[The Polymath]

(Original post by Lucy96)
Is it really extremely difficult? Obviously I know it won't be easy, but I'm worried I won't be able to cope and will end up failing miserably!

Almost everyone in my year says Chemistry is the easiest of the three sciences and maths, if that helps. Most of the AS work they do doesn't seem to be as much of a jump from GCSE as with other subjects like languages.

[NutterFrutter]

(Original post by Student296)
Exam boards are a major factor when deciding to take Chemistry.

I disagree, all the chemistry courses (except for maybe Salters) are of a similar difficulty and content.

[Lucy96]

(Original post by Junaid96)
Almost everyone in my year says Chemistry is the easiest of the three sciences and maths, if that helps. Most of the AS work they do doesn't seem to be as much of a jump from GCSE as with other subjects like languages.

Ah that is very helpful, thank you very much

[Jesss9]

Well I hate it, it's easily the most difficult of all my subjects but then again it's probably because I'm the kind of person who memorises the syllabus a couple of weeks before the exam whereas for chemistry you can't do that. Even if you had the text book with you in the exam you wouldn't do well unless you had a good understanding of it all!!

[NutterFrutter]

(Original post by Jesss9)
Well I hate it, it's easily the most difficult of all my subjects but then again it's probably because I'm the kind of person who memorises the syllabus a couple of weeks before the exam whereas for chemistry you can't do that. Even if you had the text book with you in the exam you wouldn't do well unless you had a good understanding of it all!!

You find chemistry difficult because you haven't understood the basic concepts (GCSE and AS concepts).

[vedderfan94]

Depends on you. I reckon A-level physics is harder. Although it depends on the exam board you'll be doing, but I do AQA chemistry and I find that the mark schemes repeat for a lot of questions.

[Ursin]

It will be difficult to begin with probably, it's quite a jump from GCSE. But if you stay on top of it and review work regularly, there's no reason why you can't do well at it. It's also a lot more interesting than GCSE, I didn't even enjoy it that much in year 11 but year 12 was a different story!

[InBloom]

If it makes you feel better, I didn't particularly like it at GCSE but I now really like it. It can be a bit tricky at times but so long as you make sure you understand the work as you go along, you'll be fine. Also a lot of the questions are similar to previous exam questions so past papers are very useful.
I wouldn't say biology is harder than chemistry personally because chemistry can sometimes be a bit harder to understand at times but there's a lot more of biology and I find that biology relies more on your ability to memorise stuff.
That's just my experience of it (: x

[AspiringGenius]

I actually find it relatively easy compared to my other subjects. I didn't do so well in my last exam, I haven't got the results but I was sick in the middle, so I know I can't have done better than E/U. Other than that, what's difficult about chemistry is getting a firm grasp of the concepts. The volume of information doesn't get high until unit 2 (I did AQA).

Don't worry, chemistry is a hard subject, but only if you don't work hard.

[Deziah]

I feel the exact same. I'm taking it in September and it's seriously off putting when people go on about how hard it is - they make it sound impossible! I'm taking chemistry because I am genuinely interested in it and it was my favourite science at GCSE. But after looking through this thread it seems like people have split opinions. My cousin is a scientist, and she studied both physics and chemistry at university, and she said that she found physics a lot harder, so perhaps everyone has a weaker science. And maybe a lot of people took it because they needed it for medicine, or other related courses? I don't know, just trying to make myself feel better haha. ;D

[brittanna]

Although there is quite a lot to memorise, they can word it differently or apply it to different situations so the main thing is to make sure you properly understand it. So you need to be prepared to give up quite a lot of time going through it and making sure you understand it. But the actual exams themselves aren't particularly difficult - there are also a lot of definitions to learn (on AQA anyway). *rant starting* Also, if you are doing AQA chemistry, make sure you can do practicals, otherwise you will lose 4 f***ing marks on your chemistry ISA for not getting very accurate titration results *rant over*. But what I think quite a lot of people find difficult is how difficult a jump it is from GCSE compared to the difficulty of the content itself

[brittanna]

Also, if you look at the exam papers you might find that there are one or two questions you can already do (e.g. proton/ electron/ neutron mass and charge questions, and also possibly some of the calculations depending no your course).

[Arusa01]

Every A-level is hard. Chemistry is just one of them, majority of students take and then complain later. You'll be fine, work hard!

[Annie2129]

My favourite A level. It was loved and it will be dearly missed. However A LOT of people found it very hard and scored badly. If you find it easy at GCSE you should cope with it at A level. Make sure you listen and not sleep during the lessons because emphasis is on undertsanding rathern that learning.

[GeekyNick]

I've only done AS Chemistry so far but I love it! Some of the concepts can take a while to get your head around but it is very logical and you can work a lot of things out using basic understanding.

I'm another person who finds it easier than Biology. Although the Biology content is simpler and perhaps less challenging I actually find the way you have to apply it in the exam harder !

If you enjoyed Chemistry at GCSE I'd have thought you'd also enjoy A level.

[natninja]

(Original post by Lucy96)
Is it really extremely difficult? Obviously I know it won't be easy, but I'm worried I won't be able to cope and will end up failing miserably!

Make sure you do lots of questions and really learn the stuff as it's taught as there is quite a large volume that as well as know back to front you have to be able to apply it to completely unfamiliar molecules/situations in your exam, at least for edexcel anyway.

[Dan12]

(Original post by Deziah)
I feel the exact same. I'm taking it in September and it's seriously off putting when people go on about how hard it is - they make it sound impossible! I'm taking chemistry because I am genuinely interested in it and it was my favourite science at GCSE. But after looking through this thread it seems like people have split opinions. My cousin is a scientist, and she studied both physics and chemistry at university, and she said that she found physics a lot harder, so perhaps everyone has a weaker science. And maybe a lot of people took it because they needed it for medicine, or other related courses? I don't know, just trying to make myself feel better haha. ;D

I personally think it's putting the effort in that counts. If you are well organised and learn the whole book from back to front in detail, it's not that hard. the only tricky part is understanding concepts involved but once you get the concepts, it's fine. In A2, it's more about using AS knowledge and applying concepts to unfamiliar situations.

All in all, if you have good organisation, self-belief and perseverance, you'll do well.

P.S. Originally when I applied to college, I was going to do Maths, Business, French and food technology. Now I'm doing Maths, Bio and Chemistry (dropped food tech at A2).

One tip if you really want to do well in chemistry you need to start as early as possible.

[a5a09]

Just do it! A-level Chemistry is not as hard as people said!

[Deziah]

(Original post by Dan12)
I personally think it's putting the effort in that counts. If you are well organised and learn the whole book from back to front in detail, it's not that hard. the only tricky part is understanding concepts involved but once you get the concepts, it's fine. In A2, it's more about using AS knowledge and applying concepts to unfamiliar situations.

All in all, if you have good organisation, self-belief and perseverance, you'll do well.

P.S. Originally when I applied to college, I was going to do Maths, Business, French and food technology. Now I'm doing Maths, Bio and Chemistry (dropped food tech at A2).

One tip if you really want to do well in chemistry you need to start as early as possible.

Thanks, I'll bare all this in mind.
How early are you talking? :-)

[Dan12]

(Original post by Deziah)
Thanks, I'll bare all this in mind.
How early are you talking? :-)

once you know where you're going, ask about the exam board you'll be doing and then I'd start straight away. You'll be surprised with the amount of people who cram stuff in in January and I'd rather be calm and relaxed in January or June so I can perform to my best. One other thing, make sure you drink plenty of water, do physical exercise and have healthy diet.

Good luck with doing chemistry and with your results in August. From what I've read, you seem like a dedicated, keen student so you should be fine.