Chem Vs Phys?

[kenhung123]

Is going through the whole chem course worth it?

Why wouldn't it be?

Maybe too hard and won't understand 3/4 of it?

[NE2000]

Is going through the whole chem course worth it?

I did that, not worth it IMO.

Yeah I disagree. I think maybe chem unit 3 isn't that worth it but unit 4 is. Unit 4 is, largely, an introduction to new concepts. The result is that if you go through unit 4 beforehand then you'll gain an understanding of those concepts. And even if you forget some of the specifics when unit 4 begins you'll basically understand it all anyway.

[Collin Li]

Physics is wayyyy easier than Chem. Chem you actually have to understand the stuff, in Physics all you need is a cheat sheet with all the formulas rearranged in every possible combination+theory and yeah...win.

+1. That's what I did in 2006

[vexx]

i just read through this
even though i'm only in year 11, i reckon bio is harder than chem.
in bio, we have to learn a whole bunch of concepts and then learn how to use them in application questions... whereas chem is very straight forward questions, it's structured, formulas, fairly simple.. i hope it doesn't get too hard next year, chem is easy now but everyone tells me how much harder it gets :|

[NE2000]

i just read through this
even though i'm only in year 11, i reckon bio is harder than chem.
in bio, we have to learn a whole bunch of concepts and then learn how to use them in application questions... whereas chem is very straight forward questions, it's structured, formulas, fairly simple.. i hope it doesn't get too hard next year, chem is easy now but everyone tells me how much harder it gets :|

yeah imo it never gets harder than bio. Chem application questions are sort of predictable in a way. Bio ones can be from anywhere. It's no coincidence that the bio A+ mark is constantly like 14-18 marks below full marks (I think almost every exam in new study design is around this) even for the 'easier' exams. You receive so much new information in the exam...chem is not really like that.

[vexx]

i just read through this
even though i'm only in year 11, i reckon bio is harder than chem.
in bio, we have to learn a whole bunch of concepts and then learn how to use them in application questions... whereas chem is very straight forward questions, it's structured, formulas, fairly simple.. i hope it doesn't get too hard next year, chem is easy now but everyone tells me how much harder it gets :|

ahh, i guess i will try and study for bio lots next year doing heaps of practice questions! i've spoken to people who do 3/4 bio saying how vague the exam was and questions not making sense, ect. eeep not looking forward to these hard exams.><
yeah imo it never gets harder than bio. Chem application questions are sort of predictable in a way. Bio ones can be from anywhere. It's no coincidence that the bio A+ mark is constantly like 14-18 marks below full marks (I think almost every exam in new study design is around this) even for the 'easier' exams. You receive so much new information in the exam...chem is not really like that.

[QuantumJG]

i just read through this
even though i'm only in year 11, i reckon bio is harder than chem.
in bio, we have to learn a whole bunch of concepts and then learn how to use them in application questions... whereas chem is very straight forward questions, it's structured, formulas, fairly simple.. i hope it doesn't get too hard next year, chem is easy now but everyone tells me how much harder it gets :|

yeah imo it never gets harder than bio. Chem application questions are sort of predictable in a way. Bio ones can be from anywhere. It's no coincidence that the bio A+ mark is constantly like 14-18 marks below full marks (I think almost every exam in new study design is around this) even for the 'easier' exams. You receive so much new information in the exam...chem is not really like that.

I don't agree! Chem is the hardest hands down. It depends on how you learn, I personally don't pure rote learning, which is really how you succeed in VCE biology. So you can excel depending on your memory, conceptually though it isn't too hard. Personally though I love maths and it is much more cooler than biology and chemistry!

[kenhung123]

Biology is rote learning? You are joking.

[ninwa]

For me most of it was rote learning - lots of memorising (boring!)

[NE2000]

i just read through this
even though i'm only in year 11, i reckon bio is harder than chem.
in bio, we have to learn a whole bunch of concepts and then learn how to use them in application questions... whereas chem is very straight forward questions, it's structured, formulas, fairly simple.. i hope it doesn't get too hard next year, chem is easy now but everyone tells me how much harder it gets :|

yeah imo it never gets harder than bio. Chem application questions are sort of predictable in a way. Bio ones can be from anywhere. It's no coincidence that the bio A+ mark is constantly like 14-18 marks below full marks (I think almost every exam in new study design is around this) even for the 'easier' exams. You receive so much new information in the exam...chem is not really like that.

I don't agree! Chem is the hardest hands down. It depends on how you learn, I personally don't pure rote learning, which is really how you succeed in VCE biology. So you can excel depending on your memory, conceptually though it isn't too hard. Personally though I love maths and it is much more cooler than biology and chemistry!

Did you do bio in VCE :S

I dunno. I didn't personally think it was all rote learning. There was a bit in there, and in the weeks leading up to the exam I had a list that I made of things that I should just memorize (mainly examples to draw upon when answering concept-based questions and the odd concept; also I never got my head around some of the plant stuff with gibberelins so I just memorized that) but then the bits about chemical structures, photosynthesis, nervous system, disease and later on the stuff about genetics I didn't necessarily rote learn. Evolution was a bit of rote learning again.

Anyway, the point I'm getting at is that bio wasn't more difficult than chem or physics because it involved rote learning, but because of firstly how much content there was per unit. There is so much stuff that goes untested in the bio exam because there is so much stuff to learn. And if you want to do well then you'll have to get your head around everything. And that takes time. On the other hand with physics unit 3 barely introduces many new concepts and unit 4 is all new but fairly introductory so you quickly understand the unit. Secondly bio was harder because of the uncertainty in the exam which I mentioned earlier.

I have no clue about which one's harder as a general science and at uni. But in VCE that's my view. As for cooler, I don't really know, I like them all but physics is probably coolest in general (but that's just purely opinion)

[c23]

i think chem is only a good choice if you find it atleast enjoyable in year 11
as i've witnessed alot of people hating chem in year 12 as they did fairly average in year 11

chemistry unit 4 is fairly enjoyable and alot of stuff you learn is easily understood and often quite enjoyable

[minilunchbox]

Even though I've been doing better in Physics than Chem, I'm (hopefully) dropping Physics if I get into UMEP because Physics is really boring to me. I'm just not interested in the topics we do and I like Chem better even when I fail at most of the pracs.

[hihi001]

What the fuck? you're getting angry because you cant be bothered learning new concepts. So what if light is a wave and particle, thats what makes physics so interesting. Pull your fucking head in.
[/quote]

Bother learning new concepts? I do biology and I'm Christian and I happily learnt about evolution even though stereotypes say all christians hate evolution. Don't fucking tell what I should like, I hate physics but love chemistry, fucking deal with it or go jump into a whole do yourself you prick.

[minilunchbox]

Woah, now. No need to get feisty.

However, I did lol at 'go jump into a whole'.

[hihi001]

lol, thank you. next tme i will keep it G rated