Higher Chemistry...?

Hi,

I am considering my options for sixth year, but so far I have only decided upon two out of 4.

For Standard Grade in 4th year I got a '1' but decided not to take it this year, because it would require a heck of a lot of work and dedication resulting in my other subjects taking a 'back seat' if you like.

I have been wondering whether I should take it this year so that I have a science subject at Higher Level.

But, what does the Higher Course involve, did you enjoy it, are you glad you did it, is it good for courses at University.

I am posting this thread because I am a little scare to choose this subject because many of my mates said the course was really hard and so too was the exam.

Thanks again.

Reply 1

Armaros

6

The three units are:
Energy Matters, expanding on your knowledge of chemical bonding and introducing new concepts (like electronegativity and ionisation energy) and explaining the patterns they take within the periodic table.

Word of Carbon, introducing you to a whole raft of new classifications of carbon compound (ketones, aldehydes, carboxylic acids, esters etc.), explaining their uses and how they're made n all that. Also deals with polymerisation. You'll be the carbon king by the time you come out of it.

The curiously-named Chemical Reactions, which introduces the concept of equilibrium (to do with reversible reactions as you might remember), expands on your knowledge of acids and bases, visits and expands upon redox reactions and covers nuclear chemistry.

I'm very glad that I did it; I genuinely enjoy having the knowledge it's given me. Chemistry's always been ma fave subject so it wasn't bad for me but I can see the course being painful if you don't really like it.

It's very good for university; subjects like Medicine and friends usually say "Chemistry necessary" rather than "Biology".

Reply 2

TheRabbit

17

Original post by Brad22

Hi,

I am considering my options for sixth year, but so far I have only decided upon two out of 4.

For Standard Grade in 4th year I got a '1' but decided not to take it this year, because it would require a heck of a lot of work and dedication resulting in my other subjects taking a 'back seat' if you like.

I have been wondering whether I should take it this year so that I have a science subject at Higher Level.

But, what does the Higher Course involve, did you enjoy it, are you glad you did it, is it good for courses at University.

I am posting this thread because I am a little scare to choose this subject because many of my mates said the course was really hard and so too was the exam.

Thanks again.

I really enjoyed Chemistry, but it seems to be one of those subjects you either find straight forward or absolutely solid. There is a reasonable amount of maths in Higher, but its a case of if you get it calculations are easy, but if you don't you'll hate them (though most people eventually understand the logic).

Reply 3

why-hello-there

Original post by Brad22

Hi,

I am considering my options for sixth year, but so far I have only decided upon two out of 4.

For Standard Grade in 4th year I got a '1' but decided not to take it this year, because it would require a heck of a lot of work and dedication resulting in my other subjects taking a 'back seat' if you like.

I have been wondering whether I should take it this year so that I have a science subject at Higher Level.

But, what does the Higher Course involve, did you enjoy it, are you glad you did it, is it good for courses at University.

I am posting this thread because I am a little scare to choose this subject because many of my mates said the course was really hard and so too was the exam.

Thanks again.

To be honest, I didn't really feel the 'jump' between standard grade and higher for chemistry, although I know people who did. The course is really enjoyable if you're into the sciences but I know people who are more into the languages who hated it so it just depends on what really floats your boat :tongue:

and yeah, it's a good subject to have under your belt for uni :smile:

Reply 4

Hype en Ecosse

20

Hi Brad, I hate to be pedantic but I noticed you've been making a lot of threads lately. It clutters up the forum a bit so could you please post questions about subject choices in this thread. And questions about appeals in this thread. I guarantee you will still get responses!

Now to answer your questions - I adored the Higher Chemistry course. I would call it my favourite subject, but I enjoyed 4 out of 5 of my courses so much that it's so difficult to pick a favourite!

The Higher course is made up of three units; there are 3 PPAs per unit and these address a wide variety of chemical principles.

Refer to Armaros's post for what each unit is made up of. You can also find more information here.

Higher Chemistry puts far more emphasis on calculations than Standard Grade and Int 2 did - but these are just process-based parts of the exam and are fairly simple to learn, just requiring work.

I'm glad I studied Higher Chemistry and would have studied it even if it wasn't a requirement for my course. The Higher Chemistry exam this year was fair - there were some difficult questions but every single question was doable if you knew the course content and the problem solving involved was fairly straight-forward.

In terms of workload it depends for each person. I found Chemistry to be easy enough course as it all really clicked for me - I found the likes of English and Maths much more challenging.

(edited 12 years ago)

Higher Chemistry...?

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