how hard is chemistry a level? Chemistry vs french

so at the moment I'm set to study maths, further maths, physics and french for my a levels but I'm now kind of considering swapping french for chemistry as it just seems better suited to my other subjects and career aspirations (although I'm considering it, it is unlikely I'm actually going to swap them).

I originally found chemistry very difficult throughout year 10 and 11 but after starting revision for my actual exams, I realised how easy GCSE chemistry actually is and I think the reason I found it so difficult was that I just didn't focus enough in lessons. My chemistry exams for me were one of the easiest ones out of all and i'm very confident I'll achieve an A* as I'm sure I've gotten atleast 85% right.

So I just wanted to see what other people's experiences were with A level chemistry and if you also took french, a comparison between the two subjects and which you thought was better.

Reply 1

Olivia_B99

I have just sat the AQA chemistry Level exams last month (the new spec). The content isn't hard but not as bad as you may think. Personally I found the hardest part was the exam questions after grasping the concepts (which did take a while for some topics) I enjoyed it overall. There is 30% maths in the exam but since you are wanting to do maths at Level this shouldn't be an issue for you hopefully and that part is very methodical. It can't have put me off that much as I plan on doing a chemistry degree after my foundation year.

Reply 2

BTAnonymous

Very difficult to get to grasp with new content but if you study hard and try to understand the nuts and bolts of the subject, then you'll do fine.

I sat my chemistry internals and got a B overall. I started revision a week before so I was pleased with that result (I was getting Es and Ds throughout the year!!)

Reply 3

Claudious

Great subject but hard. Make sure you are doing what you enjoy! I would choose french over chemistry as you will drop a subject after AS. The AS subject is not as important.

Reply 4

AnIndianGuy

Original post by Claudious

Great subject but hard. Make sure you are doing what you enjoy! I would choose french over chemistry as you will drop a subject after AS. The AS subject is not as important.

Lol languages are ridiculously hard to get above a B in at AS, an A in Chemistry is easier to achieve than an A in French by far, and my friends who took French performed the worst in French at AS

Reply 5

Claudious

Original post by AnIndianGuy

Lol languages are ridiculously hard to get above a B in at AS, an A in Chemistry is easier to achieve than an A in French by far, and my friends who took French performed the worst in French at AS

Maybe. OP said he enjoyed French more, so he is likely to get a better grade in it. With the new Chemistry specification, lack of past papers and etc it is likely to be harder than the language course.

Reply 6

flutterby-x303

I did both Chemistry and French A level. Dropped French after AS (this was all a good 4 years ago so the exams have obviously changed since then).

I found gcse French a walk in the park compared to a level. That was mainly down to the writing and oral exam. At gcse we knew exactly what the writing question was and we would learn our reply. The teacher would proof read it several times then we would just learn the perfect version. The same went for the speaking exam, we knew what questions we would be asked and we learn the perfect answers so getting 100% in those exams was a piece of cake.

A level it was more spontaneous because you hadn't a clue what exact questions you would get. You hadn't to just be really good at improvising and conversing in French for the speaking then the writing was just something else! Such a step up from gcse. The rest of it i.e. Listening and reading exams were a little more difficult too. A2 French I didn't do but it was literature based so you would read a French novel and talk about it. Really hard, I got a D at AS, had done French since the age of 4 and I'm barely able to hold a conversation let alone be fluent which is what I hoped to achieve by doing the A level.

I would say don't do a level French unless you are naturally good at it and need it for your future. If, like me, you just want to speak the language then just spend 6 months in the damn country!

Chemistry was my best science at GSCE. I did biology A level as well (and drama, I know what a mix) and I got B's in both the sciences, chemistry being the slightly better one. Overall chemistry was fine, I had really good teachers. As far as the maths side goes it was pretty minimal to be fair and you were allowed a calculator. There was just a lot of equations and different things to learn.

I would say do chemistry but that's just me. I think it will be moreover valuable especially considering the other subjects you plan on studying.

I was in a similar situation in terms of not focusing in lessons with chemistry but a level chemistry. The first unit which was the easiest I barely took in anything during the lessons, did mediocrely in the end of unit tests in class then got a B in the exam at AS. Re took that unit the following year and got near full UMS because I realized it was actually pretty easy. That was at the expense of the other A2 units I also had to take plus ISAs (which were easy actually).

Chemistry was more fun, loved the practical side of things. You will make the right decision for you though. At the end of the day, do the subject you enjoy most!

Reply 7

AnIndianGuy

Original post by Claudious

My friend got 100% UMS in French GCSE and got a C at AS. Chemistry is definitely easier because the content is fixed to an extent, and past papers are still somewhat useful. With languages, the amount of time it takes to learn all vocabulary may eclipse the time taken to revise for all your other subjects.

Reply 8

Claudious

Original post by AnIndianGuy

Yeah nice sample m8. Still if OP enjoys french it will be easier to learn. + Less of a step up learning french as it is a continuous process.

Reply 9

peacheyroses

Original post by Claudious

Great subject but hard. Make sure you are doing what you enjoy! I would choose french over chemistry as you will drop a subject after AS. The AS subject is not as important.

My school puts together maths and further maths into like one subject so they consider me to be taking 3 subjects therefore I can't drop any subject. Also because of the changes to the a levels, we aren't doing AS (another reason why we can't take 4 subjects and drop one)

Reply 10

ScotttH

If Chemistry is better suited to your asipirations then I would say go for it. I’ve just finished my AS year and I’ve got to say it not as hard as people say it is (as long as you put in the work). At the start of the year I was slacking with out of class notes and studies so I found the subject very hard but once I got into it and put the time in out of lessons it becomes a lot easier. I would say I am enjoying chemistry the most out of all my a-levels (chemistry,biology and psychology).

Reply 11

Claudious

Original post by peacheyroses

Okay fair enough. Universities only respect 3 of your highest grades, and they count further maths and maths as different subjects. Choose the one where you will get a higher grade and will have more fun in.

Reply 12

Emma:-)

Entertainment Forum Helper

Original post by peacheyroses

What are you thinking of doing at uni?
And which out of the 2 do you think you will get a better grade in?

Reply 13

peacheyroses

Original post by Emma:-)

What are you thinking of doing at uni?
And which out of the 2 do you think you will get a better grade in?

I'm thinking either aerospace engineering or physics (though leaning towards engineering).

I'm not really sure anymore which I would get a better grade in because French GCSE was such a breeze since most of it was just memorisation of like paragraphs of French so hearing what it's like at A level makes me unsure. I think I'm naturally good at languages (I grew up bilingual) but I'm not sure if it would be enough to get me through A level (as in I'm aiming for A/A* grades). At the same time, I think I just have an apt for science too.

It's like I have more interest in French but I'm more likely to get a better grade in Chemistry (since there are like set facts to learn and is less random than a language). I do a lot of language learning as a hobby because i just find it really enjoyable so if I did choose chemistry I could still in my own time continue with French but I've always considered doing languages at uni as a backup incase I lose interest in my science/engineering career prospect.

Reply 14

emilywood127

Both chemistry and French will be challenging in their own ways, all I can recommend is if you don't enjoy chemistry don't take it

Reply 15

studentsixth

French is tough. I do both subjects and I found French harder than Biology, Chemistry and Maths. As is said above, GCSE and AS/A-Level French are completely different ball-games and you basically need to have the precision of a native speaker in order to do well in the exams. Personally I've loved both of them as they gave me different hallenges. French required me to speak fluently due to examinations and also a more critical thought process towards comprehension based exam questions. Chemistry is easier imo but that's all subjective. I know people who absolutely hated Chemistry but overall if you put the effort in, the grade you want will surface. French can be a bit of a gamble as you don't know what they can throw at you in the real thing.