Chem or ancient?! (1 Viewer)

[Miss-Indecisive]

Hi guys, I'm a year 11 student who's tossing up between keeping chemistry or swapping it and doing ancient history instead? Although Chem scales well etc etc, I'm struggling in it and don't find it very interesting. I think I could do well in both, but much better in ancient.

Would this be a bad decision, or even a risk? Should I just stick with chem?

Any advice from previous chem/ancient students will be appreciated

 

[Dan895]

I'd say do what YOU want to because chem probably will not get any easier/interesing if you don't like it allready. Going great in acient will always trump going mediocre in chem.

 

[LoveHateSchool]

Hi guys, I'm a year 11 student who's tossing up between keeping chemistry or swapping it and doing ancient history instead? Although Chem scales well etc etc, I'm struggling in it and don't find it very interesting. I think I could do well in both, but much better in ancient.

Would this be a bad decision, or even a risk? Should I just stick with chem?

Any advice from previous chem/ancient students will be appreciated

If what you're telling me is correct, that you're going to do better in ancient(and better in the sense that it's enough to outdo any scaling in chem), then do it over chem. Many people end up in chem because of the scaling, and it doesn't materialize because they are stronger in their other subs. Also, if ancient is more in your natural skillset, you may find it less stressful/effort to get in the upper mark echleons. I personally found Modern that it ended up being one of my best even without spending as much time in it as some of my lower units. Doing subjects you like/have ability in can make your HSC less stressful.

Also if I recall correctly, you're in the place, with picking up MX2 and dropping a 2unit and still having EE1 up your sleeve to start with-whatever subject you do in this slot in yr 11, you could potentially drop if it doesn't pan out.

Pros and cons, be rational and make the best decision for you. Goes without saying chem and ancient are super different subs, and which decision is the right choice depends on the individual.

 

[sinawi]

Ancient.

You'll love it, you find it interesting, and that alone will outweigh the lack of interest and more difficult performance you have in your future chem HSC.

Go for it I say. You're still in year 11 so you have plenty of time to decide on what's right for you generally, while getting into the groove of things.

 

[wannabesurgeon]

Chem does get a lot harder BUT if you can keep on top and understand most things in year 11 you'll find that when you get in Yr 12 its more enjoyable!

However, if you don't like science and not enjoying chem its not a bad idea to swap to ancient. In saying that, my experience with Ancient was not a very good one.. Ancient in my opinion is hell boring especially if you don't care about ancient times and civilizations (It's nothing I thought it'd be). As soon as I could drop to 10 units I had no hesitation in immediately terminating it xD .

In my opinion wait and see how you go in your first assessments as you can do this since Ancient doesn't require you to know anything in Yr 11 whereas Chemistry does (Especially at the beginning when you get into balancing equations).

Hope this helps!

 

[Miss-Indecisive]

Chem does get a lot harder BUT if you can keep on top and understand most things in year 11 you'll find that when you get in Yr 12 its more enjoyable!

However, if you don't like science and not enjoying chem its not a bad idea to swap to ancient. In saying that, my experience with Ancient was not a very good one.. Ancient in my opinion is hell boring especially if you don't care about ancient times and civilizations (It's nothing I thought it'd be). As soon as I could drop to 10 units I had no hesitation in immediately terminating it xD .

In my opinion wait and see how you go in your first assessments as you can do this since Ancient doesn't require you to know anything in Yr 11 whereas Chemistry does (Especially at the beginning when you get into balancing equations).

Hope this helps!

Mmmm.... thanks for that So... do you reckon that in terms of workload and difficulty, it is harder to get a Band 6 in chem? Do you have to be a science whiz or naturally talented in Chem to be able to excel in it? Do you necessarily have to LOVE it to get a band 5/6? Also... I'm worried about time management because my society and culture P.I.P will take up a huge portion of time.

 

[wannabesurgeon]

Mmmm.... thanks for that So... do you reckon that in terms of workload and difficulty, it is harder to get a Band 6 in chem? Do you have to be a science whiz or naturally talented in Chem to be able to excel in it? Do you necessarily have to LOVE it to get a band 5/6? Also... I'm worried about time management because my society and culture P.I.P will take up a huge portion of time.

Well as in everything, to do good you need to put in the effort. I would think you'd actually need to put way more effort in to doing ancient then Chem but that's just me! In Year 11 I was never at the top of any assessment because at the Top there was those people who do tutoring or are great at science but I learn't from the 1st assessment of Yr 12 that it is possible to beat the 'wizzes' and go good as long as you put in the study and so ended up coming 2nd with a mark of 30/32 which I was prity stoked with .

I'm no genius let's put it that way but I am really enjoying chemistry at the moment because I understand the work due to the homework my teacher gives out, notes and the mark that I got for the 1st assessment making me more enthusastic.

All that's said chemistry is great and if you can put in the work and keep up with notes you'll end up getting your Band 5/6.

 

[SunnyScience]

Ancient.

I did both chem and Ancient. Though I was good at Chem (topping it in prelim...), it took up 60% of all my HSC study. Ancient took barely any effort at all, yet it was still one of my highest marks.

 

[studyhappy]

ancient! as long as you are good at rote learning, top marks will be easy to attain. also chem does get alot harder so if you're struggle maybe it is better off to drop it.

 

[fishrushed]

I'm not sure on things about ancient, but for chem, it can get very time consuming and hard in the HSC especially with the more difficult concepts. Along with concepts, calculations can get quite hard too. Chem to me feels quite abstract and you sometimes have to imagine out a lot of things. However, the thing I do like about chem is the fact that I don't have to write as much as compared to some other subjects
In your case, I reckon its best to follow what you enjoy doing, which sounds like its leaning towards ancient for you.

 

[Miss-Indecisive]

I'm not sure on things about ancient, but for chem, it can get very time consuming and hard in the HSC especially with the more difficult concepts. Along with concepts, calculations can get quite hard too. Chem to me feels quite abstract and you sometimes have to imagine out a lot of things. However, the thing I do like about chem is the fact that I don't have to write as much as compared to some other subjects
In your case, I reckon its best to follow what you enjoy doing, which sounds like its leaning towards ancient for you.

So you can't just really learn all the dot points and study hard to get that Band 6? Or is it something you can't quite prepare for?
So you believe it is super time consuming? Do you think I'd be able to cope with 2 unit maths, advanced english, bio and society and culture's P.I.P along with chem? Do I have to really LOVE it and be intelligent at calculations to ace it??

 

[fishrushed]

So you can't just really learn all the dot points and study hard to get that Band 6? Or is it something you can't quite prepare for?
So you believe it is super time consuming? Do you think I'd be able to cope with 2 unit maths, advanced english, bio and society and culture's P.I.P along with chem? Do I have to really LOVE it and be intelligent at calculations to ace it??

If you study hard and learn the dotpoints, understand it and know how to apply it in questions, then a band 6 won't be too hard I think. Concepts for me didn't take too long for me to get and understand, but the hardest part was actually applying them especially for calculations. However, it differs from people to people. Some people I know got concepts right as we learnt it, some still struggled with concepts even after a term.
I reckon as long as you manage your time well, you'll be able to handle it quite easily. and by managing time well, you don't have to be studying a lot everyday, but rather, a little revision everyday will suffice.
although it helps, you don't have to be intelligent or love calculations to ace it. Constant practice with calculations is what's needed.

 

[Wonder]

Sounds to me like you should do Ancient - you say you think you'll do better in it than Chem, you obviously don't find Chem that interesting and if you do like Ancient better, that will actually make a big difference in the long run because you'll probably put more effort and into it and extra work than you would in Chem, and that will show in your marks. And since the first Chemistry topic should be re-covering the basics from Years 7-10, if you're struggling already you'd probably be better off dropping it.

Is it possible within your school's timetable to pick up Ancient while keeping Chem, for a while? I found that I was not particularly interested in Physics so I picked up Economics, keeping Phys so I could get a better perspective on the subject.

 

[funstudy]

Similarly, I never had a passion for Chemistry in Year11- I just found it incredibly boring. Follow what you want to do, it'll lead you to the right choice.

 

[louielouiee]

Speaking from experience here: I did both Ancient History & Chemistry.

Trust me, do Ancient.

Much more interesting learning about how ancient societies functioned as opposed to how sugar cane is converted into ethanol.

That one sentence above has already made Ancient the better choice.

Also, Chemistry took up so much time with regards to study. Ancient is simple in that it's just rote learning- not much need for the logical thinking & application chemistry requires. It more or less depends on creating a coherent & holistic response appropriate to the question being asked to succeed in Ancient.

 

[Lieutenant_21]

The answer to this is very simple.
If you want to do anything scientific at university then you should do chemistry. It is the best and most well structured science course in the HSC IMO. HSC Chemistry is assumed knowledge for many science-related courses at university.
If you do not want to do science at university then do ancient. Don't get mad at me but I find history very useless.

 

[Miss-Indecisive]

Thank you everyone so much for the feedback! Although I'm fearing chem now,I think this is mainly because the first topic is horrible -separating mixtures?! Hopefully that won't be tested in the HSC course?? But looking through my chem book, I've found that it does get much more interesting. I would rather spend a chunk of time studying for Chem than for Ancient, as Chem is relevant in life and is assumed knowledge in most science/medical based careers I'm interested in. Ancient, although I like it, is not relevant for the courses I want to take in uni..
William, I agree that Ancient is quite useless, and I guess it CAN be learnt any time in life after I finish the HSC. :L Although Ancient is pretty interesting, I think I'll go with Chem! Being a hard worker, I'm sure I'll be able to survive

 

[Lieutenant_21]

Thank you everyone so much for the feedback! Although I'm fearing chem now,I think this is mainly because the first topic is horrible -separating mixtures?! Hopefully that won't be tested in the HSC course?? But looking through my chem book, I've found that it does get much more interesting. I would rather spend a chunk of time studying for Chem than for Ancient, as Chem is relevant in life and is assumed knowledge in most science/medical based careers I'm interested in. Ancient, although I like it, is not relevant for the courses I want to take in uni..
William, I agree that Ancient is quite useless, and I guess it CAN be learnt any time in life after I finish the HSC. :L Although Ancient is pretty interesting, I think I'll go with Chem! Being a hard worker, I'm sure I'll be able to survive

Doesn't get tested!
You made the right decision. Chem gets very interested and it is definitely very useful and applicable in real life.

 

[Miss-Indecisive]

Doesn't get tested!
You made the right decision. Chem gets very interested and it is definitely very useful and applicable in real life.

Hahaha so glad to hear that! What a relief! So nothing from prelim gets tested in ANY subjects? Do we have to go back and revise what we learnt over both years with all subjects?
Are you studying chem atm in school? If so, what's it like in terms of workload? Do we have to do many assignments or investigations? Would you mind giving me a brief of some of the things I'll learn in prelim and the hsc course? Btw, do you have to memorise the experiments you did in class and be able to discuss them in the exam or is that only in bio?

Sorry about the question overload! My curiosity is getting the better of me Thanks for your time!

 

[Lieutenant_21]

Hahaha so glad to hear that! What a relief! So nothing from prelim gets tested in ANY subjects? Do we have to go back and revise what we learnt over both years with all subjects?
Are you studying chem atm in school? If so, what's it like in terms of workload? Do we have to do many assignments or investigations? Would you mind giving me a brief of some of the things I'll learn in prelim and the hsc course? Btw, do you have to memorise the experiments you did in class and be able to discuss them in the exam or is that only in bio?

Sorry about the question overload! My curiosity is getting the better of me Thanks for your time!

None of the preliminary subs get tested in the HSC except maths.
Yes, I do chemistry and I like it very much. I am actually thinking of doing chemistry at uni (only if I get into USYD combined medicine).
The work load is not very high if you know how to learn, i.e. not rote-learn everything but try to understand the concepts etc...
The assessments are mainly theory exams and about two pracs. Pracs do not require any memorisation, just listen in class and answer the questions properly.
I don't remember what we did in prelim tbh because I spent most of the prelim learning HSC but not paying too much attention in the prelim doesn't seem to affect me in the HSC at all.
These notes can help: http://ahmadshahidil.com/
I have seen better notes though but these are free.