Guest juliaib Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 I'm in my first year of IB and I'm changing schools. Currently I'm doing both HL chem and HL bio, but at my new school I get the option of choosing one of the two. I'm a student who genuinely dislikes the sciences and you might wonder why I'm doing two of them currently and that's because I had no other choice. Anyways, I just thought it would be helpful to hear other people's opinions on this. Basically, a. which is easier?b. which is more suited for a humanities person? To help steer your recommendations I think it's useful to know I've only taken a year of each before starting the IB programme. Bio I did in ninth grade but had a really good teacher and covered more material and Chem I took in tenth grade but had kind of a bad teacher. Right now I've covered slightly more material in chem than I have in Bio but I've done more labs in bio (like 10) as opposed to the 1 lab I've done in chem. I hate math and on the multiple choice tests I feel it comes up pretty often in chem whereas in bio it doesn't. Also I'm not that into the whole "application of concepts" and I see that that is also pretty common in chem in comparison to bio which I've seen is more memorization. However, at this point in time I'm more inclined towards chem because of my "gut feeling". I've heard a lot of universities look for it more than they look for bio, but then again I'm not planning to pursue a scientific career. Any advice? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gk786 Posted March 8, 2015 Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 (edited) I agree that biology hl involves a lot if memorization and chemistry hl is a whole bunch of calculations. I don't take chem hl but my friends who do take it tell me its really hard and has a lot of math involved as well as some memorizing. I tale bio hl and chem sl and I personally find bio a lot easier than chem because I'm down with memorizing. Bio labs are also more interesting than chemistry ones. Again, this is just my experience, and I'm speaking with a bias since I take bio hl, but since the humanities also involve memorizing things rather than calculations or applying concepts, I think bio hl would be better for a humanities student. Edited March 8, 2015 by Gk786 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShootingStar16 Posted March 8, 2015 Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 I strongly suggest taking HL bio if you're not much of a science kind of person. It's memorization (like the person above me said) and linking things together. Apparently chem HL is super hard. Chem is calculations and concepts. I agree with the person above me saying that bio is significantly easier than chem. chem is SL for me but bio is still so much each easier Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IbTrojan Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 If you're not a sciences sort of person, than I'd actually suggest chemistry. You're right when you say it's more useful rather than biology. The thing is, if you think about it logically, chemistry is the one that links in with math better...but at the same time, you said that you've done more biology labs than chemistry labs and there will be quite a few labs in chemistry, especially HL. However, your gut tells you to take HL Chem and I'm telling you, whenever I don't listen to my gut, things go wrong. And in the end, it's what YOU think will be best for you, not us. Things to take into consideration:- What sort of universities are you applying to? What programs? Will they look at Chem or bio more?- Which one do you like more in the end? (Even though you've mentioned you don't like sciences, I'm assuming deep down, you like one more than another)- Which one will actually help you either for other courses or your career path?- Which one are you willing to spend 9 months on?- What do your past science teachers recommend?- What do your parents recommend? Hope this helps and all the best with your decision! 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kw0573 Posted May 17, 2015 Report Share Posted May 17, 2015 (edited) I just had my exams in HL Chem and I did not take Bio.This is unlikely, but if you have the chance to talk to any current HL bio or chem students at your new school, DO TALK TO THEM and see if they recommend any teachers over others. Some teachers will provide more resources, such as past papers or more available time slots for help outside of class/online. From my own experience, calculations in HL Chem is only about 10-15% on the actual exams. In class it could be as high as 30-40% because apparently that's what many teachers focus on. Most calculations on my official chem papers are conceptual based. For example there was an electrochemical question in paper 1 this year tests if you know when you are supposed to take account of stoichiometry, and when it doesn't matter (the question was a one step addition). Energetics, the most math-heavy unit, and in Paper 2 it appeared only in the Part B (where you get to choose what questions you answer). There was a question in paper 3 in which I wasn't sure which molecule is more acidic, but the answer was given in the chem data booklet, so I just had to come up with an explanation to get the other marks to the question. Another thing is to keep in mind your study habits. If you are super amazing at memorization under pressure (in April-May of 2016) then go for Bio. However, each unit in chemistry is like a HUGE hurdle. Once you UNDERSTAND the main ideas of each unit you are not likely to do much memorization (except for organic chem). If you don't get an unit immdediately, it might be very discouraging to study really hard to understand the concepts (esp when you have lots other homework). EDIT: 90% of IB students at my school also take HL Math. Most people study harder in Math than in chem, but I think it's due to a shortage of motivation to overcome aforementioned hurdles in chem. I tried really hard to push myself to study chem. This lack of focus in chem may be also because the math teachers give more assessments, but we only get large® unit tests in chem. Again, check to see how the teachers teach the courses. Edited May 17, 2015 by kw0573 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Hiddleston Posted May 17, 2015 Report Share Posted May 17, 2015 Bio HL is basically Chem SL Options so these two really complement each other. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kw0573 Posted May 17, 2015 Report Share Posted May 17, 2015 Another forum on the same topichttp://www.ibsurvival.com/topic/32920-hl-chem-or-hl-bio/ Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrodinger's CAS Posted May 17, 2015 Report Share Posted May 17, 2015 Statistically speaking, Chem HL appears to be the easier option. According to the IBO website, in 2013, the mean grade for bio HL was 4.35 whereas the mean grade for chem HL was 4.55. Also, less than 5% of bio HL students were awarded 7s, but more than 10% of chem HL students were awarded 7s. But statistic apply to the population, not to individuals. You should take which ever one that you think you can do well in and will benefit you the most. Source: http://www.ibo.org/contentassets/bc850970f4e54b87828f83c7976a4db6/2013-maydpstatisticalbulletin.pdf pg21 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink97 Posted May 17, 2015 Report Share Posted May 17, 2015 Statistically speaking, Chem HL appears to be the easier option. According to the IBO website, in 2013, the mean grade for bio HL was 4.35 whereas the mean grade for chem HL was 4.55. Also, less than 5% of bio HL students were awarded 7s, but more than 10% of chem HL students were awarded 7s. But statistic apply to the population, not to individuals. You should take which ever one that you think you can do well in and will benefit you the most. Source: http://www.ibo.org/contentassets/bc850970f4e54b87828f83c7976a4db6/2013-maydpstatisticalbulletin.pdf pg21 Uh sure that might be true statistically but it isn't actually easier in the majority of people's opinion (all the people I know who take both at higher level find biology more easier conceptually). It has more do with the fact that weaker science students are much more likely to take biology as their science at higher level if they need a filler higher level subject rather than chemistry - no one takes chemistry at higher level if they don't like it or don't need to for university as most IB students are aware of the fact that it's more difficult. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrodinger's CAS Posted May 17, 2015 Report Share Posted May 17, 2015 Statistically speaking, Chem HL appears to be the easier option. According to the IBO website, in 2013, the mean grade for bio HL was 4.35 whereas the mean grade for chem HL was 4.55. Also, less than 5% of bio HL students were awarded 7s, but more than 10% of chem HL students were awarded 7s. But statistic apply to the population, not to individuals. You should take which ever one that you think you can do well in and will benefit you the most. Source: http://www.ibo.org/contentassets/bc850970f4e54b87828f83c7976a4db6/2013-maydpstatisticalbulletin.pdf pg21 Uh sure that might be true statistically but it isn't actually easier in the majority of people's opinion (all the people I know who take both at higher level find biology more easier conceptually). It has more do with the fact that weaker science students are much more likely to take biology as their science at higher level if they need a filler higher level subject rather than chemistry - no one takes chemistry at higher level if they don't like it or don't need to for university as most IB students are aware of the fact that it's more difficult. I see your point. My school doesn't offer HL Chem so I didn't that it would be harder than HL bio (which is considered the hardest course in our school). Thanks a lot for the explanation! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
anotheribkid Posted May 17, 2015 Report Share Posted May 17, 2015 I've taken both Bio and Chem at HL and given your background with humanities, I'd say go for Bio HL. I found Bio to be easier than chemistry because its just about covering the material and understanding simple mechanisms - with a fair bit of memorisation. I procrastinated A LOT but managed to do all of Bio in 3 days including SL material and the options while doing the English Lit HL exams and I think I managed to get at least a 6, most likely a 7 in the exams. For Chemistry, you need lots more practice and to really be familiar with the concepts. This takes more time, and I had to study a lot more for Chem HL. So for the two questions: in my opinion, Biology is easier as it is very straight forward- the longer questions they ask (like in Section B for Paper 2) are directly from the syllabus so you're familiar with the types of questions. Data analysis is also very simple. A humanities person would be more suited to Bio HL, given that there is genuine interest in it. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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