Should I bother doing science Alevels?

Oh my.. that explains a lot. I thought it was "SAHCOHTAO".. Oh gee no wonder I always get no marks for those questions! XD.

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same time 95% of the information you learn will not benefit you. The main benefit i believe is practice, practice with manipulating algebra (and thus equations).

hi, would you say that someone who had an A* in maths gcse but just didn't enjoy it and so no way wanted to take it to A level could cope with As physics?

From that i would definitely say you would be able to cope with Biology, at most you may have to plot or analyse a graph just as you might have done during GCSE. Biology from what i have heard from peers, is not very maths intensive.

For Chemistry, the maths you use will come from interpreting data that you are given in the question, and this is key throughout the subject, you will need to know how to use the information that is provided before you can put it in the equations (there aren't that many in Chemistry, although you do get progressively more at A2).

You may however struggle with Physics though since one of the topics at AS for most exam boards includes motion, which will include trigonometry for components of forces as an example, and that in itself can get confusing remember which trigonometry function to use.

To some extent i agree with Physmecieng, however having also experienced science at A-Level, the only only subject that Maths has really every contributed to is Physics with logarithmic and exponential functions (for Doomlar, you should come across this if your board covers capacitance/exponential decay of radioactive nuclei), as well as the mechanics module helping out.

I personally do not believe Maths at A-Level is required for Chemistry and Biology, it may help, but at the same time 95% of the information you learn will not benefit you. The main benefit i believe is practice, practice with manipulating algebra (and thus equations).

If you want to study a Chemistry at degree level then i would always advise to follow that because it is amazing how interest in a subject can help you get better, but there may become a point where the level of maths you have obtained will make your progression to reach that degree more difficult.

I'm so happy that it's just plugging numbers into a formulae! XD We did that at GCSE OCR 21st Century Physics so I'll just work on the skills more to get to the Alevel standard.

I've just finished my A2 AQA Physics exams. It's not just plugging numbers in formulae. You need to be very good at maths to be good at physics, especially at A2. Unit 1 is easy (plugging in numbers, understanding circuits). But for unit 2, you will need fairly decent maths, and for A2 physics you will need to be extremely good at maths; but it depends what grade you are aiming for. I find A2 physics harder than A2 maths and as hard as Further Maths, while some people find Further Maths harder than A2 physics.

I don't take chemistry or biology, but I heard biology is highly content-based and that might be the subject for you.

Hi all
This has been bugging me for a while and now I think it's the best time to ask.
I absolutely suck at maths. I only got a C in GCSE maths in November and I'll be one lucky guy if I manage to get a B in the exam I did this year. :l
The problem I'm having is, should I bother choosing science alevels if I blow at maths? I'm an A* in all of my GCSE sciences (Biology, chemistry and physics) and I can do the maths perfectly fine in those exams, but people have been telling me the demand of maths goes well above and beyond anything it was like at GCSE. People say if you do Alevel physics you should at least have an A at GCSE maths and do Alevel maths (!!!). The Sixth Form I'm going to says that a "B in maths is ideal" to do Physics.
And thinking way into the future when I want to do a Chemistry degree.. you can't really have good science without maths, and I can only begin to imagine what the maths is like at degree chemistry. ><
It's a shame because I can pick up scientific ideas perfectly fine and I can remember them, but if you give a triangle and tell me to use sine, cosine or tan, my mind turns to mushy peas.
There's no way in a MILLION years that I'm doing Alevel Mathematics, but I really really wish I was capable of doing it because I noticed degrees in sciences can ask for an Alevel in maths..
I'm hoping to do Biology, Chemistry, Physics and French at Alevel, and their exam boards are all AQA if that helps. (Maybe different exam boards have more maths involved than others(?))

Okay, now more people are telling me it isn't just plugging numbers into a formulae than people saying it is. XD I'll give Physics, Biology and Chemistry a shot. There's no way that I'm just going to study Biology because we were told Biology is pretty much useless on its own.

The maths in Chemistry and Biology shouldn't be too complicated at A-level so definitely take them.

However with Physics I think the maths becomes quite complicated and you would have to use maths regularly. You should maybe look at a physics a level text book and see if you think you'll be able to grasp the level of maths in it.

You could always take it and drop it after AS level if you find it was quite difficult, but take Chemistry and Biology.

True, but as a warning, I recommend an A/A* at maths GCSE before doing A-level physics. If you are getting A* in your other sciences, then I am guessing remembering content is your strong point. The maths in A-level physics is probably harder than A-level maths in my opinion (Physics is about 65-75% maths and the rest is content/understanding. Biology is considered a pretty decent A-level compared to other many other A-levels (won't name some as it will offend people), but of course this would depend on the university course you are taking or your intended career path. If you are curious and want to see for yourself, I guess there isn't much harm in trying out and taking physics.

Taking maths and physics is a nice combination btw, the stuff I've learnt in AS & A2 maths has helped my physics quite a lot.

I know you are not asking me, but yes.

I have a friend who took Biology, Physics, and Chemistry all through to A2 (and is off to do a chemistry degree next year if he makes his offers) without doing maths A-level (not even AS level). He's managed fine (looking at A/B in physics & biology and A/A* in chemistry). The maths at A-level for science is basic GCSE maths at its hardest. There's nothing in there a pass at GCSE won't equip you to handle.

More or less yes. But for physics you will need to learn how to use logarithms, natural logs and exponentials functions etc.

This is true. And to be fare the friend I was referencing in my first post did struggle with these concepts initially. However there is nothing overtly challenging about logs and exponentials, and all the logs rules are in the formula booklet anyway. So I can't image that OP would have too much trouble with them with a little bit of practice.