Product Details

• Actors: Standard Deviants
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Cerebellum Corp
• VHS Release Date: April 4, 2000
• Run Time: 105 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305214379
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #31,245 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
If someone told you that they could make calculus fun and interesting, your natural response would be "Yeah, right," unless you'd seen the Standard Deviants' Calculus, Part 1. Imagine all the silly-hat-wearing, anything-for-a-laugh teachers you've ever had teaming up to make learning relevant and engaging, and you've got a good idea of the Standard Deviants' style: fast-paced, corny humor with enough solid information to last through several viewings. As they admit, this video (even with its companion, Calculus, Part 2) can't substitute for attending class, reading the text, and doing your homework, but it's a great supplement if you're stuck with a dry teacher. Covering the basics such as limits and continuity up to the weird world of derivatives, Part 1 is great for college or high-school kids who need a boost, and it even comes with a couple of cheat sheets to help remember the concepts introduced in the tape. --Rob Lightner

Product Description
Join the Standard Deviants as they take a look at the complex and confusing world of calculus. Now students can tackle difficult calculus concepts with this easy-to-understand calculus presentation. Topics include limits, continuity, derivative, limits, power rule, substitution, product rule, continuity, quotient rule, the derivative, chain rule, finding the equation of the tangent line. Running Time: 1 hr 45 min

"I use the Calculus tapes for a review before the tests and at the end of chapters. It gives a nice, short, and to-the-point visual review of the material." --Jacquie McDonald, advanced placement calculus teacher

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A diverse and eyecatching presentation of basic calculus, May 1, 1999

By A Customer

This video uses comedic elements, visual effects and several actors to present basic calculus. Covered topics are: limits, continuity, the derivative and rules of derivation. It is not enough on its own to learn calculus but it is a valuable tool to increase understanding when taking a first course in calculus.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learning Calculus easy and fun, August 3, 2000

By A Customer

I found this program to be extremely helpful in learning the basics of calc - particularly limits - which dont agree with me. I would think that anyone on an expert level would not need them. But if you are not an expert, like myself, it is very very useful. And these guys are even funny at times. The hosts are young and fun - and darn good looking.

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent breaker of the calculus ice, June 22, 2006

By	Charles Ashbacher "([e-mail])" (Marion, Iowa United States([e-mail])) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Starting with the basics of graphing functions, this tape uses a sequence of video bites to step you through the fundamentals of what could be called "routine calculus." Limits are defined using the h notation, but that is as advanced as the treatment gets. Left and right side limits are defined as a precursor to continuity, but that concept is introduced only in the intuitive sense. There is not an epsilon or a delta to be seen. Derivatives are then introduced; fundamental rules such as the power, chain, product and quotient rule are simply stated as rules and then used to solve a few examples. To many, the statement of a rule and then the demonstration of how it is used can be considered a routine rather than an understanding.
However, if you consider the tape to be only a demonstration of some of the rules of calculus, then it is a valuable addition to your set of educational tools. Several young people of both genders narrate the tape and the style is that of a reduced set music video. There is a lot of movement from one narrator to another, and the images of their bodies are shifted from location to location on the screen. It is a rare occasion when the same image is on the screen for only a few seconds.
There is a bit of humor as well, although not of the highest quality. A "carpenter" with a horrendous case of clumsiness holds up various tools as the analogy between calculus rules and tools is made. Some people may find it funny, but since it is so obvious that the tool is going to slip out of his hand, the potential for surprise is lost. Nevertheless, it will appeal strongly to the student with mathematical fear in their hearts as they begin their quest to learn calculus. Anything that reduces that fear to a manageable level is to be promoted.
If you require everything that you use to teach calculus to be rigorous, then this tape will not appeal to you. However, if your goal is to have some kind of "breaker of the ice" or a light-hearted interlude between the epsilon-delta proofs, then this tape is exactly what you are looking for.

Published in Mathematics and Computer Education, reprinted with permission.