For Year 10 · Choosing your HSC subjects
Which HSC science should I choose?
Biology, Chemistry or Physics. What each one is actually like, how much maths you really need, the truth about scaling, and how to tell which one suits you.
First, the honest bit
Nobody can tell you which subject to pick, because the right answer depends on you. But most Year 10 students choose badly for one of three reasons: they pick what their friends picked, they pick what they think "looks good", or they pick based on a rumour about scaling. All three are worse than picking the subject you will actually work hard at.
Here is what each one is really like.
Biology
The one people underestimate.
- What it is
- Systems, mechanisms and cause and effect: heredity, genetic change, infectious and non-infectious disease. Very little calculation, a great deal of writing.
- The maths
- Almost none. Ratios, percentages, reading graphs.
- Why it bites
- Students assume "no maths" means "easy" and try to memorise it. It is the most writing-heavy science, and the marks go to precise, causal explanations. Knowing the content and writing an answer that earns the marks are two different skills.
- Suits you if
- You can write clearly, you like understanding how living systems fit together, and you are willing to be marked on the quality of your explanation rather than a right answer.
Chemistry
The one that punishes gaps.
- What it is
- Half calculation, half explanation. Moles, equilibrium, acids and bases, organic chemistry, and analysis of substances.
- The maths
- Real, but not advanced: rearranging equations, logarithms for pH, ratios. Maths Advanced helps but Maths Standard students do it successfully every year.
- Why it bites
- It is relentlessly cumulative. If the mole concept is shaky in Year 11, every calculation for the next two years is shaky. It is the least forgiving subject to fall behind in.
- Suits you if
- You like problems with a method and a definite answer, and you are prepared to keep up rather than cram.
Physics
The one that rewards mathematical thinking.
- What it is
- Models of how the physical world behaves: motion, forces, fields, waves, electricity, and the nature of light and matter. Heavily mathematical, but conceptual too.
- The maths
- The most of the three. Trigonometry, algebra, rates of change. Doing Maths Advanced alongside it makes a real difference, and Maths Standard students find it much harder going.
- Why it bites
- You cannot memorise your way through it. The exams give you unfamiliar situations and expect you to apply a model you understand. And there is far more extended writing than students expect.
- Suits you if
- You are comfortable with algebra, you like knowing why a formula works rather than just using it, and unfamiliar problems interest you rather than panic you.
The truth about scaling
You have heard that Physics and Chemistry "scale better" than Biology. Here is what is actually going on, because the rumour version causes real damage.
Scaling does not reward a subject. It adjusts for the strength of the group of students who took it. If a subject happens to attract a stronger cohort, a given mark in it is worth more, because it was harder to earn against those students. It is not a bonus attached to the subject name, and it is not something you can capture by enrolling.
What this means for you. Choosing Physics because it scales well, and then coming 60th in it, will hurt your ATAR far more than coming 5th in Biology. You cannot borrow a strong cohort's scaling by joining it. You can only earn a good mark, and you earn that in the subject you will actually work at.
Pick the subject you will do well in. That is not a consolation prize, it is the actual strategy.
Some practical things nobody tells you
- You can do more than one. Plenty of students take two sciences. Biology and Chemistry is a common, comfortable pair. Chemistry and Physics is heavier but coherent, and it shares a lot of mathematical habits.
- Check your maths choice at the same time. If you are considering Physics, decide about Maths Advanced in the same conversation, not afterwards.
- University prerequisites are rarer than people think. A few degrees assume a science, and some assume Chemistry specifically. Check the actual course pages for the degrees you are curious about rather than trusting hearsay, and remember that most students change their minds anyway.
- Year 11 starts in Term 4. Your HSC courses begin months before you think they do. Whatever you choose, the run-up is shorter than it feels right now.
- Talk to your own teachers. They have seen you work. That is information no website has.
Still not sure?
Try a real lesson from each. Everything on this site is free, so you can spend twenty minutes inside each subject before you commit two years to it, which is a much better test than any quiz.
Want this emailed to you?
I'll send you a link to this guide so you can find it again when subject selections open, and I'll let you know when Year 11 head-start classes start in Term 4. Nothing else, and you can unsubscribe from any email.