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

  • Businessman using laptop analyzing data and growth graph chart

    AI Budgets in Education Show No Sign of Decline

    The vast majority of education organizations (98%) expect their AI infrastructure budgets to either increase or hold steady over the next year, according to a recent report from cloud storage provider Wasabi.

  • silhouette of business person facing wall of data

    Why AI Strategy Belongs in the President's Office

    Institutions that are succeeding with AI share one thing in common, and it is not a better committee, a larger budget, or a more sophisticated technology stack. It is a president who never handed off the steering wheel.

  • Interface buttons of Generative AI tool

    Report: No Foolproof Method Exists for Detecting AI-Generated Media

    Microsoft has released a new research report warning that no single technology can reliably distinguish AI-generated content from authentic media, and that deepening reliance on any one method risks misleading the public.

  • Student classroom scene with diverse learners attentively engaging in lecture, using laptops

    The AI Literacy Gap No One Expected

    While Gen Z may be advanced at generating quick outputs or using free LLMs for surface-level tasks, they need to develop critical thinking, communication, and analysis skills.