Main Topics for IELTS Speaking Part 1

IELTS Speaking Part 1 Topics & Questions

Hometown

• Where is your hometown?
• Do you like your hometown?
• Do you often visit your hometown?
• What is your hometown like?
• What is the oldest place in your hometown?
• What is there for a foreigner to do or see in your hometown?
• How could your hometown be improved?
• Has your hometown changed much time since you were a child?
• Is there good public transportation in your hometown?
• Do you think your hometown is a good place to bring up children?

Work

1. What is your job?
2. Where do you work?
3. Why did you choose that job?
4. Is it a popular job in your country?
5. Do you like your job?
6. Do you get well with your colleagues?
7. What was your first day like?
8. What responsibilities do you have at work?
9. If you had the chance would you change your job?
10. Do you plan to continue with your job in the future?

Prepare the answers by getting familiar with the focus and vocabulary by listening to the following video on Work Interview Vocabulary:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVz0WkHmHzE

Dictionaries

1. Do you often use a dictionary?
2. What do you use dictionaries for?
3. What kind of dictionaries do you think are most useful?
4. Do you think dictionaries are useful for learning a language?
5. What kind of information can you find in a dictionary?

Prepare the vocabulary by listening to the following video on Dictionary Vocabulary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xzAB3Fe1zQ&feature=

Useful video lesson: see my blog: www.ieltsliz.com

TOPIC HEALTH

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaI7zkQ8nxA

TOPIC MUSIC

Do you like music? 

What’s your favourite type of music? 

Can you sing? 

Did you learn music at school? 

If you could learn a musical instrument, what would it be? 

Do you think music is important?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOeaBjBfcU8

TOPIC TALKING ABOUT MYSELF

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU8xhYgHT0U&t=49s

TOPIC ART

Are you good at art?

Did you learn art at school? 

What kind of art do you like? 

Is art popular in your country? 

Have you ever been to an art gallery? 

Do you think children can benefit from going to art galleries?

TOPIC HOME

Where is your home/

Do you live in a house or flat?

Who do you live with/

Are there many rooms in your home?

What is your favourite room?

How are the walls decorated?

What would you change about your home?

Do you plan to live there in the future?

What facilities are there near your home?

What is your neighbourhood like?

Do most people live in houses in your country?

TOPIC STUDY 

What do you study? 

Where do you study that? 

Why did you choose that subject? 

Is it a popular subject in your country? 

Do you like that subject? 

Do you get on with your colleagues? 

What was your first day like? 

What are the main aspects of your subject? 

If you had the chance, would you change subject? 

Do you plan to get a job in the same field as your subject?

TOPIC CLOTHES 

Are clothes important to you? 

What kind of clothes do you usually wear? 

Do you ever wear the traditional clothes of your country? 

Where do you usually buy your clothes? 

Have you ever worn a uniform? 

Do most people in your country follow fashion?  

TOPIC DAILY ROUTINE

When do you usually get up in the morning? 

Do you usually have the same routine every day? 

What is your daily routine? 

Do you ever change your routine? 

Is your routine the same today as it was when you were a child? 

Do you think it is important to have a daily routine? 

TOPIC EVENINGS

 What do you often do in the evenings? 

Do you do the same thing ever evening? 

Do you prefer to spend your evenings with family or friends? 

Do you ever work or study in the evenings? 

What is a popular activity for young people in your country in the evenings? 

Do you do the same thing in the evenings as you did when you were a child? 

TOPIC FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Do you spend much time with your family? 

Who are you closest to in your family? 

Do you prefer spending time with your family or friends? 

Who is your best friend? 

Are you still friends with people from your childhood? 

Is family important in your country? 

TOPIC FOOD 

What’s your favourite food? 

Have you always liked the same food?

Is there any food you dislike? 

What is a common meal in your country? 

Do you have a healthy diet?

 What do you think of fast food? 

TOPIC HOBBIES 

Do you have a hobby? 

What equipment do you need for it? 

Do you think hobbies should be shared with other people? 

Did you have a hobby as a child? 

What hobbies are popular in your country? 

Why do you think people have hobbies? 

TOPIC INTERNET 

How often do you go online? 

What do you use the internet for? 

How do you get online? 

Do you have your own computer? W

hat’s your favourite website? 

Do you think children should be allowed unsupervised access to the internet? 

TOPIC LEISURE TIME 

What is your favourite leisure activity? 

What did you enjoy doing in your free time as a child? 

Do you prefer to spend your free time with other people or alone? 

What is a common leisure activity in your country? 

Do most people in your country get two days off a week? 

Do you think leisure time is important?

TOPIC :Neighbours & Neighbourhood 

Do you like your neighbours? 

Are neighbours usually close to each other in your country? 

What is your neighbourhood like? 

Do you think your neighbourhood is a good place for children? 

How could your neighbourhood be improved? 

Do you think it is important to have a good relationship with your neighbours? 

TOPIC Newspapers 

How do you usually get your news? 

Do you often read the newspapers? 

What kind of news do you usually follow? 

How do most people get the news in your country? 

Do you think international news is important? 

TOPIC Pets 

Do you have a pet? 

Do you like animals? 

What’s your favourite animal? 

What is a popular pet to have in your country? 

Did you have a pet as a child? 

Why do people have pets?? 

TOPIC Reading 

Do you often read books or magazines? 

What is your favourite kind of book to read? 

Do you often read newspapers? 

Do you have any e-books? 

What books did you read as a child? 

Do you think it is important to encourage children to read? 

TOPIC Shopping 

Do you like shopping? 

What’s your favourite shop? 

Do you prefer shopping alone or with others? 

What kinds of shops are there where you live? 

Have you ever bought anything online? 

Do you think men and women have different opinions about shopping? 

TOPIC Sport 

Do you like sport? 

What’s your favourite sport? 

Do you often watch sport on TV? 

Did you play sport as a child? 

What is the most popular sport in your country? 

How do most people in your country keep fit? 

TOPIC TV 

Do you often watch TV? 

What sorts of things do you watch on TV? 

What is your favourite TV program? 

Do you ever watch foreign programs or films? 

What did you watch on TV when you were a child? 

Do you think children should watch TV? 

TOPIC Transport 

How did you get here today? 

What is your favourite mode of transport? 

Do you ever use public transport? 

Do you like the transport system in your country? 

What is the difference between taking a bus and taking a train? 

TOPIC Weather 

What’s the weather like today? 

What’s your favourite weather? 

Do you like the weather in your country? 

Does the weather ever affect the way you feel? 

Does the weather in your country ever affect transportation?

Use these 5 words to score high in IELTS speaking

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YSF2KTA41g

11 words in sentences for Higher vocabulary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYDAdxXcWko

How to greet your examiner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byXYqrajSw4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzTSh7zwRIM

WORDS TO AVOID IN WRITING

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xjhWTLWC8o

Science GCSE Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis / How plants make food

Photosynthesis captures energy for life on Earth. Many chemicals are made to allow life processes to occur in plants. These chemicals can move in and out of cells by the process of diffusion. Osmosis is a specific type of diffusion.

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is a process used by plants in which energy from sunlight is used to convert carbon dioxide and water into molecules needed for growth. These molecules include sugars, enzymes and chlorophyll.

Light energy is absorbed by the green chemical chlorophyll. This energy allows the production of glucose by the reaction between carbon dioxide and water. Oxygen is also produced as a waste product.

This reaction can be summarised in the word equation:

Carbon dioxide + water  glucose + oxygen

Photosynthesis - Higher tier

The chemical equation for photosynthesis is:

6CO₂ + 6H₂O  C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂

Glucose from photosynthesis

Glucose is made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms. Glucose made by the process of photosynthesis may be used in three ways:

1. It can be converted into chemicals required for growth of plant cells such as cellulose
2. It can be converted into starch, a storage molecule, that can be converted back to glucose when the plant requires it
3. It can be broken down during the process of respiration, releasing energy stored in the glucose molecules

Plants cells contain a number of structures that are involved in the process of photosynthesis:

Diagram of a plant cell involved in production of glucose from photosynthesis

• Chloroplasts - containing chlorophyll and enzymes needed for reactions in photosynthesis.
• Nucleus - containing DNA carrying the genetic code for enzymes and other proteins used in photosynthesis
• Cell membrane - allowing gas and water to pass in and out of the cell while controlling the passage of other molecules
• Vacuole - containing cell sap to keep the cell turgid
• Cell wall - strengthens the cell
• Cytoplasm - enzymes and other proteins used in photosynthesis made here

Diffusion

Dissolved substances have to pass through the cell membrane to get into or out of a cell. Diffusion is one of the processes that allows this to happen.

Diffusiondiffusion: The movement of particles (molecules or ions) from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration occurs when particles spread. They move from a region where they are in high concentration to a region where they are in low concentration. Diffusion happens when the particles are free to move. This is true in gases and for particles dissolved in solutions. Particles diffuse down a concentration gradient, from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. This is how the smell of cooking travels around the house from the kitchen, for example.

The movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide in and out of leaves during photosynthesis occurs by diffusion.

The higher concentration of carbon dioxide in the air diffuses into the leaf for photosynthesis.

Oxygen produced during photosynthesis builds up to higher concentrations and diffuses out of the leaf into the air which has a lower concentration of oxygen.

Osmosis

Water can move across cell membranes because of osmosis. For osmosis to happen you need:

• Two solutions with different concentrations
• A partially permeable membrane to separate them

Partially permeable membranes let some substances pass through them, but not others. The animation shows an example of osmosis.

Osmosis is the movement of water from a less concentrated solution to a more concentrated solution through a partially permeable membrane.

This is shown in the animation above. Eventually the level on the more concentrated side of the membrane rises, while the one on the less concentrated side falls. When the concentration is the same on both sides of the membrane, the movement of water molecules will be the same in both directions. At this point, the net exchange of water is zero and there is no further change in the liquid levels.

Osmosis is important to plants. They gain water by osmosis through their roots. Water moves into plant cells by osmosis, making them turgid [turgid: Having turgor; enlarged and swollen with water ] or stiff so they that able to hold the plant upright.

Minerals from the soil - Higher tier

The concentration of minerals in the soil is very low. They dissolve in water and move around the soil in solution. Root hair cells are adapted to absorb the water out of soil byosmosis – they have a large surface area, thin walls and are close to the xylem cells used for transporting water up the plant. Minerals such as nitrate ions cannot be absorbed by osmosis (which is the movement of water only) or diffusion(because the minerals are in very low concentration). The root hair cells have carrier molecules on their surface that pick up the minerals and move them into the cell against the concentration gradient. This requires energy, and is calledactive transport.

Factors affecting photosynthesis

Three factors can limit the speed of photosynthesis: light intensity, carbon dioxide concentration and temperature.

• 
  

  Light intensity
  Without enough light, a plant cannot photosynthesise very quickly, even if there is plenty of water and carbon dioxide. Increasing the light intensity will boost the speed of photosynthesis.
• 
  

  Carbon dioxide concentration
  Sometimes photosynthesis is limited by the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air. Even if there is plenty of light, a plant cannot photosynthesise if there is insufficient carbon dioxide.
• 
  

  Temperature
  If it gets too cold, the rate of photosynthesis will decrease. Plants cannot photosynthesise if it gets too hot.

If you plot the rate of photosynthesis against the levels of these three limiting factors, you get graphs like the ones above.

In practice, any one of these factors could limit the rate of photosynthesis.

Maximising growth

Farmers can use their knowledge of these limiting factors to increase crop growth in greenhouses. They may use artificial light so that photosynthesis can continue beyond daylight hours, or in a higher-than-normal light intensity. The use of paraffin lamps inside a greenhouse increases the rate of photosynthesis because the burning paraffin produces carbon dioxide, and heat too.

Fieldwork techniques

Energy from light drives photosynthesis. The effect of light levels on plants can be investigated using a number of techniques.

The diagram below shows how apparatus can be set up to investigate the effect of changing light intensity on the rate of photosynthesis.

Diagram of photosynthesis experiment equipment

The distance separating the lamp and the pondweed can be altered and the resulting light intensity measured using a light meter.

Quadrat

A quadrat can be used to survey the plants present in a square metre.

The quadrat is a square grid that is placed on the ground. Any plants or animals present within the area of the quadrat are recorded. The organisms can be named using an identification key that provides pictures and/or descriptions of the organisms.

Quadrats are positioned randomly to remove bias and allow for reliable comparison between locations.

If appropriate, data may be recorded at regular intervals along a transect. A transect is a straight line that runs through a location upon which data on organism distribution can be recorded. An identification key can then be used to identify species present, so a link may be formed between light level and species present.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_ocr_21c/life_processes/plantfoodrev_print.shtml

Science Physics GCSEProducing electricity

Science

Physics GCSE

Producing electricity

There are two types of electric current - direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC). An electric current can be produced by moving a magnet inside a coil of wire. The size of this induced current can be increased by moving the magnet faster, by using a stronger magnet, or by increasing the number of turns on the coil and increasing its area. A dynamo is a type of electricity generator.

Direct and alternative current

There are two types of electric current:

·         direct current - DC

·         alternating current - AC

Direct current

Direct current

If the current flows in only one direction it is called direct current, or DC. Batteries and solar cells supply DC electricity. A typical battery may supply 1.5V. The diagram shows an oscilloscope screen displaying the signal from a DC supply.

Alternating current

Alternating current

If the current constantly changes direction it is called alternating current, or AC. Mains electricity is an AC supply. The UK mains supply is about 230V. It has a frequency of 50Hz (50 hertz), which means that it changes direction and back again 50 times a second. The diagram shows an oscilloscope screen displaying the signal from an AC supply.

Making electricity

You should know how to produce an electric current using a coil of wire and a magnet.

Induction

An electric current is produced when a magnet is moved into a coil of wire in a circuit. We say that the electric current has been induced, and the process is called induction. The direction of the induced current is reversed when the magnet is moved out of the coil again. It can also be reversed if the other pole of the magnet is moved into the coil. Check your understanding of this with this simulation.

Notice that no current is induced when the magnet is still, even if it is inside the coil.

Increasing the induced current

To increase the induced current:

·         move the magnet faster

·         use a stronger magnet

·         increase the number of turns on the coil

·         increase the area of the coil.

Dynamos

It is not practical to generate large amounts of electricity by passing a magnet in and out of a coil of wire. Instead, generators induce a current by spinning a coil of wire inside a magnetic field, or by spinning a magnet inside a coil of wire. As this happens, a potential difference - voltage - is produced between the ends of the coil, which causes a current to flow.

One simple example of a generator is the bicycle dynamo. The dynamo has a wheel that touches the back tyre. As the bicycle moves, the wheel turns a magnet inside a coil. This induces enough electricity to run the bicycle's lights.

The faster the bicycle moves, the greater the induced current and the brighter the lights.

Large-scale electricity production

Generators are the devices that transfer kinetic energy into electrical energy.

Turning generators directly

Generators can be turned directly, for example, by:

·         wind turbines

·         hydroelectric turbines

·         wave and tidal turbines.

When electricity is generated using wave, wind, tidal or hydroelectric power (HEP) there are two steps:

1.    The turbine turns a generator.

2.    Electricity is produced.

Turning generators indirectly

Generators can be turned indirectly using fossil or nuclear fuels. The heat from the fuel boils water to make steam, which expands and pushes against the blades of a turbine. The spinning turbine then turns the generator.

These are the steps by which electricity is generated from fossil fuels:

1.    Heat is released from fuel and boils the water to make steam.

2.    The steam turns the turbine.

3.    The turbine turns a generator and electricity is produced.

4.    The electricity goes to the transformers to produce the correct voltage.

Efficiency of power stations

The energy produced by burning fuel is transferred as heat and stored in water as steam. The energy in steam is transferred to movement in a turbine, then to electrical energy in the turbine. Energy is lost to the environment at each stage.

Here is a Sankey diagram to show these losses.

Sankey diagram

Note that only about a third of the energy stored in the fuel was transferred as electrical energy to customers.

Different sources of energy

Renewable energy sources

Our renewable energy resources will never run out: their supply is not limited, and there are no fuel costs either. They typically generate far less pollution than fossil fuels.

Renewable energy resources include:

·         wind energy

·         water energy, such as wave machines, tidal barrages and hydroelectric power

·         geothermal energy

·         solar energy

·         biomass energy, for example energy released from wood.

A wind turbine

However, there are somedisadvantages to generating energy from renewable sources: for example, wind farms are noisy and may spoil the view of people who live near them. The amount of electricity generated depends on the strength of the wind. If there is no wind, there is no electricity.

Non-renewable energy sources

There is a limited supply of non-renewable energy resources, which will eventually run out.

They include:

·         fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas

·         nuclear fuels, such as uranium.

Fossil fuels release carbon dioxide when they burn, which adds to the greenhouse effect and increases global warming. Of the three fossil fuels, coal produces the most carbon dioxide, for a given amount of energy released, while natural gas generates the least.

greenhouse effect: The absorption of heat energy by gases in the atmosphere, especially carbon dioxide and methane. 

The fuel for nuclear power stations is relatively cheap. But the power stations themselves are expensive to build. It is also very expensive to dismantle old nuclear power stations or store radioactive waste, which is a dangerous health hazard.

In an exam question you may be asked to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of methods of large-scale electricity production. You should list both renewable and non-renewable resources with advantages and disadvantages for both.

Science GCSE _EDEXCEL_PHYSICS_Science GCSE_ FORCES, MOMENTS AND PRESSURE_BEHAVIOUR OF SOLIDS

Science GCSE

PHYSICS

FORCES, MOMENTS AND PRESSURE

3. BEHAVIOUR OF SOLIDS

Hooke's Law, elastic and plastic behaviour

(Note: Plastic behaviour is sometimes called inelastic behaviour.)

In the 1600s, a scientist called Robert Hooke discovered a law for elastic materials.

An elastic material is one that will return to its original shape when the force applied to it is taken away.

A plastic (or inelastic) material is one that stays deformed after you have taken the force away.

If you apply too big a force a material will lose its elasticity.

Hooke discovered that the amount a spring stretches is proportional to the amount of force applied to it. This means if you double the force its extension will double, if you triple the force the extension will triple and so on.

Click on the weights below to see what happens:

GRAPH

The elastic limit can be seen on the graph. This is where the graph stops being a straight line. If you stretch the spring beyond this point it will not return to its original shape.

You can write Hooke's law as an equation:

F = kx

where:

·         F is the applied force (in newtons, N),

·         x is the extension (in metres, m) and

·         k is the spring constant (in N/m).

The spring constant measures how stiff the spring is. The larger the spring constant the stiffer the spring. You may be able to see this by looking at the graphs below:

Elastic behaviour is very important in car safety, as car seatbelts are made from elastic materials. However, after a crash they must be replaced as they will go past their elastic limit.

QUESTION:

Why have seat belts that are elastic?

Why not just have very rigid seatbelts that would keep you firmly in place?

The reason for this, is that it would be very dangerous and cause large injuries. This is because it would slow your body down too quickly. The quicker a collision, the bigger the force that is produced.

This can be seen very plainly by comparing the effect of kicking a football, which squashes as you kick it giving a big collision time, followed by kicking a brick. The brick doesn't squash, giving a very quick collision time and a very painful foot.

Press play to view this happening:

This is why airbags and crumple zones can reduce injuries (these are both parts of a car designed to squash rather than be rigid).

So to reduce injuries in a collision, always slow down in as long a time as possible. This is why you bend your legs when landing after a jump and why parachutists roll when they hit the ground.