Subject dilemma (3 sci+applied maths)

Sb567

I know I post a lot here sorry! 😂
Ok so I'm going into 5th year in September and the subjects I have chosen are physics, chemsitry and biology. So obviously the 3 sciences and I've read up about this and asked people on this about it and I think I've made the right decision but I'm still not sure.

I also have asked about applied maths but I'm still not sure about it and with it on top of the 3 sciences. I got a C in my Jc which I blame for never studying for maths and nerves! But I worked hard in Ty and am getting A's and B's. I want to drop irish to OL as I'm finding it wil be too difficult.

So basically my Q is has anyone done the 3 sciences and is it hard and if anyone has done applied maths could you tell me more about it. And if you've done the 3 sciences and applied maths could you tell me how you found it. Do I have to be extremely smart for this!
I'm sorry to the people I've asked already and see this post thinking I didn't take their advice! I did just need more thank you

rk2301

I'm in the exact same situation as you, doing all three sciences and applied maths from September. I love science but idk if I'm able for all 3!

Mr Rhode Island Red

I'll just throw this in. I did the 3 sciences in my leaving cert this year (would have done applied maths too but it clashed with another subject). I found it great, it was nice to see the little bits of overlap between the different fields and how they interlink.

The only thing I found was it can be a bit tedious now and again. With three sciences there isn't much variety to your timetable.

When I was picking my subjects, my friends, parents and guidance counselor thought that I was a nutcase, and all advised me against doing 3 sciences, but I'm glad I went through with it.

If ye have any more specific questions about the 3 sciences feel free to post them here

rk2301

Mr Rhode Island Red wrote: »

I'll just throw this in. I did the 3 sciences in my leaving cert this year (would have done applied maths too but it clashed with another subject). I found it great, it was nice to see the little bits of overlap between the different fields and how they interlink.

The only thing I found was it can be a bit tedious now and again. With three sciences there isn't much variety to your timetable.

When I was picking my subjects, my friends, parents and guidance counselor thought that I was a nutcase, and all advised me against doing 3 sciences, but I'm glad I went through with it.

If ye have any more specific questions about the 3 sciences feel free to post them here

Hi, thanks for taking time to answer questions, I really appreciate it! I'm the same, everyone tells me I'm insane for choosing to do all three. It's just I'm not really interested in any of the other choice subjects!

Anyway here are my questions:

How much of an overlap is there between the three?

Is the theory and maths in physics half and half or is there more theory?

Are there a lot of concepts in chemistry that are hard to understand?

Are the questions that come up in the exams repetitive or predictable in any of the three?

Which science has the shortest course?

How did you find was the best way to study science subjects?

Sorry for all the questions but I want to be sure I'm making the right decision!
Thank you so much!

chris241111

I did All the sciences this year in the leaving cert, Ag bio chem and phys and applied maths and maths
this is my opinion:
AG science easy lovely subject great crossover with biology so defo do it
Biology again a very easy subject if you put the work in
chem: I enjoyed it and was very good at it, most are not however, so if you are top of your class now choose it
physics: very good subject takes a lot of time understanding concepts but like chem if you work at it it is very easy slight overlap with chem
Applied maths: in my opion i wish i had never done this subject they say it is a short course but the exam can go any way, got a h1 in the mock id be lucky if i got a h3 in the real thing I regret not choosing business or economics, that being said however the subject itself is very interesting and I enjoyed it a lot but the exam is a killer 20 mins per question not time to stop
I know this is very dijointed but at the end of the day it is up to you, you know how strong you are at sciences

Mr Rhode Island Red

rk2301 wrote: »

Hi, thanks for taking time to answer questions, I really appreciate it! I'm the same, everyone tells me I'm insane for choosing to do all three. It's just I'm not really interested in any of the other choice subjects!

Anyway here are my questions:

How much of an overlap is there between the three?

Is the theory and maths in physics half and half or is there more theory?

Are there a lot of concepts in chemistry that are hard to understand?

Are the questions that come up in the exams repetitive or predictable in any of the three?

Which science has the shortest course?

How did you find was the best way to study science subjects?

Sorry for all the questions but I want to be sure I'm making the right decision!
Thank you so much!

There's virtually no overlap between biology and physics.
There's only a small bit of overlap really between biology and chemistry. You get a better understanding of the chemicals that are used in experiments, and it makes dealing with any chemical equations a lot easier.
I feel that chemistry and physics complement each other the most. There's 4 or 5 chapters on atomic theory and radioactivity in chemistry that appear in physics also with very similar content to each other.

The maths:theory balance varies in the different sections of the physics course. Electricity is very maths heavy, whereas light and heat only have a small bit. Overall, I'd say that there's probably more theory than maths, but both are crucial in order to do well. You can't really get by with either one on its own.

There are a few tricky concepts in chemistry, but everyone seems to find something different difficult. For me it was equilibrium and titrations, for others it was atomic theory. It depends, it's nothing impossible, but there will be a few sections that take a bit more thinking about than others.

All 3 exams used to be fairly predictable a few years back, but now they're making them more unpredictable with each passing year, so nothing can be taken for granted. If I had to pick one though, I'd say chemistry is the most predictable as it stands. You're basically guaranteed a titration, an organic chemistry experiment, a fuels question and an atomic theory question, which is 50% of the exam.

Chemistry has the shortest course, but it's probably the most intense. There's about 22 chapters. Physics has 35 or so. Biology has about 42 (but some of the chapters are very short).

Use your own notes to build up your knowledge, then it's past exam papers all the way, and when you run out of those go looking for past mock papers.

Sb567

Mr Rhode Island Red wrote: »

There's virtually no overlap between biology and physics.
There's only a small bit of overlap really between biology and chemistry. You get a better understanding of the chemicals that are used in experiments, and it makes dealing with any chemical equations a lot easier.
I feel that chemistry and physics complement each other the most. There's 4 or 5 chapters on atomic theory and radioactivity in chemistry that appear in physics also with very similar content to each other.

The maths:theory balance varies in the different sections of the physics course. Electricity is very maths heavy, whereas light and heat only have a small bit. Overall, I'd say that there's probably more theory than maths, but both are crucial in order to do well. You can't really get by with either one on its own.

There are a few tricky concepts in chemistry, but everyone seems to find something different difficult. For me it was equilibrium and titrations, for others it was atomic theory. It depends, it's nothing impossible, but there will be a few sections that take a bit more thinking about than others.

All 3 exams used to be fairly predictable a few years back, but now they're making them more unpredictable with each passing year, so nothing can be taken for granted. If I had to pick one though, I'd say chemistry is the most predictable as it stands. You're basically guaranteed a titration, an organic chemistry experiment, a fuels question and an atomic theory question, which is 50% of the exam.

Chemistry has the shortest course, but it's probably the most intense. There's about 22 chapters. Physics has 35 or so. Biology has about 42 (but some of the chapters are very short).

Use your own notes to build up your knowledge, then it's past exam papers all the way, and when you run out of those go looking for past mock papers.

Did you find the subjects too hard to manage? As in would you say the amount of work to do the 3 sciences is a lot more than say for example doing geography, history and music? I really wanna do them and I'm supposed to have unreal teachers for each subject

chris241111 wrote: »

I did All the sciences this year in the leaving cert, Ag bio chem and phys and applied maths and maths
this is my opinion:
AG science easy lovely subject great crossover with biology so defo do it
Biology again a very easy subject if you put the work in
chem: I enjoyed it and was very good at it, most are not however, so if you are top of your class now choose it
physics: very good subject takes a lot of time understanding concepts but like chem if you work at it it is very easy slight overlap with chem
Applied maths: in my opion i wish i had never done this subject they say it is a short course but the exam can go any way, got a h1 in the mock id be lucky if i got a h3 in the real thing I regret not choosing business or economics, that being said however the subject itself is very interesting and I enjoyed it a lot but the exam is a killer 20 mins per question not time to stop
I know this is very dijointed but at the end of the day it is up to you, you know how strong you are at sciences

Wow you did ag science along with it? Did you find it hard to do the 4 sciences together! I hear what you mean by applied maths how hard did you find the content ? Do I have to be extremely good at maths? I heard this years paper was extremely hard.

A97

I did Biology and Physics for my Leaving Cert. Looking back, I think I should have took on Chemistry. I might have done Applied Maths too but that was not available in my school.

I know two people who did Biology, Chemistry and Physics in school, and they were both pretty happy all in all. They're now doing science related degrees in college. They both did very well in their Leaving Certs but I would say that was because that they had a lot of passion for science and you can get up to 300 points if you get H1's in all three.

If you like science, I would recommend doing them if you can. The subjects you do in school are very helpful for college, so while it probably seems like a long time away, you should think about if you'd like to be a scientist, engineer, geologist, doctor, dentist, vet, pharmacist etc, then pick the subjects that will help you the most when you get to college. College is very difficult and you should take every opportunity now to help yourself out.

Also, to speak in very general terms, some careers in health science wouldn't really require much of what you would learn in Applied Maths, whereas astrophysicists or civil engineers don't need to know much of what you would learn in Biology class.

If nothing else interests you, go for the sciences. Even if you don't end up using the information, the skills you acquire in critical, methodical and analytical thinking are very useful. Don't choose subjects based off of perceived workloads. You will most likely enjoy a subject that interests you more than one that you're only picking because it's 'easy' or the course can be finished quickly.

Having said that, if you really like History or Economics for example, then maybe you should go for a subject like that. You might also want to take on a third language since many college courses require them.

To summarise, don't be scared of doing three or four science subjects. Just make sure that that's what you want to do in the long term.

judeboy101

If you love science do all 3. A good physics teacher will have the course done by Jan of 6th yr. A good chemistry teacher by the mocks. A good biology teacher by April. Applied maths makes sense with hons maths/physics but has gone from the most predictable stem subject to the one where they throw the most curve balls (no pun intended). I've had a few do the 4 over the years all did well 500+ pts etc.

Sb567

A97 wrote: »

I did Biology and Physics for my Leaving Cert. Looking back, I think I should have took on Chemistry. I might have done Applied Maths too but that was not available in my school.

I know two people who did Biology, Chemistry and Physics in school, and they were both pretty happy all in all. They're now doing science related degrees in college. They both did very well in their Leaving Certs but I would say that was because that they had a lot of passion for science and you can get up to 300 points if you get H1's in all three.

If you like science, I would recommend doing them if you can. The subjects you do in school are very helpful for college, so while it probably seems like a long time away, you should think about if you'd like to be a scientist, engineer, geologist, doctor, dentist, vet, pharmacist etc, then pick the subjects that will help you the most when you get to college. College is very difficult and you should take every opportunity now to help yourself out.

Also, to speak in very general terms, some careers in health science wouldn't really require much of what you would learn in Applied Maths, whereas astrophysicists or civil engineers don't need to know much of what you would learn in Biology class.

If nothing else interests you, go for the sciences. Even if you don't end up using the information, the skills you acquire in critical, methodical and analytical thinking are very useful. Don't choose subjects based off of perceived workloads. You will most likely enjoy a subject that interests you more than one that you're only picking because it's 'easy' or the course can be finished quickly.

Having said that, if you really like History or Economics for example, then maybe you should go for a subject like that. You might also want to take on a third language since many college courses require them.

To summarise, don't be scared of doing three or four science subjects. Just make sure that that's what you want to do in the long term.

Thank you so much really helpful

judeboy101 wrote: »

If you love science do all 3. A good physics teacher will have the course done by Jan of 6th yr. A good chemistry teacher by the mocks. A good biology teacher by April. Applied maths makes sense with hons maths/physics but has gone from the most predictable stem subject to the one where they throw the most curve balls (no pun intended). I've had a few do the 4 over the years all did well 500+ pts etc.

Ya my teachers especially chemistry are really really good!