Physics for A-Levels?

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Reply 60

Mr Inquisitive

Precisely; it's exactly that.

What did you mean in your question about Further Maths?

Reply 61

Mr Inquisitive

Original post by Sai4

If you want to differentiate yourself and do alot of subjects, just do the IB course.

Good point.

Did you do it yourself, or?

Reply 62

aliakhtar

Original post by Mr Inquisitive

Precisely; it's exactly that.

What did you mean in your question about Further Maths?

What I mean is how much of an advantage would it give you if you took Further Maths at A-Level? If you enter Uni could you learn the stuff in Further Maths from Uni or should you have done it in A-Level? To gain a good understanding of Physics, is it compulsory?

Reply 63

niharika.jha

hi,
theres a major step up from gcses to a-levels, as most people will probably say!
but i think that you should definitely stick to physics if you love it, its a lot more interessting at a-level...but also its a lot harder! theres a lot of work involved in a levels, im struggling with 4, i'd try to stick to 4 or 5 otherwise you wouldn't have much time to do much else extra-cirricular...and these days the unis want a balance between alevels and extra cirruclar things...
anyway good luck! i'm sure you will do well nonetheless :smile:

Reply 64

aliakhtar

Original post by niharika.jha

Thanks for your response. My only concern is versatility. All my subjects are focused on Maths and Science alone. My brother got rejected from Boston University as his subjects were not diverse enough

Reply 65

Mr Inquisitive

Original post by aliakhtar

Technically it's not compulsory, but I'd do it anyway. Further Maths will cover so much more ground, especially if you're going towards Physics; so it's worth doing - even if only to AS.

If there's anything past regular Mathematics on the Physics degree, you will be taught it in lectures (but it's obviously better to do Further Maths - provided you're capable, which you probably are - and have a head start).

Reply 66

aliakhtar

Original post by Sai4

If you want to differentiate yourself and do alot of subjects, just do the IB course.

Isn't A-Levels preferred over IB?

Reply 67

aliakhtar

Original post by Mr Inquisitive

Doing it now will effectively make life easier in University.

Reply 68

aliakhtar

Looking at Universities such as Cambridge and Oxford, would you say American Universities such as Harvard/Yale are harder or UK universities?

Reply 69

Mr Inquisitive

Original post by aliakhtar

Doing it now will effectively make life easier in University.

Exactly.

Reply 70

air-ninety-one

Original post by aliakhtar

Who are you to judge my social life? I have a girlfriend, I have lost my virginity, I go to parties, cinemas, concerts and do what other people do. Smart asses do have a life. Maybe you should stop being so judgmental on things and learn to respect others. Yes, there are some 'nerds' out there who do nothing but study and I personally think these kind of people won't go far. Most universities require other stuff except grades now. They want to see you performing social activities. Again thanks for your opinion, you did nothing but demoralize me.

Reply 71

Extricated

if you want to differentiate yourself, just times your co-efficient by your power and then minus 1 from your power no long ting c1 stuff

Reply 72

Extricated

Original post by Rahul.S

no need for economics. :smile:

if u merk them 5 a levels and get at least 6+ a*'s which looks likely as your predicted 11 a*'s...the academic side to uni is sorted :biggrin:

You mean 8+ oh ye u only got 7 CLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Reply 73

Rahul.S

Original post by Extricated

You mean 8+ oh ye u only got 7 CLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

KMT ive got deep metaphors tht u wont understand......20 years later u will be like "oh i get it"!!!! SNM

Reply 74

Rahul.S

Original post by Extricated

if you want to differentiate yourself, just times your co-efficient by your power and then minus 1 from your power no long ting c1 stuff

thts only to f'(x) NOOB thts not likely to make him unique or stand out of the crowd NOOB! RIP SHU

Reply 75

qgujxj39

Original post by aliakhtar

Physics and Maths are the subjects I love in GCSE. Physics is like my passion, it is the one subject that I do extra research on and I even wrote a few articles on it. I'm predicted 11 A*'s in GCSE's so instead of taking 4 AS Levels I want to differentiate myself and take 6 AS Levels.

Physics
Maths
Further Maths
Chemistry
English Language or Literature
Economics

Would those be good subject choices for studying Physics in the future as a undergraduate in university?

I took 6 full A-levels (if you include additional further maths), and I really regret taking Music because I didn't enjoy it and did rather badly in it compared to my other 5. My advice: only do it if you're really going to enjoy it and you think you can cope with the workload. Also, you're not going to need more than 4 A-levels to get into university. I'm at Cambridge now, and they only cared about 3 of mine (but I do maths, so if you're a scientist you'll probably need 4), so effectively I could've got in by doing half as much work (actually, less than that, because I put in more work for the subjects I wasn't as good at).

Reply 76

aliakhtar

Original post by tommm

Thanks for the response, would if be good if I took Physics, Maths, Chemistry and either Biology or Further Maths to A2 but take the one I didn't take for A2 and do an AS in it instead. That would mean I would have 5 AS and 4 A-Levels. E.g A2 subjects - Physics, Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry. AS Subjects - Physics, Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry, Biolody

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 77

qgujxj39

Original post by aliakhtar

That's absolutely what I'd do in your situation. I'd strongly recommend Further Maths A2 over Biology.

Reply 78

aliakhtar

Original post by tommm

That's absolutely what I'd do in your situation. I'd strongly recommend Further Maths A2 over Biology.

I was thinking the same thing because Further Maths would be more useful than Biology for Physics in University

Reply 79

Schrodinger's Dog

I am a Physics Teacher and I have quickly glanced through a few of the replies.

The step up from GCSE to A level is a big one but nowhere near as big as the step up from A level to undergrad. To immerse yourself in 6 diverse AS levels is not only highly improbable (due to timetabling constraints) but also not very productive on your behalf. Just concentrate on the maths and further maths with physics, then whatever you can take alongside that you are happy with. I would say that economics or chemistry is a good additional over biology.
rgds

Schrodinger's Dog