Should I drop Physics, Biology, or Economics? (1 Viewer)

[x.Exhaust.x]

Okay, just for an insight, my current subjects are:

Advanced English, 3U Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Economics.

Well for starters, I'm definitely keeping Advanced English, since it's compulsory.

I'm definitely not going to drop 3U Mathematics, because I know I'm capable of performing well if I continue to practice and revise. I'm also considering to pick up 4U, but the likelihood of picking it up is dependant on how I go in the final yearly exams...

I'll definitely be keeping Chemistry, because both my teacher and tutor believe I have the capability of achieving a band 6 if I continue to work at this rate and revise. If I didn't have tuition for Chemistry, I'd probably wouldn't be performing well in this subject. This is why I'm not sure whether to drop Physics because I'm getting tuition and this may help a lot (READ BELOW)

Now for the subjects I'm considering to drop:

Physics is a subject that scales really well. I sat for a trial test in a tuition college, many of whom are probably private and selective students, and I performed considerably low on that test. I rarely revise or study for physics, which evidently shows my lack of knowledge for this subject and low marks attained in this subject at school as well. The reason why I want to keep physics is to reap the benefits of scaling by 'actually' revising consistently and studying hard for it, just like for Chemistry. During Year 12, I know that tuition is the right way to go by learning ahead of school and I sense that my results will improve considerably if I work hard and co-operate with my tutor. But am I relying on a tuition college for Physics to make me perform at my best too much? I mean, what if I don't do well in it, like currently in Year 11? Scaling won't benefit. This is the risk and I'm not sure if I'm willing to take this chance...I wish I had studied harder and smarter for this subject earlier to benchmark my capability in this subject...

With Biology, I heard that the scaling isn't great. I performed top 5 in this subject, but I'm not sure whether to keep it or not. I heard from current Year 12 students on BOS that the Year 12 HSC Biology course is far more better and interesting than the Year 11 course. But is it worth keeping it?

Economics has always been a subject I've enjoyed, as it relates to the outside world a lot. I have always been good at the humanities subjects. It has been a subject that I've performed very well in. But the problem with this subject has been clearly shown from this source, with thanks to Richard:

IF YOU ARE TAKING HUMANITIES, DO NOT PAY TOO MUCH ATTENTION TO YOUR SCHOOL RANKING
If you are taking a maths or science subject, it is easy to know what the examiner expects. Most schools will consistently score about the same marks each year for maths & sciences. You can therefore use your school rankings to benchmark your performance
However, if you are taking a humanities subject, such as Economics, Geography etc, it is harder to ascertain what the examiner wants. You could be coming 1st in your school, sit the common paper and have a marker who does not like your essay, and you will receive both a disappoint assessment and exam mark. You should not benchmark your performance in humanities against your school’s previous success. In these subjects, you are competing in the state, not the school.
In this sense, humanities are much riskier than maths or sciences, because you will not be very certain of your mark, until you sit your final paper.
I learnt this lesson the hard way. Economics had been my favourite subject in school (I was a subsequent finance major in University), and I had always wanted a state ranking in the subject. I worked extremely hard the whole year to maintain 1st place in my school, researching for hours into RBA bulletins etc. To this day, I hold the Sydney grammar record for the highest mark in the trial of 98/100. In terms of assessments, I was ahead of 2nd place by a huge margin of 10%. I was expecting a very good mark. However, economics was the last exam, and for some reason, I did not perform as well as I wanted. Not only did I not score the first place in my school, 20 other people from my own school scored a better mark than me in the common paper. Furthermore, the best mark in the common paper was not particularly high, so my assessment mark was low too. This meant that I did not count economics, even though I probably spent the most time in this subject.

I'm also not sure whether to take 12 units or 10 units...if I do take 10 units and pick up 4U maths, what if I'm not performing well in 4U maths? There's no other way out. If I take 12 units, is it worth wasting time on an extra 2 units, instead of having free periods and actually using them effectively? So much risk and chance...

All opinions are greatly appreciated.

 

[ameher]

Okay, just for an insight, my current subjects are:

Advanced English, 3U Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Economics.

Well for starters, I'm definitely keeping Advanced English, since it's compulsory.

I'm definitely not going to drop 3U Mathematics, because I know I'm capable of performing well if I continue to practice and revise. I'm also considering to pick up 4U, but the likelihood of picking it up is dependant on how I go in the final yearly exams...

I'll definitely be keeping Chemistry, because both my teacher and tutor believe I have the capability of achieving a band 6 if I continue to work at this rate and revise.

Now for the subjects I'm considering to drop:

Physics is a subject that scales really well. I sat for a trial test in a tuition college, many of whom are probably private and selective students, and I performed considerably low on that test. I rarely revise or study for physics, which evidently shows my lack of knowledge for this subject and low marks attained in this subject at school as well. The reason why I want to keep physics is to reap the benefits of scaling by 'actually' revising consistently and studying hard for it, just like for Chemistry. During Year 12, I know that tuition is the right way to go by learning ahead of school and I sense that my results will improve considerably if I work hard and co-operate with my tutor. But am I relying on a tuition college for Physics to make me perform at my best too much? I mean, what if I don't do well in it, like currently in Year 11? Scaling won't benefit. This is the risk and I'm not sure if I'm willing to take this chance...I wish I had studied harder and smarter for this subject earlier to benchmark my capability in this subject...

With Biology, I heard that the scaling isn't great. I performed top 5 in this subject, but I'm not sure whether to keep it or not. I heard from current Year 12 students on BOS that the Year 12 HSC Biology course is far more better and interesting than the Year 11 course. But is it worth keeping it?

Economics has always been a subject I've enjoyed, as it relates to the outside world a lot. I have always been good at the humanities subjects. It has been a subject that I've performed very well in. But the problem with this subject has been clearly shown from this source, with thanks to Richard:



I'm also not sure whether to take 12 units or 10 units...if I do take 10 units and pick up 4U maths, what if I'm not performing well in 4U maths? There's no other way out. If I take 12 units, is it worth wasting time on an extra 2 units, instead of having free periods and actually using them effectively? So much risk and chance...

All opinions are greatly appreciated.

If i were u id probably drop physics, seeing as though ur relying on tutoring and have not really enjoyed the course thus far, or so from what i can gauge from ur tone. With regards to biology the year 12 course i far more interesting, and trust me scaling for biology is quite good once u hit a band 6, n based on ur current ranking thats certainly attainable. I myself dropped a higher scaling subject (chemistry) to focus on humanities such as business studies n legal studies. I go to a school which produced 15 band 6's in business studies last yr, and as my business studies teacher always says a "good essay, is a good essay". Lets be honest you clearly are working at economics to be ranked first, n ur essays must be of high quality to have gained such a ranking, i believe that if u have a solid essay n are consistent across the hsc in humanities a band 6 is there waiting, which evidently scales more then doing poorly in a well scaled subject such as physics. I would also encourage you to undertake mathematics extension 2, obviously look at ur final exam mark, but if your competent enough plz do it, ucan always drop it later. i hope this helped, good luck.

 

[kaz1]

Drop Physics because it seems that you're not interested in it and it is difficult to succeed in a subject that you are not interesred in.

 

[shaon0]

Okay, just for an insight, my current subjects are:

Advanced English, 3U Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Economics.

Well for starters, I'm definitely keeping Advanced English, since it's compulsory.

I'm definitely not going to drop 3U Mathematics, because I know I'm capable of performing well if I continue to practice and revise. I'm also considering to pick up 4U, but the likelihood of picking it up is dependant on how I go in the final yearly exams...

I'll definitely be keeping Chemistry, because both my teacher and tutor believe I have the capability of achieving a band 6 if I continue to work at this rate and revise. If I didn't have tuition for Chemistry, I'd probably wouldn't be performing well in this subject. This is why I'm not sure whether to drop Physics because I'm getting tuition and this may help a lot (READ BELOW)

Now for the subjects I'm considering to drop:

Physics is a subject that scales really well. I sat for a trial test in a tuition college, many of whom are probably private and selective students, and I performed considerably low on that test. I rarely revise or study for physics, which evidently shows my lack of knowledge for this subject and low marks attained in this subject at school as well. The reason why I want to keep physics is to reap the benefits of scaling by 'actually' revising consistently and studying hard for it, just like for Chemistry. During Year 12, I know that tuition is the right way to go by learning ahead of school and I sense that my results will improve considerably if I work hard and co-operate with my tutor. But am I relying on a tuition college for Physics to make me perform at my best too much? I mean, what if I don't do well in it, like currently in Year 11? Scaling won't benefit. This is the risk and I'm not sure if I'm willing to take this chance...I wish I had studied harder and smarter for this subject earlier to benchmark my capability in this subject...

With Biology, I heard that the scaling isn't great. I performed top 5 in this subject, but I'm not sure whether to keep it or not. I heard from current Year 12 students on BOS that the Year 12 HSC Biology course is far more better and interesting than the Year 11 course. But is it worth keeping it?

Economics has always been a subject I've enjoyed, as it relates to the outside world a lot. I have always been good at the humanities subjects. It has been a subject that I've performed very well in. But the problem with this subject has been clearly shown from this source, with thanks to Richard:



I'm also not sure whether to take 12 units or 10 units...if I do take 10 units and pick up 4U maths, what if I'm not performing well in 4U maths? There's no other way out. If I take 12 units, is it worth wasting time on an extra 2 units, instead of having free periods and actually using them effectively? So much risk and chance...

All opinions are greatly appreciated.

Drop Physics.

 

[marcquelle]

drop physics you obviously don't like it, and are going to rely on tutoring for it, this is not worth the hassle.

 

[sf_diegoxrock]

I'm probably biased but...

Biology.

No question about it.

I rank Economics and Physics well above Biology.

 

[SimonLee13]

Your quote about humanities scare me. I'm doing 3 lol =.= If you're coming top 5 biology, wouldn't it be wiser to keep that and drop physics? Rather than base it on what you "could of gotten"

 

[x.Exhaust.x]

Thank you all for your replies. More opinions are appreciated.

 

[rfpchua]

I am going to put my view on this.

Scaling of Subjects
Physics scales the best out of the sciences and humanities, very closely followed by Chemistry with Economics and Chemistry folloiwng very much behind. IN Biology, expect to get scaled down significantly, even if you get a state ranking.

There is a clear indication that the UAC scales up maths based courses.

How hard is Physics?
You should deconstruct the physics course before considering dropping it. IT's bascially 65% applied 2 U Mathematics or explaining fairly straightforward concepts with 35% Social Science. Any good studetn of physics knows that physics is pretty much the same as mathematics. For instance, it is a strange irony that you do much harder physics problems in the 3u and 4u maths course (relating to Newton's laws) than you ever do in the physics course.

Basically, the mathematics behind the phys course is DEAD simple. They give you 2 of three variables and ask you to solve, like solve V=IR given V and R. To get good at this, you just need practice and to see the variety of typical questions that they ask.

For the last 35%, you need to know applications, practicals and effects on environment. This is pretty much memorization. Write this out 2-3 times before your exams, I can guarantee it will stick.

Drop Physics?
To me, it seems if you can do 2U Advanced Maths and you can explain concepts, you can nail 65% of the Physics course.

To do well in the last 35% , you need to exercise your memory.

So, if you're not prepared to take those steps, drop it. But know that you're wasting a very high scaling subject for not being diligent, where you could perform very well with some applied, focussed effort.

My personal advice is this: if you are good at maths, there's no excuse other than laziness for not doing well in physics. Biology will be slaughtered after the UAC is through with it, so expect a good mark to be trucked a good deal downwards.

Tutoring

You can definatley get good marks not going to tutoring (I didn't go to tuition), but if you are going to choose a place, make sure it's a place that knows its stuff back to front and not to an 80%-85% level. Getting a good band 6 is about splitting hairs, so if you're gonig to go, find a good place to go and committ to it 100%.

At Talent 100, we benchmark from the 1st in the State, and that seems to pay off: in my year 12 physics class we had 6 from 8 get into the top 10 of their school, including 2 in Sydney Grammar (my almer mater)

Regards,

Richard

 

[omniscience]

I am going to put my view on this.

Scaling of Subjects
Physics scales the best out of the sciences and humanities, very closely followed by Chemistry with Economics and Chemistry folloiwng very much behind. IN Biology, expect to get scaled down significantly, even if you get a state ranking.

There is a clear indication that the UAC scales up maths based courses.

How hard is Physics?
You should deconstruct the physics course before considering dropping it. IT's bascially 65% applied 2 U Mathematics or explaining fairly straightforward concepts with 35% Social Science. Any good studetn of physics knows that physics is pretty much the same as mathematics. For instance, it is a strange irony that you do much harder physics problems in the 3u and 4u maths course (relating to Newton's laws) than you ever do in the physics course.

Basically, the mathematics behind the phys course is DEAD simple. They give you 2 of three variables and ask you to solve, like solve V=IR given V and R. To get good at this, you just need practice and to see the variety of typical questions that they ask.

For the last 35%, you need to know applications, practicals and effects on environment. This is pretty much memorization. Write this out 2-3 times before your exams, I can guarantee it will stick.

Drop Physics?
To me, it seems if you can do 2U Advanced Maths and you can explain concepts, you can nail 65% of the Physics course.

To do well in the last 35% , you need to exercise your memory.

So, if you're not prepared to take those steps, drop it. But know that you're wasting a very high scaling subject for not being diligent, where you could perform very well with some applied, focussed effort.

My personal advice is this: if you are good at maths, there's no excuse other than laziness for not doing well in physics. Biology will be slaughtered after the UAC is through with it, so expect a good mark to be trucked a good deal downwards.

Tutoring

You can definatley get good marks not going to tutoring (I didn't go to tuition), but if you are going to choose a place, make sure it's a place that knows its stuff back to front and not to an 80%-85% level. Getting a good band 6 is about splitting hairs, so if you're gonig to go, find a good place to go and committ to it 100%.

At Talent 100, we benchmark from the 1st in the State, and that seems to pay off: in my year 12 physics class we had 6 from 8 get into the top 10 of their school, including 2 in Sydney Grammar (my almer mater)

Regards,

Richard

In the last 3 years, Chemistry has been consistenly topping the science course as the top scaled subject. Economics' scaling has been very similar to Chemistry. In terms of scaling wise, I would go: Chemistry > Economics > Physics given that Chemistry and Economics can be swapped around.

On top of that, I would take some facts into your flawed logic. You cannot really relate Mathematics to Physics as if excelling in one will equally result in excelling in the other. They are obviously different subjects and the comparison that you are trying to draw out here is irrelevant. Yes, there will be overlap between the subject but the vast majority is different. Your post is highly generalised and there are some areas in your comment that need to be attended immediately.

And would you mind telling me how you came about the statistics?

By the way, you seem quite like a smooth talker; slowly diverging from your advices to advertise your tutoring agency.

To OP: Wait until your Preliminary exam. You will definitely change your mind by the time you receive your result. At this stage, however, I will recommend you to drop Physics.

 

[Aerath]

I'm probably biased but...

Biology.

No question about it.

I rank Economics and Physics well above Biology.

I agree with this post.

But at the end of the day, it's not us that know you best, its your teachers, year advisors, parents, friends, and of course, yourself.

 

[munchiecrunchie]

I would probably suggest you drop Physics (as most people have suggested above), its probably too risky to be relying on tutoring to have a significant increase in marks, and you're probably better off putting the effort into Bio and Eco.

I'd also like to question the validity of that source exhaust posted up about humanities and their subjective nature. I have actually read this before, written by an employee of Talent 100 (if i remember correctly).

It is true that an essay does have features which are subject to teacher's personal opinions, BUT teachers are qualified in their profession and to say that they cannot tell the different between an A range and B range essay completely undermines their professional experience.

Further, it is a personal account of not doing as well as one expected on the day of the exam - I think it is fair to say that it can be classified as an opinion piece.

So I wouldn't worry too much about this aspect of humanities - stick to what you're good at and keep at it.

 

[Empyrean444]

Drop physics. It is despicable, boring, arduous and unenjoyable.
I know i sure will be.

 

[5233andy]

Do you enjoy doing things because you force yourself to or it genuinely is an interest?

 

[-tal-]

I am going to put my view on this.

Scaling of Subjects
Physics scales the best out of the sciences and humanities, very closely followed by Chemistry with Economics and Chemistry folloiwng very much behind. IN Biology, expect to get scaled down significantly, even if you get a state ranking.

Chemistry & Economics > Physics.

I'm having the same problem, whether I should drop Physics or not. I came to a conclusion: If you don't want to work for Physics when you started the subject, you probably won't change. I've tried my hardest, I know how to study, and in all other subjects, I'm a capable student.

And you know what? I made a 5% improvement (from 62% to 67%) - I go Physics tutoring for Christ's sake! It bloody looks horrible on my report.

For the last 35%, you need to know applications, practicals and effects on environment. This is pretty much memorization. Write this out 2-3 times before your exams, I can guarantee it will stick.

If only memorisation was enough to get you through Physics. It's being able to understand it's mostly abstract concepts, knowing when to apply it, and contextualising it. This is not memorisation. This post, is misleading. Being good at 2U maths doesn't guarantee you good physics capability. The maths is less than 20% of the physics course nowadays.

Eh, at the end of the day, good marks = good uai. At the top end, scaling can't do too much to a good score in biology.

I figure you don't enjoy physics, which is why you rarely study and are leaning towards giving up on it, since your low marks are keeping you away from trying.

Drop physics I say. (if you're planning to drop)

Or, you could do 12 units. Maybe the hard work you do in other subjects could inspire you to work on physics?

I suggest if you want to do 12 units, wait until the term 3 holidays and attempt to re-teach yourself the yr 11 course. Why do it when you can get ahead for yr 12? Because you might understand it properly - and test yourself to see either you're capable of doing physics or not. (I suggest using the dot point book for this...)

If you are capable of doing physics, do the 12 units, if not do 10. (you seem to enjoy eco & bio, so I suggest you keep them)

 

[x.Exhaust.x]

Thanks for your replies . I'll keep every single reply in mind when selecting my subjects for the HSC. I'm not going to think about subject selections too much but I'll focus on my yearlies now, and hopefully that'll be an indicator as to what subject to choose. Thanks again.

 

[hollyy.]

drop physics.