Comprehensive General Education Study Notes

Foundational Human Rights and Philippine History

• The Fundamental Human Rights of life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. According to the document, this was signed by various countries on December 10, 1984.

• The chronological order of pivotal events in Philippine history is established as follows:

  1. Execution of Dr. Jose Rizal (1896)

  2. Declaration of the First Philippine Republic (1899)

  3. World War II (1941–1945)

  4. EDSA Revolution (1986)

• The Sulu Sultanate was the first sultanate in the Philippines, founded by Abu Bakar in 1450 AD.

• The Benevolent Assimilation Proclamation, issued on December 21, 1898, was the first official indication of American policy toward the Philippines. It was issued by President William McKinley.

• The Treaty of Paris negotiations between the United States and Spain involved the representative of the Filipino people, Felipe Agoncillo.

• The Tydings-McDuffie Law of May 24, 1934, set the date of Philippine independence for July 4, 1946, following a 10-year transition period under the Commonwealth Government.

• President Diosdado Macapagal was the official who changed the celebration of Philippine Independence Day from July 4 to June 12.

• Martial Law was officially announced by President Ferdinand Marcos on September 23, 1972, though the written decree was Proclamation 1081, dated September 21, 1972.

Sociological and Psychological Principles

• The Family group is defined as the primary group and the "nursery of human nature."

• Filipino character strengths include "Pakikipagkapwa-tao", which manifests through Pakikiramdam (shared inner perception), Malasakit (care/concern), and Pakikiramay (sympathy). It does not typically manifest as Lakas ng loob (inner strength/guts) in this specific context.

• Social change in the 20th-century traditional Filipino family was primarily driven by Industrialization and Urbanization.

• Through the process of socialization, an individual is enabled to function as a contributing member of their group.

• Democracy involves government control by the people, whereas an Oligarchy relegates control to a select few.

• Hierarchy of Needs: Developed by Abraham Maslow, this theory orders human needs from the highest to the lowest levels (Physiological, Safety, Love/Belonging, Esteem, and Self-actualization).

• Self-Efficacy: People with a strong sense of self-efficacy view challenging problems as tasks to be mastered and recover quickly from setbacks. They do not avoid challenging tasks.

Science: Biology, Taxonomy, and Human Anatomy

• Taxonomy Levels: The hierarchy of biological taxonomy contains 8 levels (Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species).

• Asexual Reproduction:

  • Budding: A process exemplified by corals where a new organism develops from an outgrowth.

  • Grafting: A method of artificial asexual reproduction often used in plants.

  • Binary Fission: A form of asexual reproduction where a single cell divides into two similar cells.

• Human Anatomy and Physiology:

  • The Appendix is listed as an organ with no specific function compared to the intestine, liver, or pancreas.

  • Leukemia is a blood abnormality resulting from the uncontrolled production of abnormal white blood cells by the bone marrow.

  • Insulin is the hormone secreted by the Pancreas to regulate glucose metabolism. Glucagon, Adrenalin, and Cortisone are also involved in glucose control.

  • Human Body Temperature: The average is approximately $37^{\circ} C$ or $98.4^{\circ} F$.

  • Melanin is the substance in skin produced by melanocytes responsible for pigmentation.

• In Vitro Fertilization (IVF): The union of an ovum and a sperm inside a test tube or microscopic slide.

• Photosynthesis:

  • The waste product is Oxygen ($O_2$).

  • The molecules allowing plants to capture energy from sunlight is Chlorophyll.

  • The products of the light reaction are ATP and NADPH.

• Ecology:

  • Tundra: Defined as a treeless, cold, and barren environment found in arctic regions (e.g., habitat of the walrus).

  • Secondary Ecological Succession: The process where a forest flourishes again after a wildfire because the soil remained viable.

  • Saprophytes: Organisms that decompose substances into products that can be useful.

Science: Physical Sciences and Chemistry

• Matter: The fourth state of matter, beyond solid, liquid, and gas, is Plasma.

• Chemical Bonding: The bond in Sodium Fluoride ($NaF$) is an Ionic bond (formed between alkali metals and halogens).

• Atomic Structure:

  • Oxygen is the most abundant element in the Earth's crust.

  • Nitrogen is the most abundant in the atmosphere.

  • An atom of Silicon with a mass number of $28$ and atomic number of $14$ contains $14$ protons.

• Density: Salt water has a higher density than distilled water.

• Pressure: Measured in Pascals ($Pa$), defined as one Newton per square meter ($1\,N/m^2$).

• Surface Tension: Allows small objects like a razor blade or toothpick to sit on the water's surface.

• Light: Visible light falls on the electromagnetic spectrum between infrared and ultraviolet radiations.

Mathematical Concepts and Formulas

• Algebra and Sequences:

  • The 10th number in the sequence $15, 23, 31 \dots$ is $87$.

  • Ratio problem: If it takes $15$ lemons for $4$ glasses of juice, it takes $90$ lemons for $24$ glasses.

• Financial Math:

  • Simple Interest Formula: $I = Prt$

  • Example: Interest on $P10,000.00$ at $8\%$ for $3$ years is $P2,400.00$, resulting in a total amount of $P12,400.00$.

  • Compound Interest semi-annually: $A = P(1 + \frac{r}{n})^{nt}$

• Geometry:

  • Area of a Triangle: $A = \frac{1}{2}bh$

  • Example: A triangle with a base of $20\,m$ and altitude of $5\,m$ has an area of $50\,m^2$.

  • Pythagorean Theorem: $a^2 + b^2 = c^2$

  • Example: A right triangle with legs $12\,in$ and $5\,in$ has a hypotenuse of $13\,in$ ($\sqrt{12^2 + 5^2} = 13$).

• Statistics:

  • Mean Absolute Deviation: For grades $80, 75, 60, 95, 100$, the MAD is $12.4$.

  • Median: For the set $(12, 10, 13, 11, 15, 20, 19, 17)$, the median is $14$.

• Probability:

  • Probability of getting a green ball from a box of $8$ green and $4$ yellow balls: $2/3$ ($8/12$).

  • Probability of getting the sum of $11$ in a single throw of a pair of dice: $1/18$ ($(5,6), (6,5)$).

Language, Grammar, and Figures of Speech

• Lexical Morphology:

  • Metatesis: A morphophonemic change where the position of sounds in a word is swapped (e.g., atipan to aptan).

  • Salitang-ugat (Root word): The simplest form of a word without affixes (e.g., laban is the root for pinaglabanan).

• Figures of Speech:

  • Simile: Comparison using "as" or "like" (e.g., "He was helpless as a child").

  • Metaphor: Direct comparison (e.g., "The sun was a ball of fire").

  • Personification: Giving human traits to non-human entities (e.g., "A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed against the earth").

  • Hyperbole: Exaggeration (e.g., "The face that launched a thousand ships").

  • Synecdoche: A part represents the whole (e.g., "It was a black tie affair").

  • Apostrophe: Directly addressing an inanimate object or deceased person (e.g., "O wild west wind!" or "Kapalaran, huwag ka sanang mailap").

• English Usage:

  • Antecedent: The noun to which a pronoun refers.

  • Red Ink: An idiom for financial loss or debt.

  • Voracious reader: One who reads books or magazines extensively.

  • Loquacious: Meaning verbose or talkative.

World and Philippine Literature

• Dr. Jose Rizal:

  • His work considered his "crowning glory" is "A La Juventud Filipina" (To the Filipino Youth).

  • His final poem is "Mi Ultimo Adios".

  • He wrote "Sa Aking Mga Kababata" about the importance of the native language.

• Emilio Jacinto: Known as the "Brain of the Katipunan," wrote the poem "Ala Patria" (Oct 8, 1897), inspired by Rizal's final poem.

• Edgar Allan Poe: The Father of Horror Stories; wrote "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "Annabel Lee".

• Geoffrey Chaucer: Known as the "Morning Star of English Literature."

• William Shakespeare: Known as the "Bard of Avon"; author of "The Merchant of Venice", "Romeo and Juliet", and "Hamlet".

• Rabindranath Tagore: Wrote the collection "Gitanjali"; first Asian to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.

• Nick Joaquin: A National Artist for Literature known by the pen name "Quijano de Manila".

• Francisco Baltazar (Balagtas): Author of the epic poem "Florante at Laura".

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

• Internet: Often referred to as the "Information Highway."

• Hardware vs. Software: Hardware is the physical computer equipment; Software refers to the computer programs (e.g., Word processing, Spreadsheet).

• Input Devices: Include the Mouse (pointing device) and Keyboard.

• Output Devices: Include the Monitor.

• HTML: Stands for Hyper Text Mark-up Language.

• Keyboard Shortcuts:

  • Ctrl + B: Bold text.

  • Ctrl + O: Open a document.

  • Ctrl + S: Save a document.

  • Ctrl + V: Paste text.

  • Alt (Alter Key): Used in conjunction with other keys to perform specific actions.

• CPU: Known as the "brain" of the computer.