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How much math is involved in Chemistry HL


6ix god

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What I'm trying to ask is pretty obvious from the title, but I still want to know. I'm doing the DP next year and I want to know how much math is involved in Chemistry HL. I'm decent at math, this year I'm getting 80% in math so far. I have two options for next year, I can do Chemistry HL and SEHS SL or Biology HL and Chemistry SL. I want to do something in the medical field in the future and I just need some advice. So how much math is involved :)

Edited by 6ix god
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I know this wasn't listed but is both Chemistry and Biology HL an option? I'm interested in medicine too and I find that way more interesting. 

I feel like although Biology HL is more relevant in terms of right now (since it is most closely related to med) but Chemistry SL is too easy to be taken when you're considering med. Especially if you're planning for a science/med-prep undergraduate, I feel like chemistry SL will leave you more behind than ahead (which everybody assumes you are, coming from IB). Then the other side of the problem is very similar; the HL component of biology is extra human-related stuff; if you take those out the course is missing CRUCIAL topics such as cell respiration and further physiology. Even in HL we are missing a lot of detail that our Gr.12 curriculum covers (BC, Canada)

 

Now the answer: YES, there is a lot of math but NO it is not hard. You are adding/subtracting/dividing/multiplying 95% of the time, and using logarithms 5% of the time in the Acids & Bases chapter.

 

In short, you should really really consider both Bio AND Chem HL but in the end I'd say Bio SL + Chem HL is the final deal; because biology is 90% memorizing you can always study it by yourself easier, as long as you're able to set aside time for that eventually.

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Nice job on your honours. I didn't take chem11 so I don't know what the course is like, but here's what I did (as u can see in signature my math is SL so if you're worried about math I can relate)

 

In Grade 10:

- took Math 11

- no higher than Science 10

 

Over summer: 

- 1 month chemistry tutor

 

Got 91 in first year of chemistry and 95 in math, although scaling definitely helped. If it's only the math part of chemistry you're worried about, don't worry about it and focus on Math 11 or some other preparation instead because actual math class will be the struggle, not chemistry. 

If you want to prepare a bit and you can spare some time/money, get a tutor or even a friend to tutor you on like 30-50% of each chapter. That way when you approach the chapter in school you'll know exactly what you need to listen for and ask about. I honestly had no idea what my tutor was talking about during summer but once class started I was going "oh yea, I remember, that makes sense now" the entire time.

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Yes, I believe that will help. I can't remember what I did in Pre-Calc 11 and it may not translate directly to Math SL curriculum, but the extra math definitely helped because up to Math 10 I was breezing through it without any effort, and there was a slight jump in difference between 10 and 11 (going from 10 to SL was a jump I was definitely afraid of). 

 

There's no set numbers as to what they're scaled to, it just depends on the class(s) results. For example on a test when scores are like 95, 90, 85, 84, 83, 78, 70 a score of 95 may be 7 and 90 may be 6, but if only one guy stands out in a group of low marks (92, 80, 75, 68, 65, 62, 59) the 92 will definitely be 7, and the 80 will probably be 6-5.

My class was pretty bad  :P and my 86 raw became a 95 

 

If you have any more questions message me because it's about time I close this tab haha

Edited by NiCKEL
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