OpenStax to Release Free Online Organic Chemistry Textbook, Instructional Materials

Rice University’s OpenStax project has announced that on Sept. 12, it will release the complete digital version of Organic Chemistry: A Tenth Edition, with unlimited free access online to students and faculty.

The historically costly textbook, which is required material for organic chemistry courses nationwide, will be available in printed form for purchase at “an affordable price,” OpenStax said in a news release. The organization will also offer free access to aligned supplemental resources, including lecture slides, test items and a solution manual, through its website, OpenStax.org.

The first 12 chapters are available online now at https://openstax.org/details/books/organic-chemistry. The remainder will be released next week.

“Organic chemistry is one of the most demanding courses for students looking to pursue careers in STEM, including medical professionals,” the organization said. “In addition to driving the OpenStax mission of expanding access to educational materials to all students, the acquisition and release of this important title illustrates the potential for open education resources to facilitate positive change in how students access and interact with their learning materials.”

The 10th edition has new online diversity, equity and inclusion modules — also being released free for instructors and students — providing a “more comprehensive and inclusive picture of the development and current state of organic chemistry research,” OpenStax said.

Continuing its goal to support health and science students, OpenStax said it plans to release a free, eight-volume series of nursing textbooks covering a comprehensive range of nursing topics. No release date was announced.

About the Author

Kristal Kuykendall is editor, 1105 Media Education Group. She can be reached at [email protected].


Featured

  • Digital clouds with data points and network connections

    Microsoft Makes Windows 365 Cloud Apps Available for Public Preview

    Microsoft has announced that Windows 365 Cloud Apps are now available for public preview. This allows IT administrators to stream individual Windows applications from the cloud, removing the need to assign Cloud PCs to every user.

  • university building with classical architecture is partially overlaid by a glowing digital brain graphic

    NSF Invests $100 Million in National AI Research Institutes

    The National Science Foundation has announced a $100 million investment in National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes, part of a broader White House strategy to maintain American leadership as competition with China intensifies.

  • Hand holding a stylus over a tablet with futuristic risk management icons

    Why Universities Are Ransomware's Easy Target: Lessons from the 23% Surge

    Academic environments face heightened risk because their collaboration-driven environments are inherently open, making them more susceptible to attack, while the high-value research data they hold makes them an especially attractive target. The question is not if this data will be targeted, but whether universities can defend it swiftly enough against increasingly AI-powered threats.

  • school building connected by lines to symbols of AI, data charts, and a funding document with a dollar sign

    ED Issues Guidance on the Use of Federal Grant Funds to Support Learner Outcomes with AI

    In response to President Trump's April 23 Executive Order on advancing AI education, the United States Department of Education has issued new guidance on how K-12 and higher education institutions may use federal grant funds "to support improved outcomes for learners through the responsible integration of artificial intelligence."