At the end of Secondary 2, many students are plagued with the burning dilemma of which subject to take up - Combined or Pure Physics.

Many students may assume that combined Science is less conceptually taxing than taking pure Physics, in terms of general academic rigor and question difficulty, but it is important that we do not misinterpret this statement. 

The combined Physics syllabus content is 75% that of pure Physics, so it has lesser content to go through and understand, but this does not necessarily translate to an “easier subject” to score in. 

Let us start with the fundamental differences of combined and pure Physics: their paper weightages. 

Combined Physics constitutes equally of Physics and of another selectable Science subject (graded together), while pure Physics is taken as a separate entity on its own (graded individually). That being said, if you took up combined Science (Chemistry and Physics), you would be taking two different papers for both Chemistry and Physics, but the final grade would average out between the two. (i.e. if you scored an A1 for the Physics paper but C6 for the Chemistry paper, your final grade would be at B3/B4).

In each Science component, it is a similar paper structure to what a pure Physics student takes – MCQ, Structured Questions, and Practical Assessment (Lab), except that questions are less complex and are less demanding for students to obtain marks. 

There are pros and cons to this.

If you are someone that excels in Physics only, then pure Physics would be the way to go since your overall performance would be derived from your Physics performance. On the other hand, if you are a student who is weak in Physics, taking up combined science is a very viable option as you would still have another science subject (Biology/Chemistry) to brace the impact from the Physics component. Another logic works similarly: if your performance during the Physics paper was sub-par, you would still have a chance to rectify this since you have another science paper which ultimately results in a better grade, unlike that in pure Physics. 

On the flip side, we could also see this double-science combination as detrimental instead. If you did well for the Physics paper in combined science, this could be easily pulled down by mediocre performance in the other science paper. 

Additionally, lesser content is not equivalent to better grades. It only guarantees a less content-demanding paper. Time management wise, you are essentially taking papers for TWO subjects to obtain the grade of ONE. 

It is important that aside from focusing on the difference in content difficulty of combined and pure Physics, you should also consider the manageability and realistic symbiosis between two if you were to take up combined science; and if you took up pure Physics, to factor in time management and how you would be handling the lengthier and more difficult, in-depth content. 

In essence, do not fall into the fallacy that combined Science is easier than pure Physics.