Science: Physics and Chemistry?

aarong1169

Im going into transition year and we already had to pick what subjects we were going to study for the leaving cert. I chose business, physics and chemistry. But, physics wasnt one of the subjects i wanted.

In the junior cert course, i did well in chemistry and biology because i had an interest in them but only did well in physics because i studied so much for but didnt enjoy it. what turned me off physics was really the electronics side of it, the plastics and the equations.

could someone that did physics tell me what its about and if its similar to the junior cert course?did you think it was very hard?

if you did chemistry could you tell me what thats about and if thats similar to the junior cert course?did you think it was very hard?

and...if you did business could you tell me a bit about that too and if its similar to junior cert?

thanks

SarahBeep!

Rubbish. All thre science subjests at LC level are in no way similar to the JC. Go into it with an open mind and you'll enjoy it. Go into it with the mindset of 'I don't want to be here' and you'll hate it.
Physics is unreal.
And it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaay easier than chemistry.

polkabunny

Chemistry I found to be totally different to the JC course! I found the chemistry section in the JC to be my favourite part, yet the LC course is so in depth. What I would advise with the science subjects is borrow a Chemistry LC book from somebody and go through it by yourself for maybe a week or so. Of course, if you're able to study well, and have a good head for remembering facts, formulae and definitions, there should be no trouble for you, I simply do not have the head for that sort of thing!

Business was one of my favourite subjects, but is a difficult subject to achieve brilliant results in. Some of it was common sense, and it was a step up from the JC course, but I found it easy to get into and learn off. However, there are absolutely no working out figures in the subject, except for a few small things, like calculating insurance premiums, how much someone can get from an insurance claim if their house was under-insured, and calculating the take home pay of somebody. If you did well in the JC in Business Studies, you shouldn't have a lot of bother with Business at LC level, as long as you keep the focus.

I'm afraid I can't help you with Physics, I did Chemistry, Business and Art! But good luck, and hopefully this helped a bit

Sunny!!

aarong1169 wrote: »

Im going into transition year and we already had to pick what subjects we were going to study for the leaving cert. I chose business, physics and chemistry. But, physics wasnt one of the subjects i wanted.

In the junior cert course, i did well in chemistry and biology because i had an interest in them but only did well in physics because i studied so much for but didnt enjoy it. what turned me off physics was really the electronics side of it, the plastics and the equations.

could someone that did physics tell me what its about and if its similar to the junior cert course?did you think it was very hard?

if you did chemistry could you tell me what thats about and if thats similar to the junior cert course?did you think it was very hard?

and...if you did business could you tell me a bit about that too and if its similar to junior cert?

thanks

both are not one bit similiar unfortunately, lc chemistry is complicated and requires alot of understanding, which isnt really required at junior cert where you just learn definitions.
But on the positive, the chemistry course isnt that long, experiments are very important, 38% of the exam. Organic chemistry is one of the most essential topics on lc chemistry, one of your experiments, and 1 or maybe 2 long questions. Radioactivity, fuels, water, sewrage are also on the course. Periodic table, atom as well. The maths can account for alot of marks as well, as far as I recall there was no maths in the chemistry section at junior cert level

Well, overall, its one of the best subjects i've studied, it was tedious at the beginning and it will all become much clearer in 6th year, stick at it and you will reap the rewards:)

Business

A much more tedious subject, but kind of interesting. The difference between leaving cert and junior cert is all the accounts are gone, no trading, p and l, bs and ledgers.

Leaving cert business is really in depth though.

You learn about entrepreneurs, people in business, analysing a business, business plan, communication, management, eu, to name a few.

Theres an ABQ (Applied business question) worth 20%, where you applied your knowledge of business to a company.

Its an interesting course, but not marked easily!

No shortcuts, you really have to learn the book, and marking schemes in 6th year. Lc business is alot more interesting than jc:)


Any questions on both subjects let us know:)

aarong1169

polkabunny wrote: »

Chemistry I found to be totally different to the JC course! I found the chemistry section in the JC to be my favourite part, yet the LC course is so in depth. What I would advise with the science subjects is borrow a Chemistry LC book from somebody and go through it by yourself for maybe a week or so. Of course, if you're able to study well, and have a good head for remembering facts, formulae and definitions, there should be no trouble for you, I simply do not have the head for that sort of thing!

Business was one of my favourite subjects, but is a difficult subject to achieve brilliant results in. Some of it was common sense, and it was a step up from the JC course, but I found it easy to get into and learn off. However, there are absolutely no working out figures in the subject, except for a few small things, like calculating insurance premiums, how much someone can get from an insurance claim if their house was under-insured, and calculating the take home pay of somebody. If you did well in the JC in Business Studies, you shouldn't have a lot of bother with Business at LC level, as long as you keep the focus.

I'm afraid I can't help you with Physics, I did Chemistry, Business and Art! But good luck, and hopefully this helped a bit

Thanks for your reply. my books are already ordered and should be coming soon so when they do come ill be havin a good look over them. The chemistry section of the jc science was my favourite too . i think i will be ok in it because i can study well and i was planing on doing an hour of study most days so if i go through with that i should be grand.

Sunny!! wrote: »

both are not one bit similiar unfortunately, lc chemistry is complicated and requires alot of understanding, which isnt really required at junior cert where you just learn definitions.
But on the positive, the chemistry course isnt that long, experiments are very important, 38% of the exam. Organic chemistry is one of the most essential topics on lc chemistry, one of your experiments, and 1 or maybe 2 long questions. Radioactivity, fuels, water, sewrage are also on the course. Periodic table, atom as well. The maths can account for alot of marks as well, as far as I recall there was no maths in the chemistry section at junior cert level

Well, overall, its one of the best subjects i've studied, it was tedious at the beginning and it will all become much clearer in 6th year, stick at it and you will reap the rewards:)

Business

A much more tedious subject, but kind of interesting. The difference between leaving cert and junior cert is all the accounts are gone, no trading, p and l, bs and ledgers.

Leaving cert business is really in depth though.

You learn about entrepreneurs, people in business, analysing a business, business plan, communication, management, eu, to name a few.

Theres an ABQ (Applied business question) worth 20%, where you applied your knowledge of business to a company.

Its an interesting course, but not marked easily!

No shortcuts, you really have to learn the book, and marking schemes in 6th year. Lc business is alot more interesting than jc:)


Any questions on both subjects let us know:)

Thanks! in chemistry i learned the definitions but i was interested in it so i had an understanding of it too. You're right, there is no maths in the jc chemistry. I am also average at maths (did higher level in jc) but would the maths in it be higher level stuff or would it be ordinary? also, do you have to learn the periodic table off by heart for the lc course?

i was never good at the accounting part of the business jc course but was good at theory as i can learn stuff off well. i was interested in business in the jc course (until we got a terrible teacher in 3rd year) so hopefully i will be interested in the lc course

Also, some people in my year say to me that the subjects i chose will not go well together because they say there is too much in them and it takes so much effort for each one. do you think that is true and i should maybe switch one of the subjects if i can?

Sunny!!

aarong1169 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. my books are already ordered and should be coming soon so when they do come ill be havin a good look over them. The chemistry section of the jc science was my favourite too . i think i will be ok in it because i can study well and i was planing on doing an hour of study most days so if i go through with that i should be grand.



Thanks! in chemistry i learned the definitions but i was interested in it so i had an understanding of it too. You're right, there is no maths in the jc chemistry. I am also average at maths (did higher level in jc) but would the maths in it be higher level stuff or would it be ordinary? also, do you have to learn the periodic table off by heart for the lc course?

i was never good at the accounting part of the business jc course but was good at theory as i can learn stuff off well. i was interested in business in the jc course (until we got a terrible teacher in 3rd year) so hopefully i will be interested in the lc course

Also, some people in my year say to me that the subjects i chose will not go well together because they say there is too much in them and it takes so much effort for each one. do you think that is true and i should maybe switch one of the subjects if i can?

Ordinary maths is grand, cross multiplication is the hardest on lc chemistry, and you can do that obviously.:)

No lol, you dont have to learn the periodic table, just the trends going across and down and the features of the groups.

No i'd stick, they worked well enough for me, there isnt that much in chemistry course wise, more the understanding is essential, chemistry is one of the shorter courses i'd stick with it.

Business also worked well for me as well, id stick with them tbh, they are good option subjects to have, but with business make sure you know the book and dont think its all common sense:)

aarong1169

Sunny!! wrote: »

Ordinary maths is grand, cross multiplication is the hardest on lc chemistry, and you can do that obviously.:)

No lol, you dont have to learn the periodic table, just the trends going across and down and the features of the groups.

No i'd stick, they worked well enough for me, there isnt that much in chemistry course wise, more the understanding is essential, chemistry is one of the shorter courses i'd stick with it.

Business also worked well for me as well, id stick with them tbh, they are good option subjects to have, but with business make sure you know the book and dont think its all common sense:)

OK thanks. i will learn the book. i worked hard in 3rd year and im going to make sure i keep working hard, even though its fourth year.

Thanks for your replies, i was worried about starting the new year with these subjects and i didnt know what to expect. i feel better about chemistry and business now

Sunny!!

aarong1169 wrote: »

OK thanks. i will learn the book. i worked hard in 3rd year and im going to make sure i keep working hard, even though its fourth year.

Thanks for your replies, i was worried about starting the new year with these subjects and i didnt know what to expect. i feel better about chemistry and business now

i cant stress this enough, learn the business book:p and all of it.

Chemistry a grand subject, but requires effort, hope all goes well:)

stealinhorses

If you're interested in information about LC physics:

The course covers many basic concepts of physics, starting with linear motion and ending with radioactive decay. You'd learn about gravity, how planets move around the Solar System, how a pendulum moves, how to calculate the speed/acceleration of a falling object in a given situation, or to calculate the distance covered by a sprinter in given conditions, etc. You will study the properties of waves, i.e. light, sound, x-rays. Electricity comes into the course quite a bit, so current, resistance, electric charge and all that jazz. Temperature, heat, optic fibres, lasers, particle physics, electric fields, resonance, it's all pretty much there.

I wouldn't say you need to be very good at maths. A reasonable amount of mathematical skill is required at higher level, but at most you're dealing with rearranging some formulae and simple trigonometry. Getting your head around some problems will take time, but practice makes perfect. I wouldn't worry too much about the mathematical side of it, it's definitely manageable.

Some experiments include measuring the value of acceleration due to gravity using a pendulum, finding out the relationship between the frequency and tension of a stretched string, measuring the acceleration of a wooden trolley on a ramp, measuring the wavelength of monochromatic light using a laser and seeing how the resistance of a thermistor changes with temperature. Overall you'd be doing around 25 experiments, I think.

Some of them are boring, but most are cool enough, surely much better than watching stuff boil in chemistry or seeing water change colour in biology.

Whether the subject becomes boring will mostly depend on your attitude and the level of involvement from your teacher. If he/she is passionate and willing to help with problems, or able to answer questions about the physical world in class without the use of a book then you'd be grand.

The exam is easy enough to prepare for. Big emphasis is placed on experiments, their procedure, using results to plot a graph, etc. Mechanics and waves usually come up every year, then there's other stuff like particle physics and electricity. Nothing too eccentric, you could definitely manage an A with enough study and some intelligence, I know I did anyway :P.

AnneElizabeth

I really wish I had done Physics! Every said it was so interesting and it would be really helpful for my course (Engineering). Do it if you love science and could see yourself applying to some kind of science/engineering/maths/computer degree i.e. any degree that has a good chance of getting you a job!

Got an A1 in Business and Chemistry.

Absolutely loved chemistry! If you have a good teacher it's a great subject. It's challenging but also fun and interesting. I would definitely recommend it, it's different from JC but if you can grasp it it's lovely.

Business I found was a little boring sometimes in class when we were just reading from the book. If you have an interesting teacher it's a fun class though, and if you do your work it's easy enough. I think it's actually easier than JC Business, you can pick it up without having done it for JC.

cobear

Chemistry is waaay different to the junior cert. I didnt particularly like it for jc but ended up doing it for lc (didnt want to do accounting). Chemistry turned out to be one of my favourite subjects. Go into it with an open mind and accept that it will be hard for the first while, don't worry though it'll all just click one day and make sense! certain topics are really interesting and some of the experiments are pretty fun too...wow im such a nerd! basically chemistry is hard but i'd recommend it if you're willing to work at it