Hello everyone! I’m a sophomore in high school and we have to do class registration for next year. The thing is, I signed up for Chemistry Honors (got the paper signed by my Biology teacher) and my mother said no. I’m making straight a’s in biology class and it’s easy, but next year I want a more challenging class. What should I do?
What’s your mom’s reason for saying you shouldn’t take it?
@suzy100… Her reason for saying I shouldn’t take it is… She’s saying I need a foundation of chemistry and I haven’t taken regular chemistry. To me, chemistry is a combination of physical science and biology.
Chemistry is far more challenging than bio for most kids.
That would be a valid argument for AP chem but most students that I know took honors chem as their chem foundation course.
You may want your GC to talk to your mom directly so she can better understand.
Maybe your bio teacher can talk to your mom? Or the Chen teacher could? Most HS students going into an honors chem class have little or no chem knowledge. Maybe she is mixing it up with AP? Some hush schools do have students take regular chem before AP chem.
If your grades are good, taking a more rigorous courseload can make a positive difference in college admissions and scholarships.
@bjkmom… why do you say chemistry is far more challenging that biology?
@momofsenior1… my mother actually said that today! She was like I either need to talk to your GC or make an appointment with her.
I feel like chem is one of the harder sciences. If you feel up for the challenge though, AND are good with math, then you will be successful. How important is it to you?
@rofikicafe… It’s really not that important but it kind of is because I’m always up for the challenge. I just need to make up my mind and submit this class registration. When you say, “good with math” what kind of math are you talking about? I lost you there.
Have your GC talk to your mom…tell her that Honors Chem is the first Chemistry class for strong students. Your Bio teacher thinks you can do it and they see who and cannot do well in that class. Tell her that AP Chemistry is the next chemistry class you could take and that WOULD really need Honors Chem before you take it to do well.
@bopper… My mom has already stated that she needs to talk to my GC. I am doing very well in Biology (making straight a’s), but that class is way to easy. I talked to my biology teacher and he said, “As long as you’re good with balancing equations, you’ll be fine.”
I’m a senior right now, I took honors bio freshman year and honors chem soph year. I loved bio so much and did well in it too, so I assumed I would do well in Hchem too, but it is a totally different science! (Or at least that’s how I felt) and I found chemistry to be much more challenging than bio, but I did get through it! Just had to put in a lot of extra time to understand the topics. So I would say if you are up for the challenge go for it! Just know that doing well in bio is not necessarily an indicator of doing well in chem bc they are so different. Good luck! 
@madib23… First of all, I don’t need luck! And secondly, what’s the difference between biology and chemistry?
Sorry if I offended! I meant good luck with figuring things out with your mom. So biology is very memorization based, memorizing cellular processes and what enzymes do what, u know the deal. But chemistry is a lot more theoretical I would say? It’s much more based on solving math problems related to chemical equation, rather than describing something going on within a cell for example. If you want a good example of the math required for chem, I would look up stoichiometry, that’s a huge part of solving chem equations (at least it was at my school). But yeah overall bio was easier (for me) because at least you could use pictures and diagrams to understand what was going on, can’t really do that in chem. I hope that helped at least a little! If u have any more questions let me know!
Don’t take offense so quickly. Luck does play into good grades sometimes! Having a stronger teacher helps. Sometimes your own stuff can get in the way (illness or family issues). Some people have more of a knack for some subjects than others, too.
I will mention here that as someone who is not a Science person, I did okay in Bio Honors (ended it with a B+) and am currently suffering in AP Physics 1 (have a C), but I did really well in Honors Chemistry (ended with a very high A). I agree that in my experience I know a lot more people better at Bio than Chem, but it definitely is possible for the opposite to happen.
Seeing that you did well in Bio, I think you’re set, and you shouldn’t worry about Chemistry. However, while Chem isn’t another math class, there is a lot more Math involved, particularly in the Gas Laws unit, compared to Biology. Like math, Chem also requires you to take time to practice what you learned in class over and over again, though. I think this is important to say because you can’t just memorize in Math, and that applies in Chemistry as well. If you’ve been good at arithmetic with big numbers without calculators, you’re probably set, though, because that’s the hardest math you will use in the class.
Again, this is just my own experience, so this can totally vary for many people. However, I just felt like throwing this out there. The rest of the users who answered here have provided some great advice for you, and I agree with them.
Best of luck to you and have a nice day.
@intparent… I was just saying I don’t need the “l” word because my favorite artist said, “We’re not 'l” word, we’re loved" (actually listening to the song right now)
@madib23… so in your opinion is biology harder or easier than chemistry? I thought chemisty was a mixture of biology and physical science, is it not?
Give honors chemistry a try. You seem very enthusiastic about it, and you can always drop back down after a quarter if it isn’t going well.