Would you recommend taking online courses for science and math?

Question

Physics, Chem, trig-calc?

What are the pro's and con's of taking these kinds of courses online?

Answer 1

If you're already pretty good at/comfortable with science and math, taking them online means you can work at your own pace and don't have to attend lectures.

If you're not very good at them already, I'd recommend not taking them online. Having someone in person explain things (especially physics problems, which have a lot to do with diagrams/picturing problems) definitely helps more than just reading harder to understand stuff out of a textbook. Plus, watching a teacher solve math problems shows you how to solve other problems like it (which you might not be able to work out on your own).

Answer 2

i think chem really needs to be done hands on.

if you can memorize facts and figure things out on your own, then the trig-calc thing shouldn't be an issue, and physics should be okay too.

Answer 3

i think those subjects would br more helpful by hand in person rather than on a computer

Answer 4

I'm not sure. My son is 15 and in 10th grade. He is taking Chemistry this year. He had a CD course, but it didn't seem to stick real well. It also included a virtual lab with experiments. He is enjoying it, but I am supplementing with Homework Helpers Chemistry by Greg Curran. You can pick one up at Amazon.com for $10.19. They also have one for Physics and one for Calculus. I think taking an online course is good, but make sure you do plenty of practice on paper.

Good luck!

Answer 5

I wouldn't recommend it.  not only are they difficult to study/learn and understand on your own, but for phys and chem you really do 70% of your learning in the lab.