help with chossing bio or chem for a level

hello, I soon need to choose a levels for my college application (i can change them later, however), I know I am doing maths and physics, and would like to do further maths as well, but I am stuck between chemistry and biology for my 4th. if it gets too overwhelming i likely can drop this choice in year 12, but I would like to do another science as i have always found them interesting to learn, but i dont really have a strong preference currently?? so i am mostly asking if anyone who does chemistry and/or biology a level could tell me what its like, as well as general topics (i have searched specifications but for some reason my brain does not seem to take in the information well, so it would be nice to hear opinions on them from others) and just general advice. I was also considering psychology, i dont think i will but any info is appreciated. for degrees i am likely doing something physics related, but possibly might do something bio (maybe chem??) related. i also got a 9 in all sciences for my year 10 mock, and I am hoping to get atleast an 8 in all of them (those and maths are top priority for me)

thank you :smile:

Reply 1

cyberhex

hi! I'm a third-year undergrad studying Biomedical Science and I did both Bio and Chem at A-level, both the AQA specification (For context, I also did Geography, Computer Science and an EPQ and I came out with A* in everything except Chemistry which was an A).

It's been a while since my A-levels but I'll try and break down a bit about both subjects from my experience :smile:

Biology (AQA):

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Main topics:

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biological molecules: proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, DNA/RNA - structure and function

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cells: structure, transport mechanisms - diffusion, active transport - and the immune system

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substance exchange: digestion, gas exchange, circulatory system, transpiration/translocation in plants

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genetic information: DNA/protein synthesis, mitosis + meiosis, a little bit on natural selection and diversity

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energy transfer: photosynthesis, respiration, nitrogen cycle

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organism response: nervous system, homeostasis (blood glucose + kidney filtering of blood)

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genetics and population: inheritance + evolution

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control of gene expression: regulation of protein synthesis, cancer, mutations, genetic fingerprinting

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+ required practicals - spread out across most of the main topics

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top tip: dual coding! (drawing pictures for processes alongside the text) as there are a lot of processes that can get easily mixed up

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another general tip: at A-Level, certainly in the AQA spec, paper 3 is half application questions and half an essay that draws on content from across the course. You'll almost certainly be told that you can only get the highest marks in your essay if you bring in extra reading - absolutely do this if you want, but if you focus on learning/understanding the content itself (which will help across all your papers) then it really isn't necessary - I didn't bother '^-^

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recommended resources: CGP textbook, Miss Estruch Biology (YouTube), FreeScienceLessons (YouTube), Physics + Maths Tutor

Chemistry (AQA):

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Main topics:

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Physical Chemistry

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Atomic structure, amounts of substance (mole calculations etc), atomic bonding, enthalpy (measures heat change), chemical equilibrium, redox reactions

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More enthalpy + entropy (kind of a measure of chaos?), electrode potentials, acids and bases

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Organic Chemistry

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alkanes, alkenes, alcohols, carboxylic acids

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optical isomerism, amino acids, NMR, aldehydes/ketones, amines

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Inorganic Chemistry

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periodic table group 2 (alkali metals) and 7 (noble gases)

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periodic table period 3 and transition metals

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+ required practicals

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top tip: make sure you know how to balance equations and do all the amount of substance calculations as these can be quite big-mark questions

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recommended resources: Allery Chemistry (YouTube), Eliot Rintoul (YouTube), FreeScienceLessons (YouTube), Physics and Maths Tutor, CGP textbook

General advice:

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To my knowledge, a lot of universities just specify they want 1-2 science subjects (which includes bio, chem, physics and maths) for a science-based degree but if you've got any specific course/uni in mind then definitely check out the page for the course on the website because some have specific requirements e.g. I needed both Bio and Chemistry. In terms of picking 1, I would say at a guess that Biology is more flexible in terms of then applying for degree subjects, but for physics-related degrees I would believe that Chemistry would be more applicable. Again, that's something you'd have to check out

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Biology and Chemistry are very content-heavy at A-Level so whichever combination of them you pick, I highly recommend starting early with your revision. They can also be a little difficult at times, especially Chemistry in my experience, so don't be afraid to ask for help if you don't understand something. This applies to sixth form in general but I had it particularly with my science subjects -> your grades might drop drastically in the beginning of year 12 as you adjust to the new content and requirements. I was still working on Cs in my spring report and then got As in my end-of-year mocks so you just have to keep working hard and really address any areas you're stuck on

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Since you have really great grades I'm guessing this is probably something you do already, but practice exam questions!! I'm not even kidding when I say I did every new-spec past paper exam q available for particularly Biology but Chemistry as well, because learning the exam technique saves you time in the exam and is really important for getting good marks. Plus, sometimes the same questions come up! (I had this happen, it was the highlight of my exam season xD)