Combined Science vs. Coordinated Science vs. Pure Sciences

There are a multitude of myths regarding these three types of sciences. Many students think that pure sciences are incredibly tough and combined sciences are for those who are no educationally inclined. This is not the case. Ranking these 3 types of sciences by their relative difficulty: 

Pure Sciences > Coordinated Science > Combined Science. 

Pure Sciences such as Biology, Chemistry and Physics are in actuality, not very tough especially for those who are eager in learning the subject. Combined Science on the other hand, is for those who are not strong in terms of the sciences and is recommended for those who are interested in pursuing their career in the art stream.  

As their name states, combined science is a collation of three subjects into one thus, pure sciences which are separated into individual subjects cover roughly 20% more in depth compared to combined sciences. Those who are pursuing their career generally take all 3 pure sciences with exception for those who know their university requirements thus, taking their mandatory 2 science subjects. 

With all that said, what is coordinated science? If combined science is "single science" and pure science is "triple science", coordinated science can be termed as "double science". These 3 sciences cover all the 3 major scientific disciplines Biology, Chemistry and Physics, however, they are termed differently because of the number of grades awarded. Pure Sciences award 3 different grades as 3 different papers, coordinated science awards 2 grades whilst combined science awards one grade. Taking 2 of pure sciences is not the same as taking coordinated science thus, knowing your university requirements are extremely important. 

Below are the links to the syllabus of the 3 types of sciences: 

1. Combined Science (0653): 2017-2018, 2019-2021
2. Coordinated Science (0654): 2017-2018, 2019-2021
3. Pure Sciences: Biology (0610): 2016-2018, 2019; Chemistry (0620): 2016-2018, 2019 and Physics (0625): 2016-2018, 2019