Khan Academy Videos: Math & Physics Lessons

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the Khan Academy, a platform offering video lessons in various subjects, particularly math and physics. Participants share their experiences with the content, its effectiveness, and its applicability to different educational levels, ranging from basic arithmetic to advanced calculus and differential equations.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express enthusiasm for the Khan Academy videos, highlighting their helpfulness and range of topics.
  • Several users mention the effectiveness of the videos in learning calculus and other advanced math topics, with some stating they have successfully applied the concepts learned.
  • One participant notes that while the site is excellent for foundational topics, they found the calculus content lacking in certain areas, particularly related rates and polar coordinates.
  • Another participant suggests that the videos serve as supplements rather than comprehensive university-level courses.
  • Some users recommend comparing Khan Academy videos with other resources for a more thorough understanding of calculus concepts.
  • Concerns are raised about the reliance on advertising revenue and the availability of similar content elsewhere, suggesting that while Khan Academy is valuable, it may not cover all advanced topics adequately.
  • Participants share links to other educational resources and YouTube channels that complement the Khan Academy offerings.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

While many participants agree on the overall quality and usefulness of Khan Academy, there are differing opinions regarding the depth and comprehensiveness of the content, particularly for advanced topics. The discussion reflects a mix of positive experiences and some critiques, indicating that no consensus exists on the adequacy of the material for university-level studies.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express limitations in the content coverage, particularly in advanced calculus topics, and mention the need for additional resources to fully grasp certain concepts. The discussion also highlights the varying levels of difficulty in the materials presented.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to students seeking supplementary resources for math and physics, educators looking for teaching aids, and anyone exploring online learning platforms in STEM fields.

HuaYongLi
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I'm wondering if anyone else has came across this site, its covers a wide range of maths topics and some physics as well. The lessons are in a video format and are hosted on Youtube.
http://www.khanacademy.org/"
 
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I have just looked at a couple of them.Good stuff.
 
they are awesome
 
I stumbled upon them as well. There were some really helpful video's. Difficulty ranges from easy (simple arithmetic) to, I'd say, quite advanced (differential equations etc).
 
Khan is the best. I've been watching him for a year now... He's doing Biology, chemistry, finance, etc... He also made it on CNN by being known for his teaching ability on youtube
 
Yes, this contains really helpful videos covering a variety of topics in math and sciences such as physics, chemistry and biology.
 
I found the site earlier this year when doing a research paper on Genghis Khan. Khan Academy is definitely one of the best "tutoring" sites on the net and they are constantly updating the site with new lessons on an assortment of topics.
 
Wow... Thank you very much for shearing this! :-)
 
Great great stuff, highly recommended for everybody. This is how I learned calculus and I can effectively apply calculus to numerous problems now.
 
  • #10
Very, very nice. I've been looking for a resource like this forever.
 
  • #11
Oh that's great . very good stuff. i am going to pass it on to my friends .
i have never come across like this.
 
  • #12
Sorry to revive a twelve-day-old thread, but I want his to be brought up again.

Khan Academy is easily one of the best learning resources online. It is the reason I know about partial derivatives, gradients, and double integrals. I'm looking into differential equations now, and Salman Khan explains it in such a way that I immediately see what he says.

Definitely worth mentioning.
 
  • #14
This is where I learned calculus from last month. After a bit more practice, on to differential equations!
 
  • #15
Personally, this site was awesome for everything up to calculus. I mean, this site changed my life for the clarity of all of the math on it, but the calculus stuff just wasn't adequate.

I couldn't do related rates problems after watching these videos, I got very confused by limits & didn't realize how simple they were (in the calculus sense - although the epsilon-delta explanation is brilliant) and a few more issues.

If you want a comparison, watch some of the videos on this site & compare/contrast the level of difficulty.

http://online.math.uh.edu/HoustonACT/videocalculus/index.html

Especially the related rates problem on this one, I mean it still scares me...

That said, I'll always tell people I really went to university @ KhanAcademy :p
 
  • #16
I found khanacademy to be pretty good for calculus. After a good amount of worksheets, I was able to do about 3/4 of the BC Calculus exam in my head(and I'm a very slow minded person) but I'm very disappointed that he didn't talk about differentiating or integrating parametric or polar equations, which are pretty big parts of them.

The link you gave is a very good resource for single variable calculus. I'm watching the video on polar coordinates and it's going to be fuuuun!
 
  • #17
I actually find related rates and optimization the toughest part of single-variable calculus.
 
  • #18
Those problems are insanely hard...

Until you realize the derivative is always with respect to time, (always resulting in an implicit differentiation)...

Most of the time you are using the Pythagorean theorem or something like the radius/volume.

That knowledge, to look for what is changing with time & what is the geometrical shape that is varying is really all you need, well that's all I've seen in single variable :redface:
 
  • #19
Great find! This site has 4 of my 6 courses in it! I am stoked, thanks!
 
  • #20
Yes. This website is very good!
 
  • #22
CNN is running a story about Khan and his academy. Great stuff indeed!
 
  • #23
Could you find a link? I'd really like to see that story...
 
  • #24
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY5VKiG_IXE
 
  • #25
I give applause.

A well-written story about a fantastic man. Nothing wrong here.
 
  • #26
The amount of videos and knowledge is impressive. Economics, Physics, Mathmatics, Biology and Chemistry is an impressive repertoire. Great page and great man.
 
  • #27
Look, I'll be honest with you Salman Khan from Khan Academy is not bad. But you really get what you pay for - nothing comes free. He gets lots of advertising revenue which is how he sustains what he does. Most content Khan covers is freely available from Google, to be honest. The algebra, chemistry, biology, history, linear algebra, trigonometry, precalculus, economics, algebra, banking, statistics, physics, probability, finance, arithmetic, valuation, differentiation, geometry, bailouts, calculus, he covers is mostly your A-level (year 12) stuff.

That's cool - but if you want quality university-level gear, you really need something like iMasterClass by Waverly Labs (http://www.jeremyshuminvent.com/ ) - The Jeremy Shum Invent Company, there are also a few other titles out there, but this one is probably the best, because its actually used by celebrities in the real world who DONT attend university, and get their degrees by correspondence.

Like they say, you can only rise to the level of your professor. Just my two cents though, I'll be honest when my seventh grade daughter asks me about topics I'm not too sure I do send her to Khan.
 
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  • #28
The videos of Salman Khan are not meant to be university-level videos that constitute a class in and of themselves, but are actually, I believe, supplements.
 
  • #29
This is good stuff. Thanks for sharing. Not that I need it or anything, but I can recommend this to the people I'm tutoring.
 
  • #30
very nice post.
i ahve accepted you post informations.
 

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