Should you take H2 Biology?

As you enter JC Science Stream, you may often hear discussions about whether to take H2 Physics or H2 Biology. In this article, we will break down all considerations you may wish to consider when deciding on your subject combination!

Consideration 1: Interest

H2 Biology is a completely different subject than O Level Biology! In Singapore, Biology education from Primary to A-Level has been organised as a continuum in the following manner:

from Lower Secondary Science to O-Level Biology, students learn about how life works at the physiological level
at A-Level, students learn about how life works at the cellular and molecular levels while understanding the implications of these at the macro level.

As you can see, A Level Biology dives more into the biochemical understanding of physiological processes. This could interest you if you enjoy seeing how chemical properties link to biology (for example, different chemical bonds in proteins, electrochemical gradients in photosynthesis and respiration) or aim to understand molecular targets of processes (e.g. transcription factors in controlling gene expression, kinases in cell signalling)

However, if you enjoyed Biology for the physiological impacts between organ systems (similar to most Medicine courses in NUS and NTU), then you may or may not enjoy H2 Biology. The only way to find out is to see H2 Biology notes (such as our free notes) or lessons (such as our crash courses)!

Consideration 2: Strengths

And we are not just talking about the strengths of your JC department (ahem), we are talking about your individual strengths!

You may often hear that to do well in JC Biology, you need to be good at memorising notes, model answers and key words. THAT IS COMPLETELY WRONG!

Recently, there has been a trend of Biology exam questions moving towards concepts and application. It is no longer about common questions that you can just copy and paste. Instead, you need to understand the concepts, how to apply them to novel contexts, and how to interlink concepts across different core ideas and even to O Level Biology to explain natural phenomena. This requires a higher level of application than commonly assessed in the O Levels.

For example, this is a question that has came up in the O-Levels about the changes in oxygen, carbon dioxide and lactic acid concentrations in a seal during, before and after a dive.

As you can see, the question guides the student throughout the application question with simple question requirements such as naming the processes, stating the times and briefly explaining short physiological processes.

Below is the same question set in the 2024 H2 Biology Paper 2.

Yep. 2 five-marker questions! The only word that they changed was from "during the dive" in part (i) to "after the dive" in part (ii). Basically, 10 marks are dedicated to explaining all of the respiratory processes occurring in cells during and after exercise. You will need to interlink the graphical data and trends to the biochemical processes in the syllabus.

So if people say H2 Biology is a memorisation subject, ask them where to memorise this answer?!

Consideration 3: Degree

While H2 Biology is no longer a pre-requisite for studying Medicine in Singapore, it is still a pre-requisite for studying Medicine in overseas universities. In particular, a H3 subject has proven to be a valuable portfolio booster for universities such as Cambridge who focus a lot on academic excellence.

Certain courses in NUS and NTU such as NUS Life Sciences do expect you to take H2 Biology. There are also bridging courses that students can skip if they were to take H2 Biology.

However, do be warned that there are many university courses that require H2 Physics that you would not be able to take should you choose H2 Biology.

Conclusion

You will hear seniors and your friends discussing about the pros and cons of studying H2 Biology and/or H2 Physics. The truth is that both subjects are equally sought after by students and universities alike. There is no “best” subject — only the one that best suits you. H2 Biology is a fulfilling subject if you are curious about the biochemistry behind life, committed to understanding complex systems, and driven to make real-world impact through biochemistry.

Although it is not an easy subject, there are many avenues of help available for you to ace this subject! We offer comprehensive notes, question banks and masterclasses to secure your A (and your medical/biology-related dreams)!