Hi there,
I have been looking into different VCE Subjects that I want to do and I want to know about Physics. I have a few questions that I hope some past students can help me with?
1: Is the Content Very Heavy?
2: When did the people with really high raw scores (45 - 50 raw) start?
3: Any Suggestions on Starting?
4: Is the Content too much? (I intend on doing Bio, Chem, Physics, Methods, Spesh, Eng Lang) I have seen others pull this off to a crazy level and I was wondering what others thought of this?
5: Is it Enjoyable?
6: Does it tie into any other subjects really well?
Anyway, that's all I have for now, I would really appreciate an answer from as many past students/tutors as possible so please feel free to reply!
Hi Shanan,
First of all, its great that you are keen on investigating further into your VCE subjects instead of just blinding picking them, which many of us past VCE students are guilty of 😅.
1. Having done all three of the core sciences, I would say Physics is in fact the least content heavy simply because of how interconnected everything is. Whilst Biology is almost entirely theory based, Physics doesn't have too many (completely) distinct topics, with the prime example being motion and energy which are relevant in almost all areas of the subject. So if memory is your main concern then you should be more worried about Bio not Physics haha
2. I assume you're referring to going ahead of the course. I actually didn't do Physics 1/2 so I actually had to go BACK into the previous course lol, but I would say I remained about 2 chapters ahead of my teacher for most of the year. I found that if I went more ahead than this then I had just half-assed the topics for the sake of completion, which is ultimately pointless. However, I believe for an averagely talented student, going ahead is definitely a must if you want to ensure a 45+ SS since it ensures you have enough time to grasp concepts and are able to ask some good questions to your teacher when they finally reach that topic.
3. Since you are doing Physics 1/2, I reckon you should maybe look over some motion concepts during your free time (just light reading is enough) since that's the topic MOST relevant to 3/4 Physics and something students struggle to fully grasp by year 12. P.s. thermodynamics is COMPLETELY irrelevant for year 12, though still interesting
4. Ngl your subjects do seem quite intense if you aren't doing any advanced placement, however the one good news is that Methods, Spesh and Physics are all linked somehow, with Methods leading onto Spesh and certain Spesh concepts being helpful for Physics (i.e mechanics and vectors). So, if you're interested in STEM I can't see why your subject combo is not doable.
5. Of course! I personally found Physics MUCH MUCH more interesting than Chemistry since I found it more conceptually rewarding to fully understand. However, I won't sugar coat it, there are some dry areas, such as motion, that simply require you to practice in order to excel and aren't that theory focused on their own. Saying this, you have to go through some hard times to unlock the mysteries of the universe
6. Yep, like I said earlier, Physics and Spesh do have some similarities. Even some parts of Chem are related but they are fundamentally different subjects. For Physics and Spesh, I would say that Physics helps more with Spesh than the other way around since Spesh is just more maths focused rather than containing any hardcore Physics.