The Student Room Group

Bio SL vs. Physics SL

Okay, here's the situation. I've been doing IB since September, doing Physics SL for Group 4. Initially it wasn't too bad, our teacher cannot delegate time to each topic appropriately so we spent the first two months doing easy stuff like error, uncertainty, significant figures and other silly, simple things. Then we did mechanics, pretty easy stuff like Newton's Laws.

I knew that I'd have a bad teacher - he was my Physics teacher for IGCSE Coordinated Science and I honestly could not concentrate in classes. He speaks in monotone, doesn't give us questions to try, doesn't check our homework and... well. He just can't teach. But it wasn't too bad because the material for IGCSE was so basic. The jump is insane and I totally underestimated it. I thought I would be able to handle it with lots of self study, but apparently not.

Generally, I'm a pretty good student, I got straight A*/A at GCSE with an AA at Coordinated Science. I have high expectations and quite a bit of pressure to do well at IB, and I'm scared me staying in Physics will jeopardize it. It's not even at HL, but I am struggling. We have done Mechanics and Mechanics extension, and it is extremely difficult for me. I attempted questions over the weekend and I couldn't do a single one. I find projectile motion and friction so confusing...

So basically, I'm asking if I should switch to Bio SL while I can. There are a bunch of late-entry students so it shouldn't be too bad. I'm not planning to have a career in the pure sciences, I just chose physics because I thought it would be ok for me - I do Math HL and I am finding it pretty easy so far. I'm not interested in Bio or Physics really, I just need a subject to fill up Group 4. I am not looking forward to all the catch up though - apparently the Bio SL class has done 3 out of 7 topics?

Ughhh, what do you think? i would do Chem if I could but our school only offers it as a Group 6 subject due to scheduling :frown:
Reply 1
Bio SL is quite easy.... but then again, so is Physics SL. Taking HL Physics myself, and having a pretty inattentive teacher, I can understand where you're coming from, but you have to ask yourself if things will be any better in Biology. If you're in Maths Higher Level then you should have no problems with the SL physics calculations, and the syllabus isn't so large that you cannot teach yourself.

I recommend you find a good textbook to support your studies. My physics class gave a collective sigh of relief when the "IB Study Guide: Physics for the IB" textbooks came in (Oxford Press, Tim Kirk). I also recommend any physics books by Douglas Giancoli.
Reply 2
Wow thats a bummer isnt it.. if I was in your place i would switch to Biology SL, particularly since you dont need physics anyway... Bio SL and Physics are generally (in my opinion) around about the same difficulty, so having a good teacher for Biology will help..

You should talk to the Biology teacher, maybe ask for the syllabus to get a feel for the subject and if you feel you can get a better mark in it then go for it. And Good Luck! :smile:
Reply 3
Thank you for responding!

The thing that's keeping me from switching to Bio immediately is the immense workload I will have to catch up on, as well as the practicals. The calculations for Physics are very easy, but it's coming to those calculations where I have the problem. I can't grasp the concept because I don't think I am naturally inclined for Physics and having such a bad teacher makes it even worse - at least if I had a good teacher I would have a higher chance of understanding, right?

I borrowed the IB Study Guide from our school library, but it doesn't elaborate very much as it's just a study guide. Our school textbooks are pretty bad, it's the one with the green and yellow cover. There are stackloads of those textbooks, because the guy that wrote them taught at our school and ordered a bunch of his own textbooks.

Ugh, I so wish that I could do Physics though - it's the sort of subject where you get that great satisfaction after solving a problem - however I never get that satisfaction, because I never seem to solve the problem! Oh god, I wish I had a better teacher.

I'm leaning towards bio now, the sheer volume of work I have to catch up on is insane but at least I will probably be able to get a higher grade after lots of studying. Physics? I'm not sure I have a chance of survival, I have never felt so completely lost in a subject!
Reply 4
Rofl, the green and yellow textbooks are rubbish.. our old (good) physics teacher stopped using them after he discovered one of the gravitational equations in there was wrong.

SL Bio does not expand much upon what is learnt in GCSE Biology, but maybe I find that because our old bio teacher us taught us all this AS stuff that wasn't on the syllabus. Physics is a more conceptual subject - if you get how things work, you can put the pieces together and derive formulas and conclusions. Biology is more about remembering key terms and how systems work.
Reply 5
i suggest you take bio sl .. it is so much easier. why do physics if it won't be helpful in future. a good physics teacher is a must .. i have a very good physics teacher. but physics sl will get tougher later.. mechanics is not that hard.. and if you are finding that tough then you will find other topics which come later tougher.. bio sl is a lot about memorizing stuff .. so it won't be much of a problem if u have to cover up and a gud bio teacher would certainly help..
Reply 6
hmmm... I suppose catching up on work that you enjoy or are good or have better resources for is better than trying to do something you obviously cant.. I still support moving to Biology. A couple of weeks of intense (!) studying and you should catch up.. just make a set of notes for each part of the syllabus. Also, as you just started IB (I think), you have plenty of time to rewrite or revise notes.. Good luck :smile: