Do HSC sciences need more maths? (1 Viewer)

[Schoey93]

So, do you believe that NSW Higher School Certificate courses in science require heavier maths to be written into the syllabuses? Or are you of the school of the thought that says, "less maths makes the scientific concepts more accessible and easier to understand, therefore it must be a good thing"?


Share your thoughts here. I am sorry if this thread has been done before.

James

 

[waller]

No, I think the sciences are pretty balanced now.

If there were more maths in the courses, it'd be forced. Like really, it'd just be a lot more of rearranging equations to find the unknowns. Because they are limited to the levels of maths they can put in - like they can't use advanced calculus in Physics because some people may be doing general maths and not have even learnt basic calculus.

So yeah if people want to do math, they pick math subjects I guess.

 

[adriano_negr0]

maths is quality imo

 

[shuttle_bus5]

Get rid of the "effects on society" and history bullshit.
Do not want to be learning on which date some famous scientist did this blah blah.
Considering maths is a tool used by scientists i think there should be alot more maths in the syllabus.

 

[omgmynameislong]

"Assess the impacts" shit make me cry. They're annoying -_-. I don't mind maths, doesn't really bother me.

 

[Phoenix Fury]

The amount of maths in physics ensured my failure.

 

[Tofuu]

chem and bio don't have to much math
physics i think is kinda balanced

 

[brent012]

Apparently there is even less maths in VCE than in the HSC, so i dont think its an issue.

 

[unholybuddha]

Get rid of the "effects on society" and history bullshit.
Do not want to be learning on which date some famous scientist did this blah blah.
Considering maths is a tool used by scientists i think there should be alot more maths in the syllabus.

agreed, had 5 bloody ten markers in my first HSC assessment. and all of them were like "assess the significance of the manhattan project to society. 10 marks"

 

[iSplicer]

Get rid of the "effects on society" and history bullshit.
Do not want to be learning on which date some famous scientist did this blah blah.
Considering maths is a tool used by scientists i think there should be alot more maths in the syllabus.

Amen brother.

 

[Schoey93]

"Assess the impacts" shit make me cry. They're annoying -_-. I don't mind maths, doesn't really bother me.

I haven't officially started preliminary biology yet, but there was a shitload of "assess the impact" and "contribution to science" questions in the 2009 School Cert Science test, it seemed. I guess they're getting us ready for the shitty HSC science questions that come up?

Assessing the impact of science on society is boring, probably because it's so easy. Why have something so obvious as "science has a great impact on society - it enhances the quality of life of the public and of researchers" as a syllabus dot point? It just doesn't make sense to include something so simple in what are "difficult" courses.

 

[nonsenseTM]

amen brother.

+1

 

[Schoey93]

I agree with the guy who said "maths is quality".

Currently if your HSC science class wants to do more maths in their sci classes, they have to ask the teacher to teach beyond the syllabus and provide them with extension work. I can understand why there's not a lot of maths in say, biology - it's because biologists tend to only use maths during experimental work and during their study of genetics.

But for an HSC course like Chem or Physics, maths should be, I believe, a crucial element. Now I'm not taking either course, but I will always love Physics and read about it outside of school... chemistry is okay, but it's "meh" to me. Can I say what I'm about to say without sounding like a homosexual?


It breaks my heart that there is almost no real maths (maths where you don't have a formulae sheet!) in HSC Physics ... it's a part of the reasons I chose not to do it at HSC-level...what I did was choose to study actual maths (the HSC Mathematics course) rather than HSC Physics.

 

[Schoey93]

Would everyone agree with the idea "slightly more to a lot more maths in Geology (E&ES), Biology, Chemistry & Physics; leave the Senior Science course as is"?

:/

 

[nonsenseTM]

but you do realise there are phys teachers that won't pass sc maths

 

[Schoey93]

but you do realise there are phys teachers that won't pass sc maths

Yes. But really, people like that should not be teaching physics in the first place. Ideally every physics teacher will have done a Bachelor of Science (Physics) at university, but it doesn't work like that..

 

[Schoey93]

Although there are some private schools who only let physics teachers teach it if they majored in physics/have a Master of Education (Physics)...

Edit:

Oh, there should NOT be any physics teachers who cannot TEACH let alone pass SC maths. Almost EVERY NSW HSC science teacher is qualified to teach Years 7-10 Mathematics, because mathematics has always been a key element of every reputable science degree in Australia.. so... you're wrong if you're implying there are STACKS of physics teachers that don't know maths.
They would be an anomaly

Anyway, on with the discussion...leave the Senior Science course as is? Make every other science course a bit more mathematical? I only say this cuz that way people who don't like maths could just do senior science and we'd have more mathematical, interesting courses in specialist areas, ie geology, biology, chem, phys. An astronomy course would be good too ... it's only a small part of physics now.


What the hell though, the curriculum is bound to change under PM Rudd's 2011 National Curriculum (ie every state will, probably after the next 2011 election, have the same curriculum, from Year 1/Kindergarten to Year 12)

 

[elmoateme]

I don't think any more maths content needs to be insterted into the course. However, there should be more genuine problem solving questions (which inheritly require the use of maths) which actually require students to think about a problem, and not regurgitate random historical facts.

Why is it that there is more real physics in the 4u mechanics unit than in all of the hsc physics course?

At the moment projectile motion is a joke, however it is possible to actually make it interesting. It would be way more interesting if we were given combined flight questions being given only the initial and final position of the projectile. Or perhaps even a problem combining linear motion and projectile motion.

[OK I'll stop, I hate the HSC physics course too much for my own good, real physics spoiled me]

 

[Klutsov]

Yes

 

[theviet]

need more maths in chemistry

too much memory needed now >.<