Reveiw: Light Speed Chemistry
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Have you ever watched Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark? Remember when they open the pit where the ark is and Indy sees all the snakes? “Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?”
That’s how I felt when I opened the package that I was to review for Cerebellum: “Chemistry. Why did it have to be chemistry?”
Cerebellum is a company that produces a wide variety of DVD learning tools. Their Light Speed collection includes:
- Math
- Vocabulary building
- Writing
- History
- And the new Advanced Placement series: History, English Language & Comp., U.S. Gov & Politics…and Chemistry
Now, I actually did pretty good in chemistry in high school…well enough to take AP Chemistry in college (and not do so well). That’s been awhile however, and y’all know I’m all about some history and English.
But, no, I got chemistry and I’ll be honest enough to say that I had no idea what they were talking about for much of this video. That’s why shows like Smarter Than a Fifth Grader are so successful, though…because you don’t realize how much you’ve forgotten until people start asking those little detailed questions. That’s what I’m going with anyway.
All that to say that, even though a lot of the stuff on the chemistry DVD sounded like a foreign language to me, if you’ve got a kid who is currently studying that stuff and plans to take the AP exam, this video might be perfect for helping him or her review for the exam. Light Speed Chemistry is a 2-disc set. One disc is a video that covers:
- Tips for taking the test
- Tips for the free response test
- Thirty “hot topics” for chemistry (Think of this as a super-fast recap of all you’ve learned in chemistry class.)
The second disc is a PDF file that contains the outlines and notes for Disc 1, practice questions, games and quizzes to help students study. The topics covered in the outline (that are also covered in the thirty hot topics in the video portion) include:
- Atomic theory and structure
- Chemical bonding
- Nuclear chemistry
- Gases
- Stoichiometry
- Equilibrium & Kenetics
- Thermodynamics
See why I was lost? Now, like I said, personally, it was like they were speaking a foreign language almost the entire time. The only thing I wasn’t completely lost on was when they were talking about the Periodic Table, atomic number, atomic weight, and atomic mass (thank you, Christian Kids Explore Chemistry!).
However, to a high school student who has been studying chemistry, I imagine that this would be good prep for the AP exam. The video features high school students sharing the tips and review in a laid-back, teen-friendly fashion that would probably appeal to most high school kids.
You can watch a sample video online. The price of the 2-disc set is $14.98.
I received this product free for the purpose of reviewing it. I received no other compensation for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are my personal, honest opinions. Your experience may vary.
Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.
I appreciate your review. Another blogger did review US Gov. and Politics by this same company, and it sounded very interesting (as school materials go :)). Having a high schooler, I am glad to hear about affordable resources that are available. Thanks!
I was a part of the first Homeschool Crew in 08/09. It was a lot of fun, but much more time consuming than I had anticipated. Are you enjoying it?
No, Kendra, I'm not. I have enjoyed some of the reviews (such as All About Spelling, which I love, and Rocket Phonics, which we're still using), but overall, I would not do it again. I much prefer doing my own, independent reviews of products that we would actually choose to use and enjoy. I only have one review that isn't written and scheduled to post. I'll be glad to get it done so that I can officially say that I'm done with the TOS Crew.