Chem or Physics? Help! (1 Viewer)

[Shutterbug97]

Hey I need some help choosing between Chem and Physics for Year 11 next year.
I've selected my subjects, but now in hindsight I'm sort of reconsidering my choice of Chem. I've still got heaps of time to change my choice.
I have: Eng (Advanced), SOR (1U), Maths (Advanced), Eng Ext. 1, Biology, Chem, Visual Art.

I sort of just picked Chemistry without thinking, because I've heard that Physics is really hard. We haven't really covered Physics in Year 10. We have done a bit of Chemistry, and i'm pretty fascinated by atoms and molecules and chemistry in the world around us, but i find observations and chemical equations pretty dry. What's Chem like?? Is Physics more interesting? Is Physics worth the work load??

I'm very academic, and I'm very good at maths (top of my class) but i don't enjoy it that much. I want to get a Bachelor of Science with a major of Zoology.

Thoughts??

 

[Hoskiies]

If you're willing to keep it until year 12, I'll pick Physics if your person who has a abstract mind, and link all the cause and affect together. It's harder than chemistry but if you can do that ill be easier.
Chemistry has a lot of rote learning like more than half of the syllabus is rote learning equations and other shit. Chems more interest for sure, the practs more fun but there's a load of work for both subjects.

 

[TheOptimist]

Since you are speaking from both an academic and personal perspective, I'd say you should go with Chemistry, it is a higher scaling subject and if you enjoy it, all the concepts will be easier to comprehend. It might also help you with university level Chemistry which is quite hard, so I hear, without doing any prerequisite subjects in High School. Hope this helps

 

[probjer]

stop being a pussy and do both instead of visual arts

 

[GoldyOrNugget]

Rant:

I was incredibly disappointed with the physics course. My friends who do chem say the same thing about chemistry. In both subjects, you're required to do an immense amount of memorisation, especially of things like historical scientific developments. A lot of the physics content in the textbook and in past exams is objectively wrong -- neither the textbook writers nor the exam writers seem to understand the actual physics principles at work.

HSC physics isn't hard in the traditional sense. The concepts it deals with, particularly in Ideas to Implementation, are incredibly advanced -- these are concepts which earned physicists Nobel prizes. But the course does not cover them at an advanced level. The result is that you end up with a superficial and deeply flawed knowledge of a large number of concepts. The course is not designed to be understood. It's designed to be rote-learned. Trying to apply logic to the principles in the course will hinder you and cost you marks. For example, in many cases, there will be 2 correct multiple choice answers: a correct one and an "HSC-correct" one.

I went in to physics with the attitude that I took to most subjects (especially maths): if I have a solid understanding of the underlying principles, I should do well. This is not the case with physics. The way to do well in physics, you have to read a list of every syllabus dotpoint and write notes on it. You have to cram your heads with facts that no one fucking cares about, like how Fermi created the first nuclear chain reaction in Chicago in a squash court with 400 tonnes of graphite moderator and cadmium control rods and 60 tonnes of uranium (which was almost all of the US's reserves at the time!)

Feel free to do them. They scale well and probably require less memorisation than a lot of other subjects. But don't think they're gonna be interesting or insightful. That's just not what the HSC is about. The HSC takes everything that has any potential to be good and rips it to shreds and then pieces it back together again into a grotesque puppet of what it once was.

/ goes back to studying physics

 

[Peeik]

stop being a pussy and do both instead of visual arts

LOL....

 

[Capt Rifle]

stop being a pussy and do both instead of visual arts

Yeh, and pick up mx2 ...

 

[madharris]

Do chemistry if you want to major in zoology

 

[Shadowless]

Rant:

I was incredibly disappointed with the physics course. My friends who do chem say the same thing about chemistry. In both subjects, you're required to do an immense amount of memorisation, especially of things like historical scientific developments. A lot of the physics content in the textbook and in past exams is objectively wrong -- neither the textbook writers nor the exam writers seem to understand the actual physics principles at work.

HSC physics isn't hard in the traditional sense. The concepts it deals with, particularly in Ideas to Implementation, are incredibly advanced -- these are concepts which earned physicists Nobel prizes. But the course does not cover them at an advanced level. The result is that you end up with a superficial and deeply flawed knowledge of a large number of concepts. The course is not designed to be understood. It's designed to be rote-learned. Trying to apply logic to the principles in the course will hinder you and cost you marks. For example, in many cases, there will be 2 correct multiple choice answers: a correct one and an "HSC-correct" one.

I went in to physics with the attitude that I took to most subjects (especially maths): if I have a solid understanding of the underlying principles, I should do well. This is not the case with physics. The way to do well in physics, you have to read a list of every syllabus dotpoint and write notes on it. You have to cram your heads with facts that no one fucking cares about, like how Fermi created the first nuclear chain reaction in Chicago in a squash court with 400 tonnes of graphite moderator and cadmium control rods and 60 tonnes of uranium (which was almost all of the US's reserves at the time!)

Feel free to do them. They scale well and probably require less memorisation than a lot of other subjects. But don't think they're gonna be interesting or insightful. That's just not what the HSC is about. The HSC takes everything that has any potential to be good and rips it to shreds and then pieces it back together again into a grotesque puppet of what it once was.

/ goes back to studying physics

Apparently the old physics was WAAY better. Was less 'memorising' and more 'understanding'... like Maths!

 

[Shutterbug97]

Rant:

I was incredibly disappointed with the physics course. My friends who do chem say the same thing about chemistry. In both subjects, you're required to do an immense amount of memorisation, especially of things like historical scientific developments. A lot of the physics content in the textbook and in past exams is objectively wrong -- neither the textbook writers nor the exam writers seem to understand the actual physics principles at work.

HSC physics isn't hard in the traditional sense. The concepts it deals with, particularly in Ideas to Implementation, are incredibly advanced -- these are concepts which earned physicists Nobel prizes. But the course does not cover them at an advanced level. The result is that you end up with a superficial and deeply flawed knowledge of a large number of concepts. The course is not designed to be understood. It's designed to be rote-learned. Trying to apply logic to the principles in the course will hinder you and cost you marks. For example, in many cases, there will be 2 correct multiple choice answers: a correct one and an "HSC-correct" one.

I went in to physics with the attitude that I took to most subjects (especially maths): if I have a solid understanding of the underlying principles, I should do well. This is not the case with physics. The way to do well in physics, you have to read a list of every syllabus dotpoint and write notes on it. You have to cram your heads with facts that no one fucking cares about, like how Fermi created the first nuclear chain reaction in Chicago in a squash court with 400 tonnes of graphite moderator and cadmium control rods and 60 tonnes of uranium (which was almost all of the US's reserves at the time!)

Feel free to do them. They scale well and probably require less memorisation than a lot of other subjects. But don't think they're gonna be interesting or insightful. That's just not what the HSC is about. The HSC takes everything that has any potential to be good and rips it to shreds and then pieces it back together again into a grotesque puppet of what it once was.

/ goes back to studying physics

Haha that was an awesome rant. Physics just pwned

 

[Shutterbug97]

stop being a pussy and do both instead of visual arts

Nah man i get like 95%+ on my Art subjects. It's my best subject. Plus i need something i really like so i don't implode and die. xD

 

[rainbowunicorn]

Nah man i get like 95%+ on my Art subjects. It's my best subject. Plus i need something i really like so i don't implode and die. xD

Just making sure, but you do know VA has loads of essays in year 11/12?

 

[Riproot]

Chemistry is more helpful.

Honestly, as soon as you get to doing some sort of science or something you realise that you don't need to have done bio or physics as long as you've done well in chemistry and then just use that knowledge to do both physics and bio.

(but also you need MX2 for physics)

 

[Riproot]

If you're the top of your class in Maths you should do extension one or two, without AT LEAST extension one you may feel behind everyone at uni mathematically.

 

[Shutterbug97]

Just making sure, but you do know VA has loads of essays in year 11/12?

Yup i've already done a crap load of VA essays in yr 10. I don't mind essays.

 

[Shutterbug97]

If you're the top of your class in Maths you should do extension one or two, without AT LEAST extension one you may feel behind everyone at uni mathematically.

Yeah I'm good at maths and i top my class but i really work my arse off to be there. How challenging is Ext 1??

 

[Shadowless]

Yeah I'm good at maths and i top my class but i really work my arse off to be there. How challenging is Ext 1??

- Gap between Advanced Mathematics and Mathematics Extension 1 is very minor.
- Seeing as you're already at the top of your class, you seem to have potential to do the course and I recommend you do.
- You can always drop it if you find it too challenging.