Customer Reviews

The Standard Deviants: Chemistry, Part 1 [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This series of tapes is great. They have a sense of humor without clouding the details of the science they are teaching. They present the topics in rapid fire action that prevents any thought of boredom. Great learning tool that makes learning chemistry easy and fun. Good for elementary through college levels.

You don't need to be a kid to watch this video. I'm 30 and going back to school to be an RN. I can't understand my professor to "save my life" but this video helped me very much! The Deviants act kind of cheesy but this video really gives a different perspective on how to understand Chemistry. It's worth a watch for sure. If you're buying it used, be sure to ask the seller if the insert is included. They refer to it several times and my seller did not include it in mine. Happy studying!

... and then, and only then, should you give Standard Deviant's Chemistry a look. First, the topics and the way they are covered is pretty basic. Second, not much is said in regards to the most common mistakes that chem students make (not reffering to Kelvin temp. in terms of degrees and Sig. Figs. are mentioned.) Third, the Deviants are somewhat distracting but hilarious nonetheless. But overall, these are excellent review and supplemental aids for they help impress upon you what is critical, but only slightly effective on their own and by themselves. Good luck with Chemistry!

My kids are 16 and 19. The younger one thought there was no redeeming value and that it was more appropriate for a 10 year old. Well, 10 is a bit young for this video.
The basic chem info is in here. Lots of odd hype in the telling--reminded me of the old Monty Python, without the crudeness.
Bottom line, if you need a quick overview and aren't bothered by the distracting "try to be fun" presentation, it is worth buying. If you think the subject needs more serious contemplation, it is definitely not for you.

I have watched 7 of the 9 videos in this series, and I have been very disappointed so far. Although they try to present this material with silly and goofy characters, such gimmicks really did not improve on presentation of the material. I was looking for an introduction to chemistry, and after the 1st video, each video introduced material quickly and then continued to quickly introduce more and more information without slowly and carefully explaining the basic information first introduced and then build on this. They make reference on several occasions to a book accompanying the series, but my library did not have the book. Perhaps the book goes into greater detail and the video is just a quick review, but by themselves, I found them difficult to follow. I found it too fast and almost meaningless because of this. I wish some company would put together a real basic introductory course and lectures on DVD that led you through the program in small meaningful and comprehensible steps. This is a fundamental principle of good teaching that seems to be lacking in this series, and no amount of goofy slap stick humor or puns can make up for this lack.

I did not find this video helpful at all. I purchased the video after reading other comments. Too basic. I did not find any explanations to help in the understanding of what I already knew. The rapidity of the video makes it difficult to focus even though other reviews thought this was a good point. The "drama" of the characters takes away any effectiveness of the learning. My copy did not come with the insert they refer to in the video either, even though this was sold as a new product.

All the Standard Deviant products are excellent. They are extremely cheesy but I think that help my daughter to recall the information.

Makes chemistry very entertaining. Remember, sigma does not equal beer!