Picking HSC Subjects: Should I Choose Physics?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the decision-making process for selecting HSC subjects, specifically the choice of physics. Participants share their perspectives on the relevance, difficulty, and implications of taking physics in the context of future academic plans.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested, Conceptual clarification, Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses uncertainty about choosing physics and seeks advice on the decision.
  • Another participant suggests that background in trigonometry and algebra is important for success in physics, indicating that a desire to learn is a valid reason to choose the subject.
  • A different viewpoint mentions that HSC physics differs from real-world physics and is not particularly difficult, suggesting that with effort, students can grasp the concepts.
  • It is noted that students can take General Maths alongside HSC Physics, as the calculations involved are not considered hard.
  • One participant reflects on their experience, stating that while HSC physics is challenging, it scales well and is a prerequisite for many university science courses, mentioning specific universities.
  • Another participant shares that friends who took both 2u physics and 4u maths achieved good results, implying a potential benefit of this combination.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants present a range of perspectives on the difficulty and relevance of HSC physics, with no clear consensus on whether it is an advisable choice. Some emphasize the importance of prior mathematical knowledge, while others focus on the subject's scaling and university prerequisites.

Contextual Notes

Participants do not provide specific details about the curriculum or the exact nature of the physics content, leaving some assumptions about the subject's difficulty and relevance unresolved.

Who May Find This Useful

Students considering their HSC subject choices, particularly those interested in physics and its implications for future studies in science or engineering.

Bryce123
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I am currently in the process of picking my subjects for the HSC, I want to pick physics but.don't know whether to pick it or not can some one please give me some advice thank you.
 
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We can't give any reasonable advice without knowing more information. How much math do you have? What other sciences have you taken? What are your plans after secondary school? What are your other course options?

The only advice I can offer now is: If you want to take physics, and have background in trigonometry and algebra (and calculus if your physics course is calculus-based) then go for it. Wanting to learn physics is the best reason to take a physics course.
 
Bryce123 said:
I am currently in the process of picking my subjects for the HSC, I want to pick physics but.don't know whether to pick it or not can some one please give me some advice thank you.

HSC Physics is nothing like real world Physics and for the HSC it isn't particularly difficult. You may struggle with some concepts to start with but you should be able to grasp them with a little bit of effort.

You can do General Maths and do HSC Physics as the calculations are not hard at all. Real Physics starts turning up in Extension 2 Mathematics.
 
HSC physics! wow, memories...

It's not easy but it scales well. It's a pre-req for a lot of science courses at unis like USYD/UNSW/etc (i think, anyway. It could be that you need to do "at least two" sciences, but i seem to remember some stating physics).

A few of my friends did 2u physics and 4u maths and got really good UAIs because of it.
 

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