.

We are proud to announce that we will be launching new products in 2020.

One of the products will be aimed at Business Studies, and the other at

Advanced Programme Physics. Refer to the last page of the newsletter for

more information…

May 2020 be a year full of blessings for you and your loved ones!

2

Jan

2020

Smile … because it makes life better

https://www.englishfb.com/better-communication-jokes-break-the-ice/

https://www.educationdiscussion.com/30-cheesy-teacher-jokes-that-crack-us-up/

http://www.procrastinationpublications.com/295705301

Responses that are NOT recommended … (http://www.greatcleanjokes.com/jokes/school-jokes/teacher-jokes/)

A Teacher was once giving a big test. Upon collecting the tests she noticed a note attached to the test with a $100 bill underneath,

“one dollar per point please” the note said The teacher returned the test the next day with $40 and a note attached, it said “$40

change!”

____________________________________________________________

Student- I don’t think I deserved zero on this test! Teacher-I agree, but that’s the lowest mark I could give you!

3

Fun activities in the Business Studies classroom … The following are questions that have previously been asked in job interviews.

Get learners to:

1 debate the fairness of each question.

2 discuss why they think these questions were asked.

3 Explain at what level / which position in the organisation these questions may

be most suitable and why?

4 argue what they think the answer should be and how they arrived at the answer.

This could be used as a fun activity when the Human Capital chapter is discussed (interview as

part of the selection procedure).

Questions: https://www.themuse.com/advice/7-insane-brain-teasers-you-could-actually-encounter-in-an-interview (1 - 7)

1 How many cows in Canada? (One interesting answer: Zero. There are no 'cows' in [the word] “Canada”.)

2 How many ping pong balls could fit in a Boeing 747?

3 What is the sum of the numbers one to 100?

4 Why is a tennis ball fluffy?

5 Describe the colour yellow to a blind person.

6 How would you fight a bear?

7 A windowless room has three light bulbs. You are outside the room with three switches,

each controlling one of the light bulbs. If you can only enter the room one time, how can you

determine which switch controls which light bulb?

Answer: Switch on two of the switches (A and B). Wait a couple of minutes. Switch A off. Enter the room. Whichever bulb is

on is wired to switch A, the light bulb that is off, but that is hot (been burning a few minutes) belongs to light bulb B) and the

one that is off and cool to the touch is wired to switch C.

8 How would you weigh a bus without using scales?

9 You have a three-litre jug and a five-litre jug. How do you measure one litre of water?

Answer: Take the three-litre jug and fill it to the top with water. Then pour the three litres of water into the five-litre jug. Refill

the three litre jug again from the tap and use it to fill the five-litre jug all the way to the top. That would leave one litre left in the

three-litre jug.

Source for question 8 and 9: https://www.youthcentral.vic.gov.au/jobs-and-careers/job-interviews/answering-brainteaser-interview-questions

Jan

2020

4

1 In an AP Physics lab, students had to measure the velocity of an object as a function of time. When they plotted their data, they obtained the graph below – a semi-circle centered on the time axis at t = 2 s.

They were tasked with finding the displacement of the object using these data – it is, of course,

the area under the v-t plot.

The first student said: the area is equal to 1

2𝜋𝑉0

2 = 25,1

A second student said: the area is equal to 1

2𝜋𝑇0

2 = 6,28

Evaluate these students’ suggestions.

Answer:

Actually, they're both wrong! You can tell that because of the units of their answers! The unit of displacement – the required

answer – is m. However, the unit of the first student’s answer is m2·s−2 and the unit of the second students answer is s2.

Neither is m!

The proper answer requires either counting squares or working out the integral ∫v·dt, or by realising that the plot is an ellipse

with 𝑉0 and 𝑇0 as the major and minor semi-axes. The area is then 1

2𝜋𝑉0𝑇0 = 12,6 m, which has the correct unit.

1. You're standing on the edge of the ocean. How far away is the horizon? Give your answer in terms

of the radius of the Earth, 𝑅, and your height, ℎ.

Answer:

Consider the figure below, where your height is greatly exaggerated.

The horizon is at the tangent point. Using Pythagorus’ theorem:

(𝑅 + ℎ)2 = 𝑅2 + 𝑑2

𝑑2 = (𝑅 + ℎ)2 − 𝑅2

𝒅 = 𝟐𝒉𝑹 + 𝒉𝟐

APP activities … because Consumo cares 😊

Jan

2020

5

General Business Article

How investment debit orders can help you build long-term

wealth

Jan 19 2020

Saving more money is a new year's resolution for millions, but easier said than done. Saving money

can be an extremely difficult task for many. Here are some tips.

Don't wait until you have a large amount of money to invest: the key to building wealth is just starting

somewhere, saving regularly and letting your returns generate over time, says Ebrahim Moola of

Bobats Wealth Solutions. According to Moola, investing is about forgoing consumption today –

when you're able to set monies aside, while still generating an income – for the sake of future

consumption - when you may not be earning as much or at all.

"The magic of investing is the compounding of above-inflation returns over long time periods which

effectively increases the value of your future consumption.

"So, investing R10 000 today is a key contribution that your future self and family will be super

grateful for," says Moola.

"The key to investing is starting somewhere, sticking to a plan, ideally through a trusted financial

advisor and via an automated mechanism like debit orders."

Time – the magic factor

"I'd say it's far better to invest R1 000 per month indefinitely than to make an ad hoc lump sum

contribution of R10 000, for example. In his opinion, investment debit orders are one of the best

ways to build long term wealth. "It usually costs nothing. Banks do not charge, advisors usually don't

charge, service providers don't charge. It also harnesses technology to invest smartly - your small

monthly contribution can be invested very widely into unit trusts and ETFs (exchange traded funds),"

he says.

"Furthermore, it allows anyone to invest. There is no need to have a large lump sum to participate in

the market and there is an orderly phasing in of your investment into the market over time.

"The biggest advantage of debit order investing though is the behavioural impact it has. With

automated saving, your mind frames your monthly investment as just another monthly expense. You

get used to it and it usually sticks, over long periods of time." Don't be overly fixated with returns in

the short term, he cautions. Just focus on growing your income and the resultant capital you can set

aside for investments via debit order.

"You need go through the hard yards of consistently saving for at least 7 to 10 years to accumulate

a pot of wealth. Usually it is only after this period of sacrifice that your investment portfolio can start

working for you and returns start to matter and it takes well over 20 years for your contributions to

become meaningless relative to your portfolio’s returns," he explains. "That's when your portfolio

becomes "self-sufficient", at a time when you really need it to be."

Read more @ https://www.fin24.com/Money/Investments/how-investment-debit-orders-can-help-you-build-long-

term-wealth-20200119

Jan

2020

6

General Business Article

In the tourism industry? An expert offers 6 tips to

supercharge service

Dec 16 2019

Recent data released by Statistics SA shows a 2% decline in overseas tourist visitors to SA

between January to August 2019. Although various factors attributed to this decrease, tourism

service providers need to look "inwards" if they are to grow and recover "brand SA", according to

Brendon Bairstow-Klopper, director of customer experience company Nlighten.

In his view, those in the hospitality and tourism industry need to take turnaround strategies into

their own hands, and it starts with getting the basics right. According to Bairstow-Klopper, many

customers will rather spend more money for good service, than suffer through a bad experience.

"Price aside, many tourists make their travelling decisions based on advice from friends and family,

so word-of-mouth can make or break a provider’s offering," he says. "Reaching President Cyril

Ramaphosa's target of 21 million tourist arrivals by 2030 is ambitious, but we will see growth by

marketing SA with an increased focus on customer-centric strategies and getting the basic

principles of customer service delivery right." Bairstow-Klopper offers six tips to help deliver on

customer service:

1 Personalise the experience

"Good tourism marketing strategies begin with offering world-class customer service, something we

are notoriously known for failing at in South Africa," he says. "It's about going beyond the sales

pitch for your own establishment or products and offering tailored advice that adds value to the

tourist's stay." Despite things that are out of a service provider's control, such as load shedding or

the struggling economy, customer care is always something that can be controlled, he emphasises.

It is often the main reason that people return to an establishment or make a repeat purchase, he

believes.

2 Understand why tourists are here

Ask them about their preferences and offer tailored, personalised, anticipatory-type service, he

advises.

3 Encourage staff to get excited about service

Bairstow-Klopper says in many foreign countries, tourism and hospitality are chosen as

professional careers. There is an emphasis on hospitality programmes and hotel schools.

While SA hospitality institutions offer solid training, Bairstow-Klopper believes …

Read more @ https://www.fin24.com/Entrepreneurs/Resources/in-the-tourism-industry-an-expert-offers-6-tips-to-supercharge-service-

20191216

Jan

2020

7

General Science Article

Jan

2020

Fake news in 2015 (https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ikea-wireless-bungee-jumping-video/)

and now on a Science website (https://www.wired.com/story/bungee-jumping-with-magnets/)

Could You Bungee-Jump Using Only Magnets?

Jumping off a high ledge without a cord … maybe we better run a simulation first.

23 January 2020

PHOTOGRAPH: OLIVER FURRER/GETTY IMAGES

Bungee jumping has been around for ages. The land divers of Vanuatu tied vines around their ankles.

The first modern-style jump with elastic cords was undertaken in Bristol, England, in 1979 by the

Oxford University Dangerous Sports Club. The idea, of course, is that—if all goes well—the cord

stretches and exerts an upward force to keep you from hitting the ground.

But how’s this for a new way to tempt fate: What if you replaced the elastic cord with two magnets? You

could put a magnet on the jumper with another magnet on the ground, aligned in such a way that their

poles repel. As the person gets close to the ground, magnetic levitation would hopefully buoy them

back up. Bungee jumping without a bungee!

That’s the premise behind this video of the supposed “first wireless bungee jump.” Let me be real clear:

It’s a fake. It’s really an Ikea commercial. Do NOT try this at home. Don’t even think about trying it.

OK, but … could the concept actually work? We could use trial and error to find out. I suggest we

analyze the physics instead. Ready? Let’s jump in.

The Physics of Bungee Jumping

First we need to be clear on why it’s bad to hit the ground. So, here's the deal. It's all about

acceleration. Suppose a person foolishly jumps off a 10-meter-high ledge. As they fall, the gravitational

force pulls down to cause an increase in velocity. Ignoring the air resistance force, this would produce

an acceleration of 9.8 m/s2.

Starting from rest, this would put their speed at 14 meters per second just before impact. Now let's say

the jumper stops on the ground over a distance of 5 centimeters. (It's probably much less than that.)

This would produce a stopping acceleration of about 1,960 m/s2. That is 200 g's. That's the problem. A

human can survive an acceleration of only around 30 to 40 g's.

Read more @ https://www.wired.com/story/bungee-jumping-with-magnets/

8

General Science Article

Betelgeuse Just Keeps Getting Dimmer, And We Have No

Idea Why EVAN GOUGH, UNIVERSE TODAY 23 JAN 2020

Betelgeuse keeps getting dimmer and everyone is wondering what exactly that means. The star will

go supernova at the end of its life, but that's not projected to happen for tens of thousands of years

or so. So what's causing the dimming?

Villanova University astronomers Edward Guinan and Richard Wasatonic were the first to report

Betelgeuse's recent dimming. In a new post on The Astronomer's Telegram, the pair of astronomers

report a further dimming of Betelgeuse. They also point out that although the star is still dimming, its

rate of dimming is slowing.

Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star in the constellation Orion. It left the main sequence about one

million years ago and has been a red supergiant for about 40,000 years.

It's a core-collapse SN II progenitor, which means that eventually, Betelgeuse will burn enough of its

hydrogen that its core will collapse, and it will explode as a supernova.

It's known as a semi-regular variable star, which means its brightness is variable. One of its cycles

is about 420 days long, and another is about five or six years. A third cycle is shorter; about 100 to

180 days. Though most of its fluctuations are predictable and follow these cycles, some of them are

not, like the current dimming.

Betelgeuse's magnitude in visible light, Aug 2018 to Jan 2020. (AAVSO – AAVSO Light Curve Generator 2

Astronomers have been monitoring Betelgeuse for a long time. Visual estimates of the star go back

about 180 years, and since the 1920s, the American Association of Variable Star Observers

(AAVSO) have taken more systematic measurements.

About 40 years ago astronomers at Villanova University began taking systematic photometric

measurements of Betelgeuse's brightness. The photometry data from the last 25 years is the most

thorough, and according to that data the star is as dim as it's ever been.

Read more @ https://www.sciencealert.com/betelgeuse-just-keeps-getting-dimmer-and-we-have-no-idea-why

Jan

2020

9

Petrol theme

Independent fuel retailers say loyalty cards are pushing them

out of business

ENERGY: 26 JANUARY 2020, GIVEN MAJOLA

Petrol. (File Photo: IANS)

DURBAN - Independent fuel retailers are planning to approach the courts to force the Department of

Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) to protect small fuel traders from unfair competition unleashed by

established companies in the industry.

The retailers’ body, Fuel Retailers Association (FRA) this week said the rise of loyalty cards was pushing

small retailers out of the business.

Chief executive Reggie Sibiya said the FRA wanted the courts to order the government to intervene.

Sibiya said established retailers continued to increase their market share while small ones were slowly

being eroded out of the industry. He said existing legislation was not enough at it prohibited small retailers

from offering conditional selling or loyalty programmes to customers yet it allowed oil companies.

Sibiya said: “This means that upcoming and independent retailers are discriminated against from

competing at this level which means unfair competition created by the Department.” The DMRE said it

would continue to engage small retailers. Sibiya said there the rampant conditional selling within the

industry, with wholesale licence holders concurrently retailing despite this being illegal under current

legislation. He says the situation has been made worse by the indecisiveness of the department. He said

loyalty cards did not increase the national industry volumes but shifted it from one brand to the other,

adding that the cards came at a huge cost to industry profit margins.

Sibiya said that many trends indicated that fuel sales and consumption would continuously decline due to a

number of reasons, which included the rise in fuel efficient cars, cheaper airlines, alternative modes of

transport like Gautrain and most importantly rising cost of fuel and motorists using less and less.

The cost of ULP 95 cost 31 percent more than it was in January 2016. In November 2019 it rocketed to

38 percent of January 2016 price. Diesel in Gauteng cost 46 percent higher in January 2020 than in

January 2016.

Read more @ https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/energy/independent-fuel-retailers-say-loyalty-cards-are-pushing-them-out-of-

business-41265816

Jan

2020

10

Petrol theme

17 Petrol station myths that could save you from

maintenance issues in the future [UPDATE]

By Chelsy Pinto January 07, 2020

There are many things that you might have heard about petrol stations. These may vary from when you

should fill up to whether you should use your phone while waiting to fill up. How do you separate the fact

from the fiction?

Filling up at a petrol station is a necessary evil for many South Africans but new research from data and

analytics group Lightstone found that South Africans are covering less distance each month, but

curiously are visiting petrol stations more often, with a 7% decrease in distance travelled and 2%

increase in service station traffic. This indicates that South Africans are topping up their tanks with less

fuel per visit, rather than filling up to the brim at every visit to the petrol station.

Making more trips to the filling station may be easier on your cash flow but if you aren’t quite sure what

you should or shouldn’t do at a petrol station, you could be making a mistake that may damage your car

in the future.

We bust some myths and shed light on the facts as we identify these 17 commonly held beliefs around

petrol stations and fuel.

Myth #1 - Filling your tank in the morning gets you more fuel for your money: MYTH

Many people like to fill up in the morning believing that they get more fuel for their money. This myth is

based on the theory that, if petrol expands with heat, it must contract with cooler temperatures. So, filling

up in the morning when it is cooler must mean you are getting more fuel than if you fill up at midday.

The fact is petrol stations store fuel in double-walled underground tanks that keep the fuel at a steady

temperature. This means the time of day or temperature when you fill up doesn’t affect the density of

your petrol. Midnight or midday - there is no difference. What you pay for is what you get!

Myth #2 - Using a mobile phone at a petrol station is dangerous: MYTH

One widespread myth is that using mobile phones at petrol stations is highly dangerous. This is not true.

Mobile devices are low-power radio-frequency transmitters (between 450 and 2700 MHz), with a peak

power value that ranges between 0.1 and 2 watts. As explained in Blogthinkbig.com, the two common

dangers that are thought to be related to the use of mobile phones are the possibility of explosions or

fires. However, Blogthinkbig.com says: “The only way that a mobile phone could generate a spark at a

petrol station would be due to a defective battery. This is unlikely, and could also occur in the case of the

car’s own battery.”

Read more @ https://blog.suzukiauto.co.za/blog/11-petrol-station-myths-that-could-save-you-from-maintenance-issues-in-the-

future

Jan

2020

11

Consumo resources Business Studies grade 8 – 12: (Authors Zain Strydom and Estie Meyer)

FREE PowerPoints worked out for every chapter PowerPoint workbooks (can be printed for FREE)

Class activities and work sheets Posters to download and print

FREE Teacher’s guides on our website Thinking skills activities

NEW: Mind maps for every chapter for every grade … And SO MUCH more!!

Accounting grade 8 – 9: (Authors Maria Christelis and Estie Meyer)

FREE Teachers guides Posters to download and print

Life Orientation / Life skills: (Authors Estie Meyer, Erika Basson and Zain Strydom)

FREE PowerPoints FREE Teacher’s guides

Advanced Programme Physics (grade 11 and 12): (Author Tyler Rodrigues)

NEW: PowerPoints New: Teacher’s guides

Watch this space and our FaceBook account for more detail

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Estie and Zain

The Consumo Team

We believe in “Innovate to Educate and Educate to Innovate”.

Jan

2020