Subjects
Physics
Describe what this subject is about
"Physics for me is more of the mechanism of various objects around me, so it's like the study of how object moves and behaves as well as phenomenons." --- Senior W(HCI)
"H2 Physics is about applying and adding on to what you have learnt in secondary school physics. There are new topics like Waves Motions and Superpositions, but most things learnt in H2 Physics are actually just extensions of secondary school topics like electricity, etc.
Do check out the SEAB website about the topics if you want to know more :)" --- Senior J(DHS)
What does learning this subject entail?
"Physics consist a lot of calculations as well as applying the concept / formula taught in new scenarios. So it also involves observing how certain object behaves and relate it to mechanisms that I have learnt" --- Senior W(HCI)
"Learning H2 entails that you would be learning more than if you are studying H1 Physics, so the workload would definitely be higher.
Doing practice papers helps too, as you get to know what kind of questions the teachers love to ask, and how to answer those kind of questions.
It is much more important to internalise and understand the topics covered rather than memorising the equations. (though in tight situations, randomly plucking in equations to try out works too :P)" --- Senior J(DHS)
What is the difference in rigour between JC and secondary school?
"I feel that jc physics builds on the foundation taught in sec sch physics. The new concepts are slightly harder to comprehend but essentially you practice applying the various concept in similar ways as sec sch physics" --- Senior W(HCI)
"The biggest difference in rigour is that in JC, H2 Physics's homework come in the form of tutorials which most of the time is "voluntary" to do. (its highly recommended to do your tutorials!!!). This means that you control your own workload (to a certain extent) while in secondary school, most homework is compulsory :) " --- Senior J(DHS)
Why did you choose to take it? Do you regret your decision?
"I took physics because I found it very thought provoking and I felt that being able to convey certain behaviors and mechanism quantitatively was pretty interesting. I don't really regret taking physics because I don't think I would enjoy bio much better anyways lol" --- Senior W(HCI)
"honest, I took physics because it was the only science offered to me as I took computing as my other science subjects. (chemistry classes timetable clashes with computing classes, hence is mutally exclusive.) So, I guess you might have to take note of such things when deciding to take unique combinations.
Physics is also quite fun i guess.. and it is quite closely tied to H2/H3 Mathematics compared to the other sciences so no i dont regret my decision because of that :) " --- Senior J(DHS)
Do you know what the differences between H1, H2 and H3? If so, can you explain what they are?
"H1 physics focuses more on mechanical physics (i.e. dynamics, forces, torque etc.) while H2 physics builts on a larger range of topics. H3 physics consist more of the derivation of the formulas you learnt in h2 physics." --- Senior W(HCI)
"H1 physics is less in depth and breadth than h2 physics, while h3 physics is mainly covering stuff in university or higher tier/ more depth (i think...)
In my brutal opinion, unless your future job/desired university course requires you to have high proficiency in H3 physics OR you have HUGE interest in physics..., you probably dont need to take H3" --- Senior J(DHS)