#NEWS | YMSAT 2022: Day Three
By Chesca Tumaneng and Seb Abainza
Last February 23, the Philippine Science High School–Main Campus (PSHS–MC) student body participated in various events to celebrate the third day of the 2022 Youth Mathematics Science and Technology (YMSAT) Festival, with the theme “STEM Through the Looking Glass: Learning from the Past, Gearing Up for the Future.”
Plenary Session
The day kicked off with a plenary talk by multi-awarded author and Ateneo De Manila University professor Dr. Queena Lee-Chua, entitled “The Power of Mathematical Thinking in Today’s World.”
Her forum highlighted how the application of mathematics in our daily lives can affect the choices we make. Dr. Lee-Chua stressed that learning should be for learning and not for grades, stating that she is “not very impressed with honors.”
As an introduction to her talk, she asked the students a few questions to gauge their decision-making abilities. According to Dr. Lee-Chua, it was a test devised by psychologists to observe how concepts like the framing effect, the availability heuristic, and loss aversion can affect an individual’s thought process when it comes to choosing between similar options.
Later, she also referenced “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” a book by psychologist Daniel Kahneman. According to the book, people have two main systems of thinking, System 1 being “fast” or instinct-driven and System 2 being “slow” or logic-driven. Dr. Lee-Chua states that no system is better than the other, but System 2 should be used more often, especially during a pandemic.
To conclude the session, she referred to the students as the “hope of the country,” who will be the leaders of the future. As such, she encouraged them to use System 2 thinking, ending her talk by saying that she passes on the torch to the students.
“The way [Dr. Lee-Chua] delivered the talk and how she was able to explain the topics thoroughly [were] amazing,” said Rian San Miguel of 10-Tau.
Grade 7
Following the plenary session were the activities for the individual batches, which meant the official start of the Math 1 Puzzle Challenge for Batch 2027, hosted by Sir Francis Nelson Infante from the Mathematics Unit.
For this mini-competition, all eight sections raced against one another to solve 10 puzzles with increasing difficulty. The last puzzle required all the sections to work together, but it was later removed from the contest due to lack of cooperation among the sections.
Each section started off with 200 points, and each right answer submitted by the section granted them another 200 points. In addition, the first section to solve a puzzle correctly earns an extra 100 points. Points can be lost through the submission of an incorrect answer, costing a 20-point deduction, or the purchase of hints with points.
Each day starting February 23, sections were allowed to submit their answers to the puzzles at any time through a Google Form. Confirmation emails that dictate whether submissions are right or wrong will be sent thrice a day at designated times, along with any bought hints.
The Math 1 Puzzle Challenge concluded on the second day of March. The top four sections with the highest number of points were announced on the same day. From first to fourth place, the winners were 7-Garnet, 7-Topaz, 7-Opal, and 7-Jade.
When asked about his experience in the Puzzle Challenge, Jure Maximo of 7-Opal shared that this activity strengthened the relationships of his classmates and their section overall. “What I enjoyed the most was bonding with my classmates,” he added.
Amira Batino from 7-Garnet also shared her insights on the contest, saying that “[The event] aimed to make us more alert, look into the details, [and] see the big picture simultaneously. But, another thing is that it brought us together.”
Grade 8
A talk on astronomy, particularly on the celestial sphere, was held for the students of Batch 2026 by Ms. Carmine Dalida from the Integrated Science Unit.
The topics discussed included locating constellations and searching for the sun and the visible stars in the night sky at certain times and latitudes.
A student from 8-Dahlia, Josef Bustamante, shared his experience on the event: “I found the talk quite interesting as I’m a fan of astrology, but other than that, the activity proper was quite challenging.”.
Aside from the astronomy lecture, Batch 2026 was also introduced to 3D modelling through the “3D Modelling Basics with TinkerCAD” presentation by Pisay.XYZ, PSHS–MC’s official maker and innovation club. Pisay.XYZ president Davis Magpantay discussed the basics of 3D modelling, as well as creating and sculpting models using an application called Tinkercad.
For Ashton Lapus of 8-Camia, the discussion was interesting, noting that the process of creating art in 2D and 3D has little similarity. “I now know the basics on how to intuitively make 3D models,” Lapus shared.
Grade 9
Batch 2025’s main activity was the Physics 1 Digital Escape Room entitled “Back to the Present” held through Zoom, similar to Batch 2024’s own Physics 2 Digital Escape Room during the first day of YMSAT. Sir Bimbo Galit and Ma’am Lieza Crisostomo, both from the Physics Unit, facilitated the said event.
The theme was set in the post-apocalyptic future, with humanity no longer in existence due to a pandemic. As the only people left, the students must fix a time machine in groups of three by collecting its missing components to travel back in time. To do so, they were tasked to solve various Physics 1 problems within an hour and 30 minutes.
Each solved problem constituted a new component, allowing the group to advance to the next problem. Once all problems were completed, the only task left was to “build the time machine” to “go back to the present,” finishing the activity.
The top three groups that finished the escape room the fastest were also announced on the same day, with Ogden Javier, Rex Reventar, and Syrila Catral of Group 1 from Strontium as first place. Christopher Magpily, Caitlyn De Lusong, and Janelle Tabangay of Group 7 from Magnesium came in second place, while Hale Sosa, Ezekiel Mamaril, and Patrick Turno of Group 4 from Beryllium came in third place.
“The activity was actually a great opportunity to amplify the interest of students in physics and put to their minds that it is actually fun and not scary,” said Nickzel Pagayatan of 9-Magnesium.
The students also commended their Physics teachers for the effort they put into the activity, with Sosa sharing that “even students [who] dislike the subject had a fun time.”
Grade 10
After last week’s Math Intersection, the sections of Batch 2024 competed once again in the Chemistry Intersection Quizizz Bee held via Zoom, with Sir Edwin De Ocampo from the Chemistry Unit as the main host. Other Chemistry 2 teachers were also present as facilitators, namely Ma’am Dinnie Morales, Ma’am Katrina Villar, and Ma’am Kris Ann Aquino.
For this event, each section was represented by one team composed of three students who worked together in answering 30 questions revolving around Chemistry 2 topics from the first and second quarters. The platform used for the quiz bee was Quizizz, where the scores are affected by accuracy and speed. However, the final rankings of the teams were based solely on the former.
After an hour of teams constantly switching ranks, the winners were finally announced. Emerging as champions were August Lim, Davis Magpantay, and Julianne Sales of Team Photon. Benjamin Jacob, Salvador Recio, and Janna Franchezka Visitacion of Team Tau were the first runner-ups and also the fastest team on the Quizizz leaderboard. Finally, Alex Andal, John Dizon, and Bert Tropicales of Team Graviton won second runner-up.
When asked about his experience participating in the quiz bee, Magpantay said that the short time limit per question was “a big challenge in itself,” but what really tested their team was the difficulty of the questions.
Visitacion shared the same sentiment. She also stated, “I still had fun working together with my teammates, Benji and Badong, which is why I am very thankful for them as well.”
Despite their challenges, the contestants shared that they still had a great experience overall. “I think all of the contestants would agree that this quiz bee experience was very intense and thrilling,” Magpantay concluded.
Grades 11 and 12
The third day of YMSAT had a wide range of events in store for Batches 2022 and 2023 of the Senior Year Program (SYP). As these were all held simultaneously in the morning, each student attended only one event of their choice among the four.
Open to SYP students with Agriculture electives was “Agricul2ra,” a talk focused on the importance and demand of agriculture in our country. “Agricul2ra” was facilitated by Agriculture teacher Sir Christian Abagat, with Mr. Kyle Barber, a PSHS–MC Batch 2019 alumnus, as the guest speaker.
Mr. Barber discussed the available options and courses related to agriculture that the students can take in the future. He also shared his activities, lessons, and life as an agriculture student at University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB).
One of the main segments of the talk was about the underappreciation of agriculture. “It’s hard to relay information or news to the mass,” Mr. Barber pointed out.
He also explained that the views towards agriculture in the present day are affected by online media and video games. According to him, integrating real-world agricultural problems into games would increase awareness on the state of agriculture.
Aside from agriculture itself, Mr. Barber also talked about the farmers who provide produce through their labor. He admitted that, despite them being depicted as having peaceful and quiet lives in several games and television shows, this generalization is far from reality.
“It provided me a bigger picture of what agriculture is all about,” said Mary Fabregas of 11-F when asked about her insights. “Agriculture is really important as it plays a big part in our country’s food security and citizens’ employment, yet it does not get the recognition it deserves.”
Another Agriculture student from Batch 2023, Troy Valencia of 11-H, provided thoughts on the talk as well. “The talk itself [was] alright. The slides were neatly prepared, and the speaker was also engaging,” he shared.
Following their earlier activities, the SYP students, along with Batch 2027, attended a talk entitled “Introduction to Makers and 3D Printing.” The speaker, Sir Alejandro Tuazon of the Technology Unit, discussed the importance of 3D printing and similar technologies. He also talked about subtractive and additive manufacturing and applications of 3D printing in the modern age.
Additionally, he emphasized that developing ideas for 3D printing requires creativity, and visualization dictates how those ideas turn into reality.
Zion Uy from 7-Diamond shared that “3D making is a long process that doesn’t depend solely on the machines making them but [also on] the people, their ideas, and how they choose to visualize them.”
The last talks open to the SYP students were the “Technology Career Talks,” which discussed different topics centered on Engineering careers and related technologies. Three guest speakers, each having their own Zoom breakout room, were featured for this event. Among the three, each student attended one talk of their choice.
In one of the breakout rooms was University of Queensland professor Ma’am Reena Que, whose talk focused on the fields of biology such as engineering and health. Aside from this, she also shared some insights on deciding the appropriate education degree to take and preparing for graduate school admissions.
On the topic of graduate school, she advised the students to enter graduate school only if they had the passion for the subject. This point struck Christian Balanga of 11-G, who said, “This made me realize [that] I had to make a firm decision about my future soon.” He also shared that Ma’am Que’s talk taught him about the importance of passion as a key to success.
In another breakout room, National Taipei University of Technology professor Dr. Hitesh Dommati discussed 3D printing, specifically the current technologies and careers that can be found in 3D printing, as well as how a 3D printing company works.
In response to a question asking how students could start if they want to work with 3D printing technologies, Dr. Dommati suggested for them to pick a specific path depending on their interests. This could be in regards to technology hardware, software, or even marketing.
Filbert Ubanos of 11-E, one of the attendees, found Dr. Dommati’s talk well-made. “I did not know much about some of the more less-used 3D technologies, and I was interested in learning about their uses, strengths, and weaknesses,” he said.
Finally, the last breakout room was where Mr. Nigel Rodriguez, a game developer and University of the Philippines Diliman professor, talked about his personal experience in the Philippine technology industry.
Aside from this, he also addressed some misconceptions about the field, such as the male-to-female interactions in the workplace and the expected salary for freshly graduated programmers.
For Hanielle Chua of 11-E, what she found memorable was Mr. Rodriguez’s remark on the misconception about programming being heavy on mathematics: “Though mathematics will definitely be tackled in computer science, [Mr. Rodriquez] said that it will often be basic mathematics.”
Overall, the students found the three talks insightful and engaging, further encouraging them to pursue technological careers in their chosen fields.
Similar to Agriculture students, Chemistry 3 students from Batch 2023 also had an exclusive event. They participated in the “Ultimate s-Chem-venger Hunt,” spearheaded by Ma’am Xandra Razonabe, together with other Chemistry 3 teachers.
The topics involved ranged from the practical uses of chemistry to the contributors of the field. Aiming to present these chemistry facts and trivia to students in a more engaging way, the whole activity was done in a scavenger hunt format.
The scavenger hunt utilized a KHub class as its platform. Inside the class were five stations, with each station containing a link to a one-item quiz. Students were tasked to scour and scavenge the internet, as well as additional resources and references, to find the answers.
For the first two stations, incorrect responses still allowed a participant to move on to the next question. Afterward, the only way to advance to the next stations was to submit the right answer. Completing all five stations led to the ultimate question before finally completing the hunt.
Aaron Gavino of 11-B found the scavenger hunt an enjoyable experience despite encountering tricky questions. “I think the difficulty of the activity is fair. It is also different from usual chemistry competitions. Lastly, it is very informative and enjoyable,” he added.
Survival of the Fittest
Batches 2023 and 2022, along with Batches 2025 and 2024, concluded their day with the Biology Quiz Bee entitled “Survival of the Fittest.” Ma’am Rian Bernal from the Biology Unit was the main facilitator of the Zoom-held event while Harvi Gonzales and Aidan Embornal, both from Batch 2022, were the hosts.
Eight teams of four members were formed prior to the event, each comprised of one section representative from Batches 2025 to 2022. The teams answered 15 questions covering Biology 1 to Biology 4 topics and current events related to biology via Quizizz.
Unlike other quiz bees, the Biology Quiz Bee was also open to the audience. Audience members were given a Quizizz link where they simultaneously answered a different set of questions. This was given as an opportunity for them to earn bonus points in their respective Biology subjects.
During the event, the hosts interviewed members of different teams in between questions. The interviewed contestants, such as Team F’s Oliver Cortez of Batch 2023 and Team H’s Luc Lozada of Batch 2024, shared their individual and team experiences as the quiz bee occurred.
Aside from the mini interviews, a few questions were also contested by some of the teams. The raised concerns were clarified by the present Biology teachers, serving as eye-openers not only to the contestants but also to the audience.
To officially end the event, the winners of both quiz bees were announced. For the Team Quiz Bee, the first placers were Niven Guevarra, Sean Galanza, Filbert Ubanos, and Kiersten Calubaquib of Team B. Meanwhile, Dante Chi-Young Jr., Mia Ang, Juliana Gayapa, and Isabela Lomibao of Team D were the second placers; and Elijah Liang, Kathleen Penullar, Ronn Cabizares, and Sarah Aquino were the third placers.
For the Audience Quiz Bee, the winners were Aizel Magcalas of 10-Charm as first place, Alexis Cruz of 12-B as second place, and Ron Carambas of 9-Beryllium as third place.
“The whole event was exhilarating to watch,” said Magcalas. For her, the hosts made the experience interactive for the audience.
Meanwhile, Galanza of 10-Graviton shared, “It’s been a great honor for me and my teammates to participate in the quiz bee as we integrate humanity and science in achieving our goal.”
Remarks and insights
The third day of the YMSAT festival was filled with events that provided the students with different ways to learn science and apply it to their daily lives. Overall, it proved a great experience for students, teachers, and guests alike.
“A good deal of the talks had fun topics, so it was more enjoyable than I initially thought it would be,” said Sareena Evidente of 10-Electron.
Evidente’s classmate, Karl Bueser, also shared his thoughts: “Even though it was tiring, it was still a great and fun learning experience! I hope that I’ll be given a chance to experience these activities again but in a face-to-face set-up.”
