<p>I want to prepare for my chemistry and trig/algebra 2 classes over the summer, but I'm not sure which source to use. Are the Khan Academy course okay for these subjects and do they teach to an honors or college prepartory level? Thanks.</p>
<p>I’m wondering the same thing as well, but more so for Pre Calculus. Bump?</p>
<p>Khan Academy >> everything else</p>
<p>From my experience Khan Academy seems to cover chemistry up to a level I would equate to 1st year chemistry in college (I’ve already taken dual enrollment chem). It even has a playlist on organic chemistry, which is considered a major GPA killer by college sophomores and juniors. However, I wouldn’t know if that playlist is any good since I haven’t actually taken organic chemistry. Check it out for yourself. </p>
<p>It’s a life saver in math. Has everything from 1+1 to calc 4. At most you may just want to supplement your study with a textbook to make sure you aren’t leaving any stone un- turned. </p>
<p>The main reasons I love it so much is that Salman Khan is a very talented teacher and Khan Academy is free, so please don’t waste your money on any DVDs. </p>
<p>All in all, it’s much more thorough than anything in my high school except for maybe English and some history courses.</p>
<p>Well, Khan Academy is free, so I’d try that before anything else.
I’d definitely use it more as a supplement though, I feel that your textbook will teach you things more in depth in some subjects, like physics. However, he is excellent in his math lessons.</p>
<p>I’ve gone through a few of Khan’s physics videos. I don’t see any issue with them except if you’re doing calculus based physics. History and computer science are the only weak areas on Khan Academy. There’s also a complete lack of subjects like geography, English, and psychology. He’s probably just as good on economics as he is on math videos. It bugs me sometimes that for months on end, most of his new videos are on economics. But that might just be because I really don’t have much interest in the subject.</p>
<p>I have watched most of the chemistry videos and I think they are too basic to be considered introductory college level (except for the thermodynamics videos). They should be fine for a normal/honors chemistry course in high school though. His biology videos are nice but incomplete.</p>
<p>For math, Khan Academy offers both videos and practice exercises. If you are looking to prepare for upcoming courses, I think the practice exercises will be as beneficial as the videos to your success.</p>
<p>-Joe Wagner
Founder, Backpack TV</p>