lifehouse Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 hi i am trying to decide between the two subjects fro IB. I dont wish to continue science in the future but am only interested in which one i will be able to achieve the highest grade in or which one is more impressive on a college application. I am about the same level in both. thank you Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
godofib Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 (edited) Biology SL is basically pure memorization and if you are good at that, biology should probably be the course you should take since you will get a high mark. On the other hand, physics is more about problem-solving and there is also a lot of math involved. In my opinion, SL bio is probably the course in which people tend to score higher as compared to physics. As for your college application it depends on which field you are applying to. If you are going into let's say engineering, physics should definitely be what you take. But if you are going more into the sciences (which you said you are not), I think bio would be good. Edited September 7, 2009 by godofib Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetnsimple786 Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 I've taken Physics SL and I'm taking Bio HL. I think that Bio at standard level will be easier, but I think that Physics at SL will help you out more. With bio, like godofib said, you have rote memorization. It's not that hard, and I find it to be interesting. With physics, like godofib said, you have more problem solving & math, which is a plus. I can't tell you how many times I've taken something I learned from physics and used it as a shortcut in a math problem. In math class, some of the problems are applications of math like "how much work is done when..." or "find the angle between the port and the ship's route..." or just vectors in general! So I think that you'll be able to utilize the stuff you've learned in physics more, but I think that a foundation in biology is necessary [which SL bio would cover a good foundation plus some more] unless you don't mind sounding like an ignoramus. Also, I think you should have a good foundation in physics because it'll help you realize how the world around you works to a small degree. We just throw words like 'work' and 'power' and 'decelerate' and 'centrifugal' around and don't use them correctly for the most part. Physics is really cool in that aspect as it shows you the clockwork behind the complexity of the world we live in. That being said, I don't think that physics would look more favorable than biology if you're not interested. It wouldn't matter if you're not planning on going into the sciences at all [and I consider engineering as a branch off of the sciences.] For me physics was super hard, but it was worth it. I loved it. But it was hard for me because my teacher taught from a slightly different syllabus than IB's, so we covered the majority of the options, but not in depth. 1 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taigan Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 Definitely Biology at SL but you'll have to do some memorizing. Good luck Although, I think that having Physics will be more advantageous to you if you're sure you don't want to study sciences in the future. I think it's seen as a more demanding course.Anyways, good luck Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilia Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 If you're into maths, take physics. It's interesting, but I think it's more demanding if you're not particularly into it. Biology is probably easier to cope with, if you aren't interested in science. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deissi Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 How is your maths? If you're ok at SL Math (> 5), Physics SL is the way to go. If you really dont like maths, take bio instead. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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