Alevel chem

Context :
I'm in Year 11, and my predicted combined science grades—which I just got—were 8/7, but that can always go up, of course. I'm set on doing medicine in the future, so I have chosen bio, chemistry, and physcology. However, I'm not amazing at maths, like mid-set, hoping for a 6 or 7. Maths just isn't my thing. I've looked a bit at a level chem. Is it tough? How much Maths is involved?

Someone who getting 7/8 in my chem papers could i do manage alevel chem and achieve the A needed for medicine?

Anyone taking it or who has taken it whos not amazing at maths or anything please help

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 1

123dz

well, i can’t speak much for physics a level but i can definitely tell you chemistry a level will become your easiest a level. the maths involved is very minimal. seeing as you’re doing combined science you might not be doing very many mole calculations at the moment, but once you start a level you should be able to grasp them. the maths involved in chemistry is at a very basic level and you should not struggle with it.
as for a level physics, if maths is the thing you are worried about then physics might not be the course for you as the entire course relies on a good understanding of maths. i was told in my school not to choose physics if i do not do a level maths alongside just because the majority of students struggle with the content. i would recommend looking over the specifications and familiarising yourself with the demands of the courses! hope this helps

Reply 2

Iqster

Hi, I take AQA A-Level Chemistry
Around 20% of the marks in the real exam are maths questions and there is usually some maths involved in physical chem

To me, the maths questions are more or less straightforward but I take A-Level Maths and I got an 8 in GCSE maths. My friend who does chem that isn’t great at maths (6 at gcse after tuition) does struggle with the maths.
How do you find the titration calculations in GCSE? Because there are sometimes 5 marks back titration questions in A-Level Chemistry, which can be difficult

Reply 3

Sobbingsoobin

Original post by tom47234912348

Context :
I'm in Year 11, and my predicted combined science grades—which I just got—were 8/7, but that can always go up, of course. I'm set on doing medicine in the future, so I have chosen bio, chemistry, and physcology. However, I'm not amazing at maths, like mid-set, hoping for a 6 or 7. Maths just isn't my thing. I've looked a bit at a level chem. Is it tough? How much Maths is involved?
Someone who getting 7/8 in my chem papers could i do manage alevel chem and achieve the A needed for medicine?
Anyone taking it or who has taken it whos not amazing at maths or anything please help

i dont know why people are saying there isnt alot of maths becuase there is maths, youll have to be good at simultaneous equations, substitutions, formulae and more. but if its something you really want to do then alot of maths wont be a problem since none of it is harder than like grade 7 gcse, so you might have to work harder on it and it may not be easy, but im sure youll get there, so dont worry too much about it now

Reply 4

TypicalNerd

Original post by tom47234912348

Maths wise, if you are looking at a grade 6 in GCSE, you probably are fine. The maths involved is really just GCSE level and OCR has published an excellent free online guide with all the maths you will ever need, regardless of which exam board you are with:

https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/295468-chemistry-mathematical-skills-handbook.pdf

I’d say your chemistry is more than good enough for A level. Considering you basically relearn much of chemistry from scratch when you start and some GCSE topics (namely atmospheric chemistry and electrolysis) aren’t even assessed on most exam boards, I reckon you could take A level chemistry from a worse starting point and still do reasonably well.

Whether A level chemistry is tough or not depends a lot on how much you enjoy it. If you enjoy chemistry, you’ll most probably fly right through it without many issues as you will be more likely to put in the work and read around the subject. If you do not, it’s more likely you’ll struggle.

If you know what board you are likely to be with, I might be able to suggest some resources to get you started.