Study Aid Review: The Engineering Circuit Analysis Tutor: Volume 4

 

This is the fourth volume of the circuit analysis tutor that Jason put out. It continues the material from the first semester of circuits (usually called Circuits I or just Circuits analysis). It covers the material that comes in the second half of the class after you get through circuit analysis techniques, in which resistors and sources are the only circuit elements. This set introduces circuits in which capacitors and inductors are included. It does not go into the details of the transient and steady-state, those topics are covered in later volumes. This covers the topics of voltage, current, and power in inductors and capacitors, and then inductors and capacitors in series and parallel, and how to draw an equivalent circuit by reducing the parallel and series combinations. Again, this just deals with circuits that have direct current sources and does not cover circuits with alternating current sources.

I find Jason's material very helpful, and my learning style meshes well with his teaching style. He does not cover 100% of the material on every single topic, but he does cover the main topics and the main points of each topic, which is great for exam prep. But it is definitely NOT a replacement for going to class. So, if you learn by seeing examples worked out, this is a good study aid.

Study Aid Review: The Circuit Analysis Tutor: Volume 3

 

Volume 3 of Jason's circuit analysis tutor set includes the material that comes just about at the halfway point of a Circuits I class. Specifically, source transformations, Thevenin and Norton equivalent circuits (both with dependent and independent sources), maximum power transfer, and superposition. These concepts are built from and/or use the various techniques of simplifying circuits like Kirchhoff’s laws, node voltage, and mesh current, which is covered in the first two volumes. This covers about two weeks, give or take, worth of material that will be presented in class (depending on what your professor decides to focus on). In my class, this material was covered just after our second exam which was basically a mid-term exam. Like volumes 1 and 2, this set just covers DC circuits and does not include circuits with AC sources.

The set follows much the same format as Jason's other math and engineering lessons. He introduces a topic and then goes through several example problems, working them out step-by-step. I personally find his explanations very easy to follow and was able to comprehend them a lot better than I did reading the textbook. In fact, many times I found that the textbook made more sense after I had watched Jason's videos. So, if you learn best by watching example problems done, and do not mind watching what is essentially a simulated lecture, then this is a good study aid to use.

Study Aid Review: Mastering Statistics Volume 3

 

This is where Jason's statistics series really gets into the meat of a statistics course. The first two volumes and his old course were really going through the basics of the material. This one covers The Central Limit Theorem and Confidence Intervals, and how to use the various concepts to estimate population means both for large and small samples. As was the case with the previous sets he does not derive any of the formulas or use calculus to solve the problems. He explains how to use the various tables in the book, gives a lot of example problems, and explains how to interpret the problems so you know what is being asked. When it comes down to it, the math in statistics is relatively trivial (just some basic algebra at most) but realizing what the problem is asking and the approach to solving the problem is where the difficulty lies. Jason does a good job of cutting through that.

Like is the case for most of his newer sets, he spends one chapter (sometimes two) introducing a concept and giving some background, then subsequent chapters showing example problems on the concept. This keeps the chapters relatively short (anywhere from 5 to 35 minutes), and has a really good flow to the DVD. Also like the other DVD sets, he is not touching on everything from class (especially in multi-set series like this) so you cannot assume just because you have this you can skip class. But if you use it as intended, as a supplement, this will make your life much easier when you are doing homework or taking quizzes or exams.

There are three other sets to this series that Amazon does not have. Volume 4 finishes confidence intervals and introduces hypothesis testing. Volumes 5 and 6 are devoted entirely to hypothesis testing and variations of it. I am not sure at this point if that will be the end of the series, but given that hypothesis testing is a very large part of any statistics class you will probably want to check those out too.

Study Aid Review: Mastering Statistics Volume 2

 

This is set 2 in, as of this writing, a 6-volume set of mastering statistics volumes Jason has put out, with possibly more to come down the line. It is still covering basic material, and expanding on the core concepts that were introduced in the first volume, and there is still some overlap with the older set Jason put out years ago,  The Probability and Statistics Tutor - 10 Hour Course - 3 DVD Set - Learn By Examples! .

He starts out discussing discrete and continuous probability distribution, then basically spends the rest of the sections on Normal Probability Distribution (bell curves), finding the area under the bell curves using z-values and the tables in the back of most books. It should be noted that while he does mention that finding the area can be done with calculus and doing integration, he left that out and just focused on using the tables in the book, how to interpret the information in the problems, and look them up in the table. If you are taking a statistics class in the math curriculum that may be okay, but if you are taking something like an engineering data analysis class you will probably have to do the integration. But the integrals will end up being relatively basic and easily done with a graphing calculator so it should not cause most people in that situation a lot of problems.

If you have ever seen Jason's material, either because you own another set, or because you have seen sample videos on his site or on Youtube, it follows much the same format as his more recent DVDs. He introduces a concept in one or two lecture sections, then he does problems. Sometimes he does a couple problems in one chapter of the DVD, and sometimes just one. So overall the chapters are shorter, but he still packs a lot of information into the entire disc set. This is still the material that you will see early on in any statistics course, and would probably not cover all the material that you would get in a first exam. It probably translates to the material in the first 2 to 3 weeks of a course. Luckily the later volumes cover material like confidence intervals and hypothesis testing which make up the bulk of what any of the courses will cover.

I personally find that Jason's teaching style meshes with my learning style a lot. He explains things in a way that I find very easy to follow and I have used his DVD sets from algebra through advanced calculus and engineering. While none of his sets cover everything you will need to learn in the classes, and not even all the material you will likely be tested on, he goes through the big, main concepts that you have to know in order to be able to handle any other material. So while this is not a substitute for going to class or reading the book and doing homework, it will help you understand the material much more, so what is in the book is not so hard to follow, and if you have a teacher that is not so great, can make up for what you may not understand from him or her. They have been a great tool for me, and I cannot recommend them more if you are a visual and/or auditory learner.

Study Aid Review: Mastering Statistics Volume 1

 

I own most of Jason's DVD sets (aside from the very basic math sets and his Java programming sets). Some I have purchased through Amazon, and some through his website directly. I am back in school to get an electrical engineering degree. Next fall I have to take data analysis, which is basically applied statistics, with a teacher who does not have a great reputation, so I purchased all the volumes in this set, plus his original probability and statistics tutor  The Probability and Statistics Tutor - 10 Hour Course - 3 DVD Set - Learn By Examples! , to get the basics down before I take the class.

This volume covers the basics/core concepts of statistics. There is a little bit of overlap with his older DVD set, because while that one focused on probability some of the principles from statistics are used in probability and vice versa. So things like histograms, mean and standard deviation and variance will all be refresher concepts if you have the old set. But he does get into a lot of new material, some are definitions like Sample and Population which he did not really get into before, the various types of plots and charts, and things like Quartiles and the various theorems that are applicable only to statistics. So it is definitely not a double dip if you have the older set.

Like all his other DVD sets, Jason covers everything in a step-by-step manner. The new layout for his DVDs has been to introduce the concept in one section and then do example problems in the subsequent section(s) on that topic to keep the individual sections of the DVD shorter. In his older sets it was not uncommon to have hour-plus long sections, which could get to be a bit much if you attempted to watch the entire thing at once. In this set the longest overall section was right under a half hour. He rarely, if ever skips any steps in the problems he works through (I don't think he ever skipped any in this set), and even when he does he warns you ahead of time.

Learning style is different for everyone, but I find the way he explains concepts be it in math, physics, chemistry or engineering are very easy to follow, and much better than some of the free material that you can find out there. It is basically a video lecture though, not unlike sitting in a class lecture, but generally more condensed and focused on problems more than it is on the overall theory. So if it is a fit for your learning style, and you are taking any kind of statistics class, I would highly recommend this.

Study Aid Review: The Probability and Statistics Tutor

 

Probability and statistics can be very easy or extremely frustrating depending on how you are taught. I can be the bane of any college algebra student if your class tacks a few weeks of it onto the end of class because it looks like nothing else that was studied the entire semester, and if you have a teacher that is not great at explaining it, it can seem like complete nonsense. It was certainly the hardest part of my college algebra class, and really the only material I never could grasp, so much so that I answered one of the bonus questions on my final "I don't care".

Jason however does a great job breaking the problems down and making sense out of them. Far better than any of the books do, and better than my teacher did. As is his style, he goes through a ton of examples, breaks down what each question is asking for, and how to interpret them so you can easily spot the difference between a permutation and combination, and when using a particular solution method is needed versus another one. Given that the math in many of the problems is extremely easy, at least at the level of the kind of problems encountered in this set (he has since released several more volumes under the title The Statistics Tutor) which tackle more complex problems than this set has, even in the more advanced problems knowing the kind of question it is and the process used to work through it is 95% of the complexity.

I have not taken a regular statistics class so I am not sure how much of that material this covers. I do know it will show you how to do most, if not all, of the problem types you would see in a college algebra class that tacks probability onto the very end of the semester. I will be taking an engineering data analysis class (which is basically just applied statistics) this fall, with a teacher that does not have a great reputation, so I am using this and Jason's other statistics sets to get the basics of the material down. I do however have enough experience with Jason's other DVD sets to know he never covers every topic that a class will expose you to, but goes through the big topics you are most likely to see on exams and quizzes. So while it is not a substitute for going to class, it will give you a good handle on the material and I highly recommend it.

I have used many of Jason's DVD sets. I have been going back to school for an electrical engineering degree. I have used, and reviewed almost all of Jason's courses, from basic algebra, to the advanced engineering material. You have to know whether a DVD will fit your learning style. He basically gives example heavy lectures. He rarely works through any kind of proof material, just focusing on problems, but at the end of the day, it is still him standing in front of a whiteboard doing problems. So if you are a visual and audio learner, it is great. He works through everything step by step and explains everything he is doing for every problem. He rarely ever skips steps and when he does it is only because it is the same thing he has shown in multiple problems up to that point and makes a point to at least tell you what steps he is skipping so you are not lost, unlike a lot of times when books skip them.

Study Aid Review: Schaum's Outline of Mathematical Handbook of Formulas and Tables, 4th Edition

 

This is a great resource, but you need to be clear on what you are getting. It is not going to teach you any material. That you are going to get from class or textbooks, or both. It is simply a book that will give you all the formulas in one place, in a much more compact form than any textbook will give you. You do not have to weave through pages of proofs, explanations, or examples to get to the end result. It covers things from the very simple to the very advanced. Realistically it is impossible to recall every formula that you come across in math and science classes. And, a lot of times people do not keep their textbooks, but you never know when you are going to have to look up a formula at some point down the road that you know exists, but cannot remember all the details of.

When I was in upper-level engineering classes, the professors tended to keep the math relatively basic for many exam questions, but there were some homework questions and class examples that got pretty detailed, and a lot of times they would just say you can solve this using ________ equation/formula and just assume we remember it. Now yes in this day and age you can find almost anything on the internet, but for those of us who prefer books, and writing out homework by hand, this is a great resource. And if you happen to have a class that gives totally open book/note exams, it is something that could come in handy.

Study Aid Review: The Circuit Analysis Tutor Volume 5

 

This is the 5th in Jason's circuit analysis tutor set and the last one that deals with DC current. This, along with the other 4 volumes covers approximately 75% of the material you will get in the first semester of circuit analysis if you are in the class for EE majors, or more if you are in the class for non-EE majors. This set uses more calculus than the others, mostly differentiating and integrating exponential functions. In fact in some of the problems he goes through you do not even get a circuit diagram, just a description of what is going on and then you have to use the equations to solve them.

This set deals with inductors and capacitors in circuits that also have resistors. The RL and RC circuits. Like with all of his DVDs Jason only presumes you have the math and circuit experience to be at that point. So basically that you have learned the material on the other 4 volumes and have taken calculus. He does not assume that you have any experience with RL and RC circuits, even though some who have taken physics may have gained some experience with them in the second semester of the class. The shows how to solve each problem step-by-step and does not cut corners.

I used this set (and the other 4 volumes) and worked through them over the summer before I took Circuits I and II. I can tell you that many of the problems he works through are word for word out of my textbook that I used, and while Jason does not touch on every single concept or problem type in every chapter, he does hit the main points, and the things concepts that we were tested on. I got a B in the first semester of circuits (because of a couple of brain farts on exams) and an A in the second semester. I used Jason's math, chemistry, physics, and circuits DVDs with much success. I finished my EE degree with a 3.8 GPA and got As in most of the core classes. You will still have to study and go to class in order to do well, but if you use these as a supplement as they are intended to be used they will absolutely help you.

Study Aid Review: The Chemistry 1 Tutor: Volume 4 - Oxidation and Reduction Reactions

 

This is the fourth volume in Jason's Chemistry 1 series, which is designed to cover the first semester of General Chemistry. If you are taking Introduction to Chemistry (or non-AP high school chemistry) what you get in the 4 volumes will cover pretty much the entire class. If you are taking the General Chemistry class (or AP chemistry in high school) you will get about 70-75 percent of what you will get in the first semester. The main topics that Jason omitted are the ideal gas laws and thermochemistry. Those are topics that may be covered in later releases.

This particular set of DVDs covers redox (oxidation, reduction) reactions. As is Jason's style in all of his DVDs, he only presumes you have the knowledge of the material that proceeds what you are working on. In this case, you need to be very familiar with net ionic equations and Stoichiometry. Aside from that he presumes you are an absolute beginner with redox reactions and walks you through step-by-step, explaining everything he is doing along the way to drill the material into your head. You end up doing so many examples that you have no choice but to learn how to balance the reactions.

The best part of the set in my opinion is how he explains the problems that require you to balance reactions taking place in a basic solution. His method is a workaround to the method that many books teach, which builds on the process of balancing reactions in an acidic solution by tacking on three additional steps at the end. Many books teach an alternate step in the middle of the process that then requires you to do a lot more work to get everything to balance. You will want to get an idea for what method your teacher wants you to use, but most of the time if you get the right answer, they will not care how you got to it, as long as you show your work.

I have used Jason's material as the foundation for my preparation to get me through all levels of calculus and the first year of physics. Even though you have to pay for the DVDs as opposed to finding the material for free online, I believe that the quality of the material and Jason's teaching style is that good. If you are a visual learner and do not need the interaction you would get with a regular tutor, and want something that will get you a jump on the material or clarify what you did not understand in the lecture, then these DVDs are the best investment you can make.

Study Aid Review: Extra Practice with Integrals Volume 2

 

This material covers what is for many people the hardest part of Calc II. Specifically, this set covers the area and volume integration problems and integration by parts. Jason does several problems on the disk, shell, and washer methods for calculating volume, and tons of integration by parts problems. There are a couple other topics that he covers, but those are the big ones. The two things I wish he would have shown in this set were the table method for integration by parts that make the problems much quicker and easier, and showing some of the washer, shell, and disk method problems revolving around an alternate axis. Even without those, he explains the concept far better than the book ever does.

There are a couple caveats I want to make. There are several integration techniques that you will get exposed to in class that are not on this or volume 1 of this set. They are however covered on his calculus 1 & 2 tutor and advanced calculus 2 tutor DVDs. This is really just fleshing out what was on those sets and adding concepts that he could not put into those DVDs. Also while he does a large selection of problems, he does not generally pick the hardest ones to do. He picks the kind that are most likely to show up on a quiz or exam, but not always the really hard ones you get for homework.

 I very much believe in Jason's products and his teaching style. If you use this set correctly, meaning as supplements but not substitutes for class and homework, it will help reinforce the material, shore up lectures that you may not have understood, or serve as test preparation. I made it through the entire calculus sequence at my school with straight A's and while I did have to study hard, these definitely gave me a leg up. I had confidence in the fact that I knew the material and expected to get perfect scores on my exams not just pass them. While that did not happen all the time, it did happen more than once. I was a horrible math student when I was young, and now because of Jason's DVDs and hard work, I am a very good math student and even tutor it myself.

Study Aid Review: Calculus 1: Extra Practice with Integrals Volume 1

 

Anyone who has taken calculus can tell you that doing integration is the hardest part of the first-year calc sequence. And, if you do not get the concept early it will carry over into all the other courses where you need to be able to do integrals. The farther along you get, the more you are going to be expected to do them quickly.

This set really enforces the basic integration techniques. It starts out by introducing the concepts and the use of rectangles to approximate the area under the curve. Jason does not spend time on things like Simpson's Rule, Euler's Method, and the Midpoint Rule, which you will use in class when you first start learning integrals. So, as I have stated in other reviews of Jason's products do NOT rely on this as a substitute for class and homework. It is a supplement for a reason.

The big concepts Jason touches on in this volume are integrating polynomials, exponential, logarithms, and trig functions. Then he spends a ton of time on integration by substitution. It is the most used integration technique (at least the one that can be done without a computer the easiest) and when you learn how to do it fast, it will save your bacon on a lot of exams. In my differential equations final I was stuck on a problem where I could not figure out how to proceed, then I saw the substitution that I needed to make and was able to finish it off quickly.

The better you get at this material the easier things will be in your advanced math, physics, and engineering classes. Jason gives you lots of examples after introducing the topic and goes step-by-step through how to solve them. That process really helps sharpen your algebra skills as well, because many times the calculus part of the problem is very easy, but the simplifying (which is all algebra) is what takes the longest and offers the most opportunities for mistakes.

If your learning style is conducive to watching recorded lectures, Jason's DVDs are the best non-required investment you can make. I have almost all of his material, and it has helped me as a non-traditional student who was horrible at math when I was younger get straight A's in math. I highly recommend his DVDs.

Study Aid Review: The Chemistry 1 Tutor: Volume 3

 

This is a continuation of Jason's Chemistry 1 tutor video series. In this volume, Jason mostly deals with acid-base reactions and titrations. Like in all his other videos, he will give you an introduction to the subject, tell you what you already need to understand to get the material, and then does a lot of examples. The examples he gives range in difficulty level from fairly easy, to hard. He really does try to get you to understand the thought process in solving these types of problems and going from what you know to what you need to solve. He explains really well how you will sometimes have to essentially solve the problem backward to get to the correct answer, and explains why he is doing what he is throughout the problem.

The main reason I keep buying Jason's DVDs as opposed to just trying to find things on the internet, is because he really takes the time to break down problems step by step and give you the skills you need to solve problems. And you can take those skills to solve problems in the material he does skip. This set covers about another chapter or 2 (depending on how the book you are using is laid out). From what I can tell the only material that you will get exposed to in Chemistry I, that Jason does not cover in four volumes of the Chemistry 1 tutor are the ideal gas law material and the stuff on thermodynamics. Jason has however put out a physics DVD on thermodynamics that does cover a lot of that material. As people who have taken Chemistry and Physics know there is a lot of crossover between the subjects when it comes to the thermodynamics material. Hence, if you take chemistry first it will help at that point in physics, and if you take physics first it will help you in chemistry. So if you get that set and the 4 volumes of the Chemistry 1 tutor you will know most of what you are going to need for the first semester of General Chemistry. Some of the material on the physics DVD will not necessarily be covered in chemistry, but the basic ideas are.

If your learning style is compatible with learning from a DVD, then I highly recommend this set. The drawback of course is that you cannot interact and ask questions, so if that is something you need to learn you may have to go for in-person tutoring, but this is far better than trying to learn the material out of a book.

Study Aid Review: The Trig and Pre-Calculus Tutor Volume 2

 

One of the big complaints about the original Trig and Precalculus tutor that Jason released it is that it did not cover enough material. In that one Jason focused mainly on the concepts of angles, the trig functions using right triangles and the unit circle, graphing trig functions, and only touched on verifying trig identities. Basically, Jason covered the main points that you have to learn in a trig or pre-calc class to do well on the other, more advanced material.

This volume fills in a lot of the other material you are going to learn in class that was omitted from the first set. Specifically, Jason really expands the coverage of trig identities material. In this set, he has sections on the double angle, half angle, product-to-sum, sum-to-product, even/odd, and Pythagorean identities. There are also sections on solving trig equations and multiple sections on the law of sines and the law of cosines. All of the material is presented in the style of Jason's other DVD sets where is does a basic introduction of the topic and then works several example problems step-by-step. He rarely skips any steps and when he does, he always lets you know and it is usually because he has shown you how to do something several times and is trying to conserve space on the board.

If you get this, the original set, and the advanced algebra tutor you will learn about 90% of the material you will see in a trig or pre-calc class. The only big topics that you will not see are conic sections and the polar and parametric equations that some classes introduce you to (usually at the very end of the class). In none of Jason's DVDs has he ever covered everything that you get in every class. He touches on the main topics and the things you are most likely to see on a final exam.

I have reviewed several of Jason's DVDs because I have found them extremely helpful. They usually lay out the material in the same or similar order you will find things in the book. The step-by-step approach really makes you learn the material (and improve the "lower level" skills that you need at that level). It is NOT a substitute for going to class or doing homework. Jason does not pick your quiz or test problems, nor does he do examples of every problem you will see in the book. You have to go to class to get an idea of what your instructor focuses on. You should use this to prepare for class or reinforce the lecture topics, and learn strategies for solving the problems. If you use it that way, you will definitely know the material well and get a good grade.

The other thing to keep in mind is your learning style. This is a videotaped lecture of a guy in front of a whiteboard doing problems. If you can learn from that kind of thing, it is the best investment you can make. If you have to be able to interact with a real person and ask questions, you are probably going to need to invest in an actual tutor.

Study Aid Review: Ultimate Physics 3 Tutor - Electricity and Magnetism Series - Volume 2

 

I used most of Jason's DVDs to prepare myself for my math and physics classes before I took them, fill in material from lectures that my teachers either glossed over, or did not explain very well, and get ready for tests.

To be clear, this is a tutorial DVD. To clarify for the supposed teacher that gave this two stars on Amazon because he did not process from the title of the product what it is, this is not something designed to get you interested in physics. It is to help work through actual physics problems and learn, or brush up on the material. It is Jason standing in front of a whiteboard going through many examples.

This set focuses mainly on capacitors and then the magnetic field material. The topics that you will get in the second semester of the class that he does not go through are the resistor circuit problems, inductance, and optics. That is why you cannot rely just on this to get through your class. There is material that you will see in class that Jason omits that you are going to get assigned homework on and be tested on.

Like most of the other physics DVDs Jason puts out, it is geared more toward non-calculus-based physics. However, he does in this video (and volume 1 of this set) use more calculus to show alternate ways to solve some of the problems and to derive some of the formulas. He does more derivation here than he has done in most of the other DVDs combined, but that is because many teachers require students to derive the formulas on quizzes and tests in calculus-based physics.

Like all of Jason's DVDs if you use this correctly (as a supplement to, not a replacement for class) they will definitely help you. Just know that some of the problems he goes through will be a little on the easy side for those taking calc-based physics. Although, he does give enough variety in the types of problems that he works through that regardless of what level of class you are in it will help you learn the subject.

Study Aid Review: Math and Science DVD Bundle

 

I found Jason Gibson's DVDs when looking for study aids to use when I went back to school to get an engineering degree. I would use them to study prior to my upcoming classes so I could at least get an idea of what the material was about, and they were the best non-required investment I made while in school. This is a bundle of math and physics DVDs that have been released individually. He has now transitioned away from the DVDs to putting everything on his online site. I am going to just give you a summary of my impressions of the DVDs should you decide to try and pick up used copies.

1) The production quality is not fancy but gets better over time. The early DVDs were filmed with little to no production, and probably filmed out of his home. As he went along he started filming out of a studio, which is where all the new lessons he puts out are filmed from. Even from the studio, the lessons just have Jason in front of a whiteboard. There are no fancy graphics or frills.

2) Jason does make mistakes from time to time. He catches some of the mistakes as he goes along, some are caught and corrected post-production, and occasionally he misses one altogether. It shows that he is human. While one could argue they should be edited out altogether, and I think that is a reasonable argument to make, it has never distracted me from learning the material. Almost every teacher I have had has made mistakes in math when working out problems. My calc III teacher who has a Phd in math made calculation errors all the time, yet I could still get the idea of what was going on.

4) Jason will go step by step in solving problems. Even in the advanced calculus DVDs, he does nearly every algebraic step, even things that most people at that level can easily do in their head. If you get these DVDs you will become very good at algebra. And since it is the foundation upon which all levels of math and science are built that is very important.

5)The trig and pre-calculus DVD that is in this bundle does not cover all the concepts, so you may want to get the 2nd volume of the set. The one in the bundle will cover the unit circle, trig functions, the basic trig identities, right triangle trig, and graphing the trig functions. It does not cover trig equations, the law of sines and cosines, or the more little-used identities like the half-angle and double-angle identities. The second volume fills in those gaps. If you get that, the only concept from pre-calculus that will not be covered is conic sections.

6) In none of the DVDs does Jason touch on every concept you will learn in class. He hits the most important concepts, and the ones that if you don't know you will have no shot at learning the others. I would estimate that, depending on your particular teacher, if you learn the material on the DVDs you can expect to know 70% or more of what you would be asked on a final exam. In some of my classes, that percentage was closer to 90%. But you cannot expect to know everything for the entire class just from the DVDs. It is imperative that you do your homework problems and go to class to do well. While Jason does work through problems of varying difficulty they are usually not the hardest problems you will be exposed to.

7) The physics material is algebra-based more than calculus-based. He does not use calculus to derive the formulas for the most part. A couple times in the Physics 3 DVDs (which are not in this bundle) he will, but for the most part, he just gives the formulas and gives examples of how to use them. He does a great job of breaking down how the problems are worded so you really know what information is being given, and what the problem is asking you to do. Which, in physics, is over half the battle.

8) Jason has also put out newer extra practice with derivatives and extra practice with integration DVDs to fill in the Calc I and II material. On those, he gives more examples of the various differentiation and integration techniques and gets to topics such as implicit differentiation and the disk/washer/shell methods for finding volume using integrals that are not on the two DVDs you get here. While the two DVDs in this set did help me get an A in Calc I and II, I wish the other volumes would have been out when I took those classes.

In all, whether you find these useful will depend on your learning style and some amount of subjectivity. If I had to go back and do it over I would have bought the bundle and saved a bit of money, but whether you get the entire thing, or just need a couple DVDs, I highly recommend these to anyone subject to the provisos I listed in the review.

Study Aid Review: The Chemistry 1 Tutor: Volume 1

 

I am a huge believer in Jason's DVD sets. I stumbled across them a few years ago when looking for math supplements because I was returning to school after 12 years to get an engineering degree. With the aid of his DVDs, I have made it through all levels of calculus and a semester and a half of physics with a 4.0 GPA. I will be taking general chemistry next year and have started using this to get a jump on the concepts.

While the production style of Jason's DVDs has increased greatly (the first couple he put out was just his hand in front of a whiteboard), and now he has an entire studio he films in) his teaching style has remained the same. He assumes you know little to nothing about the actual subject. He just assumes that you have enough math knowledge to be taking the class, and works through the concepts breaking things down step by step.

What I love about his style is that he gives a bare-bones lecture and explains what you really know from the theory. He explains the subject without a lot of proofs or deriving of the formulas. He will occasionally derive formulas, but only when he thinks it is very helpful. Then he goes through several example problems and goes through them step by step so that you can follow the thought process. Which, as anyone who has taken a math or science class can tell you, knowing what to use and the process of how to use it are the most important things. He does a lot more spoon-feeding than your professor is likely to, and far more than the book ever will.

Some things to keep in mind. This is a supplement to, not a replacement for, going to class and doing homework. Even if you get all 4 volumes of his chemistry set, it is not likely going to cover all of what you are going to be exposed to in class. Given that chemistry books can be the size of a small phone book it is impossible to cram everything into one set. That is why he has been putting out multiple volumes since he started making DVDs full-time, but he still has to leave some out. The material in this volume will cover much of what you will get in regular high school chemistry (about 5 or 6 chapters) or the very basic chemistry class in college (the one that essentially crams a year of high school chemistry into one semester). If you are taking the class that is usually called General Chemistry in college (AP Chemistry in High school) however, this material will be covered early on in the class and in almost a review-like fashion in the first couple chapters of the book.

Jason picks the concepts that he feels are the most important ones to cover. I have noticed that many times the problems he works on are similar to what is asked on quizzes or tests, but not the only things that get asked say on a homework assignment. Similarly, he tends to show a range of problems from very easy, to moderately difficult. He usually does not show the hardest kinds of problems. So be aware that you may get homework problems, and sometimes even test problems more complex than what he shows here. But if you follow the strategies he gives for solving the problems you can usually figure out what to do one the harder ones.

The other thing I really like about these DVDs is that Jason follows the progression of the course. Yes, you can find lots of examples all over the internet of people doing problems, and I even look for those kinds of things when I am stuck on a problem if it is a type that Jason does not cover. But what Jason gives you here is like the pared-down lecture you would get in class in the order you will see the material presented. You can think of it as almost like a review day kind of lecture that you can watch over and over again. You do not have to go hunting for the material to learn it initially. It is easy to hunt for sample problems when you know what you are looking for, but another thing to find good explanations of the concepts which I think is important to have before you do problems.

Ultimately whether you are going to find these useful will depend on your learning style. No, you cannot interact and ask questions as you can in class or with a tutor, but you can watch the material as many times as you want until you get it. If you can learn from a video lecture, and use it wisely, it will absolutely help you understand the material and get better grades.

Study Aid Review: The Chemistry 1 Tutor Volume 2

 

This volume of Jason's Chemistry DVDs picks up where his first one leaves off. Going into chemical equations, chemical reactions, and Stoichiometry. If you are taking college-level General Chemistry I it will, depending on how your book is laid out, cover about another 1.5 to 2 chapters of material. Jason gives a lot of examples of how to solve problems, but just as useful he gives you a ton of tips on how to approach the problems. In some instances that stuff is just as useful, if not more so, than going through the problems themselves.

The information Jason gives on balancing chemical equations, and a simple tip he gives (that apparently not all books and teachers tell you) for situations when you get all but one part of the equation balanced and the unbalanced part is not a clean even multiple of any others is worth the price of the set alone. And keeping true to the style of how he goes through the math and physics and circuits DVDs he always tells you why he is doing what he is, and walks you through step-by-step.

Whether you find this helpful or not will depend in large part on how you learn. If you are a book learner or need to interact with a tutor/teacher this will not help you much. If you are a visual or audio learner and the thought of a marker board lecture does not bore you to death, then this is a great investment. The thing that sets Jason's DVDs apart from some of the web-based material you can find is that is goes in order, and combines a lecture with problem-solving examples. He teaches you enough theory and background that you can understand the subject, but then gives you a lot more examples than you are likely to get in a traditional class. He shows you the kind of problems that you are most likely to encounter on a quiz or test (depending on your teacher), but usually not the hardest problems you might get as homework. I have most of Jason's material (aside from the basic math DVDs) and they have helped me get through all levels of math and physics with a 4.0 average. I still had to put in a lot of hard work of my own, but I would recommend his DVDs to anyone having trouble with the material or anyone who is looking for self-study material to get ready for a class.

Study Aid Review: Schaum's Outline of Advanced Mathematics for Engineers and Scientists

 

This is not really a book that is tied to any one specific course like the other Schaum's outlines are. This is meant to be more like a reference where you can go to look up concepts that you may have forgotten. It is like a condensed textbook that has the key things that you need to know but does not go into a lot of detail about the theory and do a bunch of proofs as a textbook will. Let's face it, we all forget things from class after a while, especially things that we do not use on a regular basis. Most people will be able to remember how to take simple derivatives or integrals, but far fewer people are going to remember how to set up a triple integral or do Laplace Transforms off the top of their heads after they get done with the classes where they have to use them. That is where this will come in handy.

I think the best way to use any of the Schaum's outlines is to use them in conjunction with learning the concepts in class (because they give you far more examples worked out than your book ever will) or as a reference guide once a class is over. At that point, you can use it as a substitute for your textbook because you will not be as likely to need all the detail and rigor of a full-blown textbook by then. It is not something that is going to be useful to teach yourself the concepts from initially. That is because of the lack of detail and the fact that some of the outlines are edited badly and can contain errors. Once you understand the material the errors and typos can be easy to spot, but when you are first learning that is not always the case. I have only glanced through this particular outline so far, so I am not sure how many errors (if any) are in this one. I know some of the outlines have more errors than others, but just be aware if something does not look right when you are working through a problem, it may not be that you don't know what you are doing.

Study Aid Review: Pre-Calculus Demystified

 

What is in this book is very clear and straightforward. There is not a ton of jargon like you get in the textbooks and what theory it does cover is basic and understandable. It covers the theory you need to know and does not go wild with proving or deriving the equations. And, the examples that are shown are clear. One thing I really like is the book goes into detail on comics. Conics are always covered at some point in pre-calculus, but very few supplements go into any depth. 

What knocks this down a bit for me is that it only has 1 chapter on trigonometry. The curriculum from school to school can be different. Some schools have trig as a completely separate class, and others run precalc classes as essentially a quarter to half advanced algebra, half trig, and then a few other topics depending on how much time is left at the end of the semester. If your school does the latter, while this book will give you the basics of trigonometry, what you will need to know for a class will be much more in-depth than what you will get here.

It does do a good job of explaining the basic trig functions, graphing trig functions, and some of the trig identities. Basically, the trig that the book presents is the stuff that, if you do not know it, will make the rest of trig impossible. Just keep in mind, however, that depending on your class curriculum, you may need a supplement that goes deeper into the trig material than this does.

Study Aid Review: The Humongous Book of Algebra Problems

 

To me the best part about this book is that it is, for the most part, just lots and lots of example problems solved step by step. The big gripe about math textbooks is that a lot of time you get a lot of explanation of the theory and formulas, but not much on how to actually solve problems. This can be compounded by the fact that some textbooks either skip steps in the examples they do solve, or they just show you how to do the easiest problems and you are left to fend for yourself on the harder problems. This book gives you a nice range of difficulty for the problems and does not cut corners or skip steps.

Of all areas of math, algebra is probably the worst to have missing steps when you are first learning it because it is the foundation for almost every other branch of math. If you are not good at algebra, you will have a very hard time in trig and calculus because they use algebra so much, that oftentimes simplifying the problems is harder and take more time than the actual calculus part. If you are going on to take classes like chemistry and physics, you absolutely have to be good at algebra because it is used to solve many problems. While proficiency in algebra will not guarantee you will do well in those other classes (you still need to know what equations to use or what concepts apply), even if you know the chemistry or physics material if you cannot do algebra you will have no shot at actually solving the problems.

While I never say any supplement be it DVD or book form is a substitute for going to class or doing problems assigned in your book this will definitely help you because chances are you can find a similar problem in this book, see how it is solved, and apply the process to your homework problem. The author also has similar books for other levels of math up to the first year of calculus. If you find this one helpful you may want to check those out as well.