My next year of high school (also my senior year) I get to choose to take chemistry or physics. My question is which will teach me more practical knowledge about how things work? The obvious answer would be to take which ever I'm more interested in, but I'm curious as to you guy's opinions.

 

Sorry if this question is extremely general, keep in mind I'm asking for your opinion, not a 100% fact based comparison. Thanks!

Wow, this is a hard choice, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to choose both. Well, as you stated, it would be obvious to pick the one you are more interested in or need most for your future career. Both fields are broad/extensive, so you have to do in-depth research on both fields to learn more about it and which would be you personal favorite.

On the high school level I would say that it does not make a terrible much of a difference as the material will only be taught in a relatively superficial level. I would probably chose the teacher who is more knowledgeable and interest in the topic he/she teaches.

If you're planning to go to college and do a STEM degree (or at least, take calculus), then I recommend holding off on physics until you've done calculus and can take calculus-based physics courses.

Otherwise, as mentioned previously, it's a matter of personal preference and deciding which instructor is more competent. Either class has the potential to be pretty interesting and useful.

I have taken both classes, and they are great. To give you a short introduction, Chemistry is the study of matter and Physics is the study of energy. Bear in mind that these are vague definitions of their respected sciences. My personal opinion and bias, if of course it matters to you, is to take physics. In my experience I felt I had a better understanding of the world and how it works taking physics, but the same can be said for chemistry. If you can drop an elective to take both, do it. It is worth it for the knowledge you will gain.

Thanks for all of your reponses. I'll probably end up taking chemistry because the teacher is supposed to be amazing.

 

 

Thanks!