Derivatives: Crash Course Physics #2

CALCULUS! Today we take our first steps into the language of Physics; mathematics. Every branch of science has its own way to describe the things that it investigates. And, with Physics, that's math. In this episode, Shini talks us through derivatives and how calculus helps us to understand the world around us.

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[crashcourse]

We made quiz questions to help you review the content in this episode! Find them on the free Crash Course App!

[dgo]

From motion in a straight line to calculus is a huge leap

[TheOliist]

There is no way somebody could learn calculus from this, even though the presenter is great. I found it hard to follow and I am a mathematician. Maths is so essential in physics that you need many videos that introduce the mathematical concepts fully and slowly, so that you can reference them in the physics videos.

[DarkMatter]

Current physics major here. As someone who feels that they can do calculus in their sleep, I still feel that you guys are rushing the math concepts and make it very difficult to follow. It may be good enough for someone who's seen this stuff before, but I feel that anyone coming to this video to discover how cool and awesome physics is with little knowledge of the subject is just going to end up overwhelmed. What I like about the other Crash Course series is that they can still be super entertaining even though this isn't something you are currently studying. This video feels too alienating for people who don't know physics and want to learn about it, even if they would only get a few key takeaways.

[wjckc]

Calculus is easier to learn if the student does not know they are learning Calculus. I think it should be renamed "Fuzzy Bunny" or "Warm Purring Cat Hug".

[papayaspice]

FYI if you're watching this video to get an idea of how Calculus works, it's not going to be very helpful. I'd recommend watching all of mathbff (Nancy Pi) videos on Limits, Derivates, and Integrals. Then, if you like (and you will, trust me), you'd want to watch some of 3blue1brown's videos to get a more intuitive understanding of how Calculus works.

Just remember this, don't ever give up. I remember watching this video about a few weeks back, and having so fluccing idea of how stuff works. Because, as she mentioned before, the aim of this video is not to prime you for Calculus, but show you how Calculus and Physics go together.

And uh, best of luck out there, mate.
*You can do this.*

[alonsogurmendi]

"Today you learned about Limits", yeah... The limits of my brain... :(

[mattbabineau]

I'm a senior mathematics major and I would LOVE to see a whole Crash Course on calculus!

[Waltham]

This is why people become Art History majors.

[Xartab]

I'm sorry to criticise, really, but I think this explanation is more confusing than helpful. There are just too much unfamiliar concepts explained without enough dept, it felt like I wouldn't have understood anything if I hadn't known the topic beforehand.

[acho]

if you start getting into math.. you'll find out it's actually not that hard as you may think and it's fun too

[emlmm]

Although I must admit, some practice problems to test our comprehension at the end of these videos would be a brilliant addition.

[iwanabana]

dear CrashCourse editors, please be careful that when you cut between takes, remember humans breathe and take pauses between each sentence! You've made a wonderful host with a lovely voice sound like a person that babbles on with no stop and goes on and on which is just unfortunate because I'm sure you're hating on this run-on sentence just as well since you're a sensible human being yourself but there's no way you could know until you reviewed your own video with no script at hand to realize the subtle but huge difference it makes.

with love,
person who made the same comment couple years back for Hank Green.

[EugeneKhutoryansky]

Let's hope that the derivative of the number of people watching physics videos with respect to time keeps increasing.

[pocok]

The awkward moment you realize physics is mostly math.

[EIBrown]

I love math, I love geometry, I love physics, and I love learning this stuff - but it always seems like mathematical explanations move too fast for me or make leaps that I can't follow, especially when it comes to physics. I watched this video and still cannot understand what a derivative is. Limits are easy for me to comprehend, but every time I try to learn this it goes over my head. It doesn't seem to matter what resource I use. What am I doing wrong?

[TheDeekins]

This is the first Crash Course that I feel like I have to watch the episode multiple times to absorb the information.

It's pretty hard.

[NotMeButAnother]

Ok honestly: I understand all of this because I already learned it back in school and can somewhat remember it, but if this was the first time I heard about it I probably wouldn't be able to follow very well. The requirements to this course seem a bit higher than they tend to be for crash courses. Still well presented though.

[babatulani]

Episode 1: Really basic shit, something you'll see in 4th grade.

Episode 2: Fuckin' calculus.

That escalated quickly.

[doctor_owl]

Shini: The language of physics is math!
Me: *screams in dyscalculia*