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Which one is harder Biology or Chemistry?(A level)

As the title says, which one do you think?
It depends on the person. Chemistry is supposed to be harder, but I know plenty of people struggle with biology because of the sheer amount of content.
Biology - Conceptually simple. Memorise Intensive.

Chemistry - Conceptually Difficult with moderate memorisation.

Take your pick. Why not both? :smile:
Im not a naturally good at science person but genetics/anatomy really fascinates me so I took chem and bio (they were my lowest GCSE grades though idk what I was thinking) to open some doors and atm I'm drowning in both but chemistry is stressing me out the both. Got 25 (U) in bio and...1 in chemistry (multiple choice luck wooo)- my temp jobs ended now so I can work on these mega mega but still I'm better at bio. I find memorizing easier than grasping skills
Reply 4
different people, different responses
Original post by booksandcats
As the title says, which one do you think?


Biology - the exam questions are difficult and lots of application; loads of content
Chemistry - harder to understand

I personally think biology
At A2:

Biology- not too difficult to understand but requires literally years of memorisation and revision.

Chemistry- requires a bit more time to grasp but really doesn't take very long to revise


I'd probably go with biology because of the content of the syllabus XD
Biology is harder id say bcuz although u memorise the content the application questions and data questions can sumtimes trip you up which r worth alot of marks too

Chemistry as long as u understand the concept and memorise it and good with maths and using a calculator u shuld be fine

Allthough it does depend on the person and the exam board for bio and chem too
Chemistry.

Biology is just a memory test.

Chemistry has a bunch of complicated rules n stuff.
Original post by booksandcats
As the title says, which one do you think?


A'level Chemistry is definitely more difficult than A'Level Biology. Some say is even harder than physics.

A'level Chemistry.

In chemistry there is a lot of maths and I mean a lot, not for the faint hearted.

You need to be able to understand quadratic equations for working out concentration equilibrium. Kc and Kp

However unlike physics there is no need to understand calculus. :smile:

You also need to be excellent with numbers when it comes to working out complex redox equations and molarities in quantitative analysis and be able to do that from you results in a practical examination. If you've ever done the Potassium dichromate titrations you'll know what I mean lol.

The organic chemistry side of things is actually quite enjoyable. I liked that bit the most. We even got to smell some of the reagents lol.

A'level Biology
The is definitely a lot less maths, but you will need to be able to do statistical analysis, such as The T' test however that can be done on Microsoft excel.

Its much more enjoyable. There is a fair amount of biochemistry at the start but that's no problem if you have a pass in GCSE chemistry or double science.

The genetics problems can get quite difficult.

If you want to study medicine or dentistry then a very high grade in Chemistry is actually more important than biology, because a good chemistry grade means you have mastered one of the hardest science subjects.
Original post by booksandcats
As the title says, which one do you think?

Chemistry, purely because I revised more for chemistry, but got a lower score last year :colonhash:
Original post by booksandcats
As the title says, which one do you think?


Depends, if you are good at memorising stuff bio because in my opinion the concepts and content in Bio is easier than chem, But if you are one of those people who is good at understanding stuff and once you understand it you dont have to memorise it then chem is easier.
Personally, I'm finding chemistry significantly easier then biology I guess I just pick up the concepts quite early on and so don't have to do much but practice questions but biology takes up all my time. Literally. It's what I most revise for.
Pick chemistry, wouldnt want to put anyone through the hell of biology (i dont take chemistry but I regret not taking it).

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Original post by High Stakes
Biology - Conceptually simple. Memorise Intensive.

Chemistry - Conceptually Difficult with moderate memorisation.

Take your pick. Why not both? :smile:


It's funny that I'd argue that biology is more conceptual intensive I.e. being able to imagine how translocation happens I'd say Chemistry is memory intensive with all the trends and very specific inorganic reactions that we had to learn. Aswell as a much more rigid mark scheme, at least in AQA
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 15
as someone who is now doing a chemistry degree at uni of nottingham i would say chem is harder. did both at a level. I got a C at a level biology with revision just the day before and no sleep as i revised through the night (this is with not attending the course in A2 year) and I got an A(A* in one A2 exam) in chemistry with 2 months of revision, theres still a decent amount of memory work in chem, obvs not as much as bio but it is definitley harder. I'm generally better at chem than i am bio, but revising ONE night and getting a C in A2 bio, well lets just say i ********ted my way through it and i remember making stupid mistakes as well as thinking that the exam itself was harder than most. this was last year btw and i took AQA. so yeah, chemistry is harder, but i think to get an A*- A with biology all you need really is time.but you know, i might be biased . :P
Reply 16
Original post by marcobruni98
It's funny that I'd argue that biology is more conceptual intensive I.e. being able to imagine how translocation happens I'd say Chemistry is memory intensive with all the trends and very specific inorganic reactions that we had to learn. Aswell as a much more rigid mark scheme, at least in AQA


generally chemistry is more memory intensive when you dont really understand it and thats all you can do to get a good grade (spoken to loads of student at uni who did this ans they are now struggling in their chem degree), if you cant understand how translocation works, then youre not gonna get chemistry. theres a reason there are lots of books for " chemistry for biologists" and none for " biology for chemists"
chemistry most say


but SIKE im torturing myself with both in September
Reply 18
Original post by JustARandomer
Personally, I'm finding chemistry significantly easier then biology I guess I just pick up the concepts quite early on and so don't have to do much but practice questions but biology takes up all my time. Literally. It's what I most revise for.


yes i had that during my a levels, i dreaded revising biology so much that i left it to the last night, but chem was fun because it was more about understanding, and once you get it, you get it
Original post by emsieMC
generally chemistry is more memory intensive when you dont really understand it and thats all you can do to get a good grade (spoken to loads of student at uni who did this ans they are now struggling in their chem degree), if you cant understand how translocation works, then youre not gonna get chemistry. theres a reason there are lots of books for " chemistry for biologists" and none for " biology for chemists"

i think very very few A-level students will have the understanding of quantum chemistry needed to really understand chemical reactions. I highly doubt that anyone (at this stage) can understand these reactions to the point where no memory is required especially organic chemistry and the colour changes of ligand substitution reactions. everyone needs a very good memory for a good grade in A-level chemistry. many of these are highly isolated which, I find, makes them harder to remember than when everything interlinks such as in biology. However I still think biology requires more creativity.
(edited 6 years ago)

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