Difference between H1 and H2 Chemistry

For students considering taking Chemistry in JC, a common question asked would be, should I take H1 Chemistry or H2 Chemistry, and what’s the difference?

Workload Requirements

Very generally speaking, a H1 subject is half the workload of a H2 subject and gives half the rank points as well (10 RP vs 20 RP).

One of the major differences between H1 and H2 Chemistry is the assessment format.

H2 Chemistry requires students to be able to perform experiments, make meaningful recording of data as well as evaluate the experimental results. On the other hand, H1 Chemistry does not have any practical component at all.

University Courses

Before considering whether to take H2 Chemistry, students also need to consider their ideal choice of university courses. If they intend to study Medicine or Dentistry, H2 Chemistry is a pre-requisite in order to be offered that course. Some other courses such as Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Life Science, Pharmacy, Food Science & Technology also require H2 Chemistry to be eligible for that course.

Curriculum

H1 Chemistry in general is easier to learn than H2 Chemistry in terms of the depth of concepts taught. The main difference comes in JC 2 year. H2 Chemistry has a very heavy focus on Organic Chemistry concepts while H1 Chemistry only breezes through some of these concepts, with a much heavier focus on polymerisation and nanomaterials. These 2 topics are cutting-edge topics and new discoveries are still being made everyday. This is why, even MOE schools have difficulty scoping the nature of these topics and deciding on the breadth of the learning outcomes to cover.

MLC Education Studio

MLC Education Studio is one of, if not the ONLY tuition centers that offer H1 Chemistry lessons. Many other centers would simply put the H1 students together with the H2 students and say that it is ok to “learn more”. What they fail to realise is that the learning outcomes for H1 Chemistry is completely different from H2 Chemistry, and they are in fact doing a disservice to the child, and the child ends up becoming even more confused as they do not know what are the assessment outcomes for their H1 Chemistry. MLC Education Studio offers specialised classes for both H1 and H2 Chemistry separately.

If you are a JC student studying either H1 or H2 Chemistry and would like to make learning Chemistry so much simpler, come on down for our FREE evaluative consultation to pinpoint your exact difficulties with Chemistry. Try out our classes to see the difference and why so many students choose us as their Chemistry specialist of choice!