Sciences at A-Level, how big the step/how hard are they honestly?

"biology might be a B because I didn't do a lot of work for it" I got A*'s for all my sciences, and did no work what so ever, I then proceeded to fail them at A level, that's how hard it is, chemistry being the hardest, biology considered the easiest of the sciences... if you have motivation to work and do a lot of it, then yes you can succeed...

I would disagree, that it depends on why you like sciences, since biology is extremely wordy and chemistry is extremely mathsy - personally i prefer chemistry wholeheartedly, but i find biology interesting. i made a mistake taking it for AS, and would've preferred to take further maths at the correct time, instead of having to catch up now and self-teach it. :/

But anyhow, you can still do either, just hit the ground running in September, because Jan exams aren't far away!

I had my first induction it AS Chemistry today and we were doing moles and that kind of calculations. I found it quite difficult, being a B grade Maths student and was wondering if this is one of the hardest aspects of the course - the maths side? I guess it does depend on the person though. It just seemed like everyone was able to do it and had done triple science where i've done double and it was disheartening to say the least and made me think about dropping it -already i know. Thing is, i love chemistry but i just don't know if i'm clever enough and i don't want to fail my A -Levels.

In AS Chemistry the maths is limited mainly to moles calculations for solids, liquids and gases, followed by enthalpy calculations. From double you should hopefully be able to do moles calculations for solids, anything extra should be taught as part of the AS course (and most places spend some time on the basics as well).

A2 Chemistry has considerably harder math content, rate and equilibria calculations, using more complex equations and higher level maths concepts.

The maths in Chemistry isn't generally considered to be the hardest part, however it is something students can struggle with. AS and A2 Chemistry ARE more conceptual than mathematical, and it's usually grasping the concepts that students find the hardest bit.

The best advice I can give you is to practice what you already should know from GCSE, as that will be the starting point for A-level. Getting your head around GCSE moles calculations should be a must. If you know you are weak on something, don't leave it until the course has started to start trying to work on it!

i think the step up seems much bigger for people who aren't accustomed to the right study habits. you'll understand the work if you pick your choices wisely and the sciences (chem and bio, not sure on physics) are not that hard. seems hard if you leave revision to 1 month or two before the exam.

I'm doing a Masters research project into the transition between GCSE and the A-level sciences.

Without overloading you too much with stats, over 90% found the A-level sciences significantly harder than GCSE.

Other research has been done by Durham on the relative difficulty of different GCSEs and A-levels:
http://www.score-education.org/media/3194/relativedifficulty.pdf
"At A-level, the STEM subjects are not just more difficult on average than the non-sciences, they are without exception amongst the hardest of all A-levels"

I see A* GCSE students getting Ds at AS if they don't work hard. The highest i've seen a B GCSE students get is a C.

Don't do it if:
a) you can't be bothered to put the work in
b) you're not particularly interested in the subject

Though tbh, this applies for ANY A-level!

Agreed. I know as I have been in this position - I got a strong A (4 marks off an A*) in Biology GCSE and then got a D at AS last year. It wasn't so much the 'lack of work' but the fact that I didn't revise effectively - I tried to use a GCSE revision technique which didn't work. I'm pleased to announce this year I have turned things around and I am looking hopeful to get an A or B at full A2 level in Biology in August.

Agreed. I know as I have been in this position - I got a strong A (4 marks off an A*) in Biology GCSE and then got a D at AS last year. It wasn't so much the 'lack of work' but the fact that I didn't revise effectively - I tried to use a GCSE revision technique which didn't work. I'm pleased to announce this year I have turned things around and I am looking hopeful to get an A or B at full A2 level in Biology in August.

I know this has come up before, but whatever :')
Also i posted this in the wrong place at first so if you see it somewhere else that's why :-)

Hey, so i'm in year 11 and i'm going to 6th form next year.

Currently my options are Chemistry, Biology, English lit & lang and Geography.

I'm hoping for an A* in chemistry and hopefully an A in Biology, but tbh it could be a B i didn't do a hell of a lot of biology revision tbh. My physics is probably a B but i got an A* in the ISA.
Honestly how hard are science? I love chemistry and want to go into medical/geographic/scientific field so i know i need 2 sciences. I do like biology and i find it interesting but i also find it hard, but i guess it's just a case of putting the work in.
Sciences are known as being hard as i've heard, and i want to know how big the step up from GCSE is and what is the reality of getting good grades? I want to do well in my subjects because otherwise they could risk my future so yeah :-)

I'm prepared to put as much work in as needed, bearing in mind i do have a summer job that could turn long term though :-)

well miss 'skye'
the truth is, its all about the person,
i.e i would fail english beacause i hate it

my experience is like this (much like some others im going to geuss)
GCSE - pretty much walked my tests, a in maths, b - bio, b chem, a phyics, b english lit
before i went to a level though my sis told me i had to work hard, i took that in a jokey way beacause i have never had to work mentaly hard, and when i had done my first as level in class test in bio (getting a bad grade, god job it hit me early! ) i realised i had to work hard
so i had to make a plan, i had 2 months revision,
every time i was in class, i would make really short notes (mabye this was not such a good idea for biology), then in my free time, i would coppy up them notes neat, then copy them notes up neat in coulor getting shorter and shorter each time (effectivly whritting it out 3 times)... and in maths, i just did every past paper qeustion possible as the tests are a little diffrent. for me, this is the key to learn anything, just keep copying it out, try it although everybody learns diffrent youve got to try lots of things to find the best thing for you, someone in my class could just read the book and memorise word for word :/ some people cant and have to work at least 2-3 hours a day ( this was me )
biology was extremely boring to me, so much to learn , i didnt care about most of it and ended up getting a c in my first test just beacause i ound it hard to learn beacause of my dissinterest and my mind would wonder quickly, witch i was ok with, got a b in maths and a in chemistry.

my second year i did the same plan, worked extremly well in my jan exams as a i perfected it down to an art ( i learnt that if i was pissed off about something i could learn so much in so much detial ) getting an a in chem, b - biology, 1 of a in maths ( witch was great )
on my last exams, for a month before hand ( keeping up that work ethic is hard, try extending the time you work gradually, like 5 mins extra per day or something for 1.5 months before you offically start revising, instead og going from 3 hours to 6 in a day, beacause that is so much stress )
i would come into school an hour early at the end and leave 2 hours after, regardless of whenever anybody else was leaving, i would then go home, have an hour to chill and have tea, do 2 hours, have another hour then bed, for a month
in my last hour i found it good to exersise ( and gained quite some muscle definition actually ) doing pressups, sit ups (dragon flags for you going sit ups are easy -.- )
and i hope its worked out for me

so, it all depends on, how hard you work, and how consitent you work

my advice is ( and im sure i will get negged so bad for this ) dont make class mates, the second you start talking, youll start talking more and more over days, and eventuall have piontless convos about nothing relitive to the work ( i think thats why i did bad in biology aswell, i had a class friend) make a friend who is doing something irelivent to your subject, e.g art, drama, english (from my science piont of veiw ) ect.. that way your not distracted in your free's

sorry for my novel aproach i just watched a good film and now i feel a bit like a whritter + i wanted to pass on everything i knew to somebody... but only know of 1 person who is doing the sciences

apparently there are no resists next year, so work your ass off, from day one, no joke, you turn up 5 mins before class, with everything ready,

tip: always carry plastic walets and put your work in them straight away , and use a marker pen to right on the walet what unit it was, then asap put it in your folder, make sure its organised, then re wright it / learn it ( my way of learning it)

good luck and enjoy it!, a levels provide you with anough knowlage to do some further reasearch ( as i did in chemistry with catalyst, i swear, i know more about catalyst than my teacher now :P )

thanks for reading my novel, by 'chill543'

Im doing sciences, maths and critical thinking

How much would you suggest revising out of school for each subject?

I workout 5hrs a week...this might be a problem.

15 hours a week for 3 subject not hard,
say you have 1 free per day
do 1 hour of somthing in that hour ( i usaully try do 2 hours per subject at once and fit it around )

then just do to hours after school / evening time and boom, ya done <-- that 3 hours a day, 3x5 =15... if u cant do fridays do it on sunday

sleep is also very important, i aim for 10 hours and it really helps me brain, i used to have acne but when i started sleeping ten hours a day it cleared right up, no joke

do 5 hours per week per subject thats what we was always told

i managed to fit it around i worked out about 5 hours a week easly and i was fine, ( though i expect you go to the gym? ) it may be decent to go to the gym on weekends and on a wednesday to break your week up ( excuse me if that didnt make much sence i only just got in from a night out and im buzzing of red bull lol )

5 subjects lol