Advanced higher chemistry/Advanced higher biology

Original post

by RaggaMuffin49

Hi can anyone who has done either advanced chem or bio let me know what they done their projects on!
Im due to start projects after the summer and really struggling to find information on one specific topic. Ideally I would like something where the experiment would be easy to carry out and one that I could find a lot of info about online!

Ah bio on the effect of alcohol on daphnia heart rates but you could also do caffeine
It worked well and there’s lots of resources on it

Ah chem on soap synthesis but wouldn’t recommend as it was trial and error to find a recipe that was scientific and very time consuming

Reply 4

Original post

by Saffronnn•

Ah bio on the effect of alcohol on daphnia heart rates but you could also do caffeine
It worked well and there’s lots of resources on it
Ah chem on soap synthesis but wouldn’t recommend as it was trial and error to find a recipe that was scientific and very time consuming

Thank you I think I will try do do the daphnia heart rate one as that has come up quite frequently.

Can I ask how you got on with advanced biology and chemistry? I am quite worried as I have seen lots of people done amazingly at there highers but really struggled to get good grades at advanced. Any advice? :smile:

Reply 5

I got As at higher and BB at AH however I think this was mainly due to my school being really bad for AH as we only got 2 hours of taught lessons a week and little to no support with the projects which where only added back in this year.
So if your school is similar I recommend getting a tutor to look over your project and to help with any questions.
All in all though I did manage to do well considering it was essentially self taught
and it was definitely manageable especially once I figured out a layout for my project document and found an experiment that actually worked.

Reply 6

In general for advanced higher I found that since I only had two subjects instead of 5 it was a lot more manageable and I felt that I could spend enough time for each. But the time spent on the 2 subjects was the same as I’d spent on 5 combined if not more so not any less work!

Jabchem is a great website for worked answers to past papers and mainly don’t give up but you will probably have to get used to lower grades than higher

And lastly if your teacher is awful like mine was it is possible to self teach, I did it and was fine.
If you have any other questions feel free to ask

Reply 7

Original post

by Saffronnn•

Hey Thank you so much for your reply!

B's at advanced higher is very impressive, you should be really proud of yourself especially if most of that you have taught to yourself.

I am expecting a very challenging year as for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to choose 3 advanced highers alongside a higher. I will definitely try my best to keep on top off things though and study as much as I can.

I know you said you didn't recommend your chemistry project experiment. Is there any projects that you know of that your classmates did which went reasonably well? TIA :smile:

Reply 8

Thanks,
That is a lot of subjects, good luck I’m sure you’ll do great
I think one did aspirin synthesis which is quite a common one
The thing to take into account in the chem project is making sure there’s calculations to do and that there’s sufficient ah techniques e.g my soap one used vacuum filtration and a complex method or something like using a melting point apparatus to test the purity

Can I ask what you plan to study at uni that needs these subjects?

Reply 9

Original post

by Saffronnn•

Thanks,
That is a lot of subjects, good luck I’m sure you’ll do great
I think one did aspirin synthesis which is quite a common one
The thing to take into account in the chem project is making sure there’s calculations to do and that there’s sufficient ah techniques e.g my soap one used vacuum filtration and a complex method or something like using a melting point apparatus to test the purity
Can I ask what you plan to study at uni that needs these subjects?

Hey thank you for the advice, it’s very appreciated!

I’m interested in doing medicine. I’m pretty sure I just needed to do two advanced highers but I like being busy at school and felt I would be very bored if most of my timetable was free periods so I’m taking a couple extras. Honestly I’m not putting too much pressure on myself as long as I manage to get the two Bs at advanced I will be happy :smile:

Reply 10

Original post

by RaggaMuffin49

Hey thank you for the advice, it’s very appreciated!
I’m interested in doing medicine. I’m pretty sure I just needed to do two advanced highers but I like being busy at school and felt I would be very bored if most of my timetable was free periods so I’m taking a couple extras. Honestly I’m not putting too much pressure on myself as long as I manage to get the two Bs at advanced I will be happy :smile:

Ohh okay, I did something similar for vet med, gd luck with your subjects this year!

Reply 11

Hi, how did you find/are finding balancing 3 AHs? I am looking into taking 3 - Bio, Chem and Maths, but am unsure of the workload and difficulty. I really want to take Maths because I find it super enjoyable and easy at Higher right now, but I will drop it if it’s a lot. I am aiming for 5 As at Higher and 3As/2As at AH, though I have 0 clue if that’s achievable

Reply 12

Original post

by imxa6

I am currently doing AH Maths, Biology and Chemistry. I would say if you find higher maths easy then you will probably do well at advanced as it is not too big off a jump although there is a lot of content so definitely keep up with revision. I’m not gonna lie the projects for biology and chemistry can feel like extra subjects at times as you are trying to learn the theory as well as doing your experiments and write ups. However I find those who revise throughout the year have done really well in their prelims opposed to those who try and cram their revision into a few nights.

So overall I would say if you have the work ethic and the motivation to study it’s definitely manageable 😊

Reply 13

Original post

by RaggaMuffin49

I am currently doing AH Maths, Biology and Chemistry. I would say if you find higher maths easy then you will probably do well at advanced as it is not too big off a jump although there is a lot of content so definitely keep up with revision. I’m not gonna lie the projects for biology and chemistry can feel like extra subjects at times as you are trying to learn the theory as well as doing your experiments and write ups. However I find those who revise throughout the year have done really well in their prelims opposed to those who try and cram their revision into a few nights.
So overall I would say if you have the work ethic and the motivation to study it’s definitely manageable 😊

Hi! Thank you so much for this :smile:

) It was really helpful. You don't have to reply, but what grades did you achieve in the prelims? Which subject is your favourite, and which is the hardest? Also, have you got any interviews for medicine?

Reply 14

Original post

by imxa6

Hi! Thank you so much for this :smile:

I actually haven’t found out my results yet I know my math class got their results yesterday however I was in my chemistry prelim at the time so now have to wait until Monday! I am not expecting biology or chemistry for at least another week but I will definitely respond when I know what I got.

I’ve heard the math class average was 60% if that is any help at all.

I am honestly so conflicted as I find the biology theory quite easy especially unit 3 however the problem solving and experiment questions in the prelim were horrible so that could quite possibly have been my worst prelim 😬
I think chemistry was my best followed by math. There was a few really random questions in chemistry about things like solvent extraction and chromatography but apart from that nothing unexpected popped up.

I actually applied to gateway to medicine instead of medicine so I haven’t beard back from them yet 😊

Reply 15

Original post

by RaggaMuffin49

I actually haven’t found out my results yet I know my math class got their results yesterday however I was in my chemistry prelim at the time so now have to wait until Monday! I am not expecting biology or chemistry for at least another week but I will definitely respond when I know what I got.
I’ve heard the math class average was 60% if that is any help at all.
I am honestly so conflicted as I find the biology theory quite easy especially unit 3 however the problem solving and experiment questions in the prelim were horrible so that could quite possibly have been my worst prelim 😬
I think chemistry was my best followed by math. There was a few really random questions in chemistry about things like solvent extraction and chromatography but apart from that nothing unexpected popped up.
I actually applied to gateway to medicine instead of medicine so I haven’t beard back from them yet 😊

Hi, this is genuinely so useful! Good luck with your prelim results :smile:

) Problem solving is where i lose a lot of my marks right now as welll haha... also good luck with your gateway offer :smile:

)

Reply 16