Is IB Chemistry SL difficult?

[lhs2016]

I am currently forecasting for my classes next year, and I am having difficulty deciding whether or not I should I take IB Chemistry SL, due to fear of it being incredibly difficult. From upperclassmen, I have heard stories of grueling study hours and extremely rigorous exams. To place this fear into perspective, I would consider myself to be a scientifically/mathematically inclined student. I will also be taking either IB Math SL or HL. Thoughts? Opinions?

[Yannis Gartaganis]

Math HL is ok if you are good at math and interested.

Now for chemsitry... I have it HL and I have to say it is pretty difficult. Standard level is VERY easy ONLY if you are interested in chemistry a bit! It is an interesting subject in the IB

[Sandwich]

I think SL Chemistry is actually not that bad. Almost all of the really hard "WTF" stuff is in the HL syllabus. If you're going to do an SL science, I think SL Chemistry wouldn't be a bad choice. To be honest if you're quite mathematical etc. you should find it very easy because most of the 'hard' stuff in SL really just requires a bit of a mathematical mindset.

I did HL Chemistry and found it absolute hell, but I'm really really not mathematical at all, and I honestly blame that. The people who did SL Chemistry found it pretty breezey - we had quite a few drop down from HL Chemistry into SL (...because HL was horrific...) and they said it was sort-of like going from producing oil paintings to doing dot-to-dots. Maybe not that extreme, but HL Chemistry really was SO horrible that I think if you've done one and then the other you might feel that way. Put the work in and you can do well.

[ctrls]

I actually consider Chemistry SL to be my easiest subject, out of what I'm taking. There's actually a few topics in the syllabus that are rather simple, plus the majority are fine if you are good with maths. Since you are scientifically inclined it shouldn't be that much of a problem, as long as you practice and all.

[MainRostand]

Chemistry SL should be fine as long as you can handle the slight mathematical direction given to it in some of the chapters. Most of the really difficult stuff is in the higher level, so you dont need to worry about that.

[Dr Dangle]

Chemistry SL is a piece of cake when compared to Chem HL. I took the latter, only just managed a 6 and all the difficult stuff is definitely in HL. The advantage with SL is that contains a lot of interesting material while being easy, so I recommend you take it.

[pravzcool]

Pretty much everyone has said it - Chemistry SL is a relatively easy subject. But it really depends what subject you are comparing it with and what are is your alternative if you don't take SL or if you chose to take HL?

Comparing HL and SL, I would say the SL content is a LOT easier than the HL stuff we do. HL basically extends on your SL knowledge and your ability to do some problem solving.

Ultimately however, I would highly recommend taking chemistry as an IB subject, SL or HL, as it is a great course and is a pre-requisite for most science related degrees in Australian universities

[ilovesprite]

I am currently doing HL Chemistry and HL Maths.

HL Chemistry for me is fine, but that is because I am pretty mathematical, there are occasions where I do find some aspects hard to grasp, but quite a lot of the time re-reading the material helps solve that. My other classmates who aren't as good at maths do find it difficult, and they have to basically memorise facts.

I have one guy in my class who takes SL (there's 4 of us in total, 3 HL and 1 SL) and I can tell you that he basically doesn't have to learn any of the complicated stuff. SL in my opinion is quite easy, but only if you're interested in chemistry and don't mind things like working out the mass of XYZ in an equation etc.

Since you're good at maths, SL or even HL would not be a problem.

If I may comment about HL Maths...

It's pretty difficult!!

Good luck in choosing your subjects, I think Chemistry should be fine.

[cricketcrazynerd]

No, I think Chemistry and Biology at SL are quite straightforward. You'll be fine. The only challenge most people have with the course is the quantitative chemistry bit, which is essentially just algebraic manipulation, but if you're mathematical inclined, you'll be fine.

[by.andrew]

Hmm... I would recommend taking Chem HL if you had to choose a Group 4 HL. Chem HL is definitely easier (IMO) than PHysics HL, yet it's more useful than Bio HL. Chemistry SL only scratches the surface for concepts and HL is not as hard as you think.

[Guest]

If you have a very very bad chem teacher (I had a very very very very very bad chem teacher who had absolutely no experience in IB whatsoever) you will die in Chemistry SL.

We didn't have enough lab hours done. We are supposed to do 40 hours of lab work but we did only 5~6 hours. So in my final year this year, I have to work my ass off in labs. She didn't teach us how to write labs properly and our class got screwed in terms of our IA grade.

Thank god my chem teacher got switched to someone more competent. It all depends on the teacher in chemistry.

[IBKID4lyf]

I agree with the above, but it also depends on how much you are willing to work!

[mm8888]

Math HL is a lot of work but if you like math you should take it, chemistry SL is easy anything that is complex in Chemistry is in the HL part