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Open Textbook Library

Browse OER Textbooks from the University of Minnesota's Open Textbook Library. These textbooks are authored and peer reviewed by faculty or other accredited subject matter experts. Many of these textbooks are actively used to teach OER based courses at instiutions across the United States. 

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The Adventure of Physics - Vol. II: Relativity
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This book is written for anybody who is curious about nature and motion. Curiosity about how people, animals, things, images and empty space move leads to many adventures. This volume presents the best of them in the domains of relativity and cosmology. In the study of motion – physics – special and general relativity form two important building blocks.

Subject:
Physical Science
Physics
Material Type:
Textbook
Provider:
Motion Mountain
Author:
Christoph Schiller
Date Added:
02/20/2015
The Adventure of Physics - Vol. IV: The Quantum of Change
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This book is written for anybody who is curious about nature and motion. Have you ever asked: Why do people, animals, things, images and space move? The answer leads to many adventures; this volume presents those due to the discovery that there is a smallest change value in nature. This smallest change value, the quantum of action, leads to what is called quantum physics. In the structure of modern physics, quantum physics covers three points; this volume covers the introduction to the point in the lower right: the foundations of quantum theory.

The present introduction to quantum physics arose from a threefold aim I have pur- sued since 1990: to present the basics of motion in a way that is simple, up to date and captivating.

In order to be simple, the text focuses on concepts, while keeping mathematics to the necessary minimum. Understanding the concepts of physics is given precedence over using formulae in calculations. The whole text is within the reach of an undergraduate.

In order to be up to date, the text is enriched by the many gems – both theoretical and empirical – that are scattered throughout the scientific literature.

In order to be captivating, the text tries to startle the reader as much as possible. Read- ing a book on general physics should be like going to a magic show. We watch, we are astonished, we do not believe our eyes, we think, and finally we understand the trick. When we look at nature, we often have the same experience. Indeed, every page presents at least one surprise or provocation for the reader to think about. Numerous interesting challenges are proposed.

The motto of the text, die Menschen stärken, die Sachen klären, a famous statement by Hartmut von Hentig on pedagogy, translates as: ‘To fortify people, to clarify things.’ Clar- ifying things – and adhering only to the truth – requires courage, as changing the habits of thought produces fear, often hidden by anger. But by overcoming our fears we grow in strength. And we experience intense and beautiful emotions. All great adventures in life allow this, and exploring motion is one of them. Enjoy it!

Subject:
Physical Science
Physics
Material Type:
Textbook
Provider:
Motion Mountain
Author:
Christoph Schiller
Date Added:
02/20/2015
The Adventure of Physics - Vol. VI: The Strand Model - A Speculation on Unification
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This book is written for anybody who is intensely curious about nature and motion. Have you ever asked: Why do people, animals, things, images and empty space move? The answer leads to many adventures, and this book presents one of the best of them: the search for a precise, unified and final description of all motion.

The wish to describe all motion is a large endeavour. Fortunately, this large endeavour can be structured in the simple diagram shown in Figure 1. The final and unified description of motion, the topic of this book, corresponds to the highest point in the diagram. Searching for this final and unified description is an old quest. In the following, I briefly summarize its history and then present an intriguing, though speculative solution to the riddle.

The search for the final, unified description of motion is a story of many surprises. For example, twentieth-century research has shown that there is a smallest distance in nature. Research has also shown that matter cannot be distinguished from empty space at those small distances. A last surprise dates from this century: particles and space are best described as made of strands, instead of little spheres or points. The present text explains how to reach these unexpected conclusions. In particular, quantum field theory, the standard model of particle physics, general relativity and cosmology are shown to follow from strands. The three gauge interactions, the three particle generations and the three dimensions of space turn out to be due to strands. In fact, all the open questions of twentieth-century physics about the foundations of motion, all the millennium issues, can be solved with the help of strands.

The strand model, as presented in this text, is an unexpected result from a threefold aim that I have pursued since 1990, in the five previous volumes of this series: to present the basics of motion in a way that is up to date, captivating and simple. In retrospect, the aim for maximum simplicity has been central in deducing this speculation. While the previous volumes introduced, in an entertaining way, the established parts of physics, this volume presents, in the same entertaining and playful way, a speculation about unification. Nothing in this volume is established knowledge – yet. The text is the original presentation of the topic.

The search for a final theory is one of the great adventures of life: it leads to the limits of thought. The search overthrows our thinking habits about nature. A change in thinking habits can produce fear, often hidden by anger. But by overcoming our fears we gain strength and serenity. Changing thinking habits thus requires courage, but it also produces intense and beautiful emotions. Enjoy them!

Subject:
Physical Science
Physics
Material Type:
Textbook
Provider:
Motion Mountain
Author:
Christoph Schiller
Date Added:
02/20/2015
The Adventure of Physics - Vol. V: Motion Inside Matter - Pleasure, Technology, and Stars
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This book is written for anybody who is curious about nature and motion. Curiosity about how bodies, images and empty space move leads to many adventures. This volume presents the best adventures about the motion inside people, inside animals, and inside any other type of matter – from the largest stars to the smallest nuclei.

Motion inside bodies – dead or alive – is described by quantum theory. Quantum theory describes all motion with the quantum of action h, the smallest change observed in nature. Building on this basic idea, the text first shows how to describe life, death and pleasure. Then, the text explains the observations of chemistry, materials science, astrophysics and particle physics. In the structure of physics, these topics correspond to the three ‘quantum’ points in Figure 1. The story of motion inside living and non-living matter, from the coldest gases to the hottest stars, is told here in a way that is simple, up to date and captivating.

In order to be simple, the text focuses on concepts, while keeping mathematics to the necessary minimum. Understanding the concepts of physics is given precedence over using formulae in calculations. The whole text is within the reach of an undergraduate.

In order to be up to date, the text is enriched by the many gems – both theoretical and empirical – that are scattered throughout the scientific literature.

In order to be captivating, the text tries to startle the reader as much as possible. Read- ing a book on physics should be like going to a magic show. We watch, we are astonished, we do not believe our eyes, we think, and finally we understand the trick. When we look at nature, we often have the same experience. Indeed, every page presents at least one sur- prise that makes the reader think. Also numerous interesting challenges are proposed.

The motto of the text, die Menschen stärken, die Sachen klären, a famous statement by Hartmut von Hentig on pedagogy, translates as: ‘To fortify people, to clarify things.’ Clar- ifying things – and adhering only to the truth – requires courage, as changing the habits of thought produces fear, often hidden by anger. But by overcoming our fears we grow in strength. And we experience intense and beautiful emotions. All great adventures in life allow this, and exploring motion is one of them. Enjoy it!

Subject:
Physical Science
Physics
Material Type:
Textbook
Provider:
Motion Mountain
Author:
Christoph Schiller
Date Added:
02/20/2015
Aerospace Structures
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Aerospace Structures by Eric Raymond Johnson is a 600+ page text and reference book for junior, senior, and graduate-level aerospace engineering students. The text begins with a discussion of the aerodynamic and inertia loads acting on aircraft in symmetric flight and presents a linear theory for the status and dynamic response of thin-walled straight bars with closed and open cross-sections. Isotropic and fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials including temperature effects are modeled with Hooke’s law. Methods of analyses are by differential equations, Castigliano’s theorems, the direct stiffness method, the finite element method, and Lagrange’s equations. There are numerous examples for the response axial bars, beams, coplanar trusses, coplanar frames, and coplanar curved bars. Failure initiation by the von Mises yield criterion, buckling, wing divergence, fracture, and by Puck’s criterion for FRP composites are presented in the examples.

Resources
PDFs (book and chapter-level)
Problem sets: http://hdl.handle.net/10919/104169
LaTeX sourcefiles: Expected spring 2022
Print (Softcover. Does not include appendix): https://www.amazon.com/dp/1949373444.

Professors, if you are reviewing this book for adoption in your course, please let us know here: http://bit.ly/interest-aerospace-structures. Instructors reviewing, adopting, or adapting parts or the whole of the text are especially encouraged to sign up.

Subject:
Applied Science
Engineering
Material Type:
Textbook
Provider:
Virginia Tech
Provider Set:
VTech Works
Author:
Eric R. Johnson
Date Added:
03/21/2022
Airplane Flying Handbook
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Public Domain
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The Airplane Flying Handbook provides basic knowledge that is essential for pilots. This handbook introduces basic pilot skills and knowledge that are essential for piloting airplanes. It provides information on transition to other airplanes and the operation of various airplane systems. It is developed by the Flight Standards Service, Airman Testing Standards Branch, in cooperation with various aviation educators and industry. This handbook is developed to assist student pilots learning to fly airplanes. It is also beneficial to pilots who wish to improve their flying proficiency and aeronautical knowledge, those pilots preparing for additional certificates or ratings, and flight instructors engaged in the instruction of both student and certificated pilots. It introduces the future pilot to the realm of flight and provides information and guidance in the performance of procedures and maneuvers required for pilot certification.

Subject:
Applied Science
Material Type:
Textbook
Provider:
Federal Aviation Administration
Date Added:
05/23/2022
Algebra and Trigonometry 2e
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Algebra and Trigonometry provides a comprehensive exploration of algebraic principles and meets scope and sequence requirements for a typical introductory algebra and trigonometry course. The modular approach and the richness of content ensures that the book meets the needs of a variety of courses. Algebra and Trigonometry offers a wealth of examples with detailed, conceptual explanations, building a strong foundation in the material before asking students to apply what they’ve learned.

Subject:
Algebra
Mathematics
Trigonometry
Material Type:
Textbook
Provider:
Rice University
Provider Set:
OpenStax College
Author:
David Lippman
Jay Abramson
Jean-Marie Magnier
Melonie Rasmussen
Nicholas Belloit
Rachael Gross
Rick Norwood
Valeree Falduto
Date Added:
01/29/2015
All Things Flow: Fluid Mechanics in the Natural Sciences
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This book began as lecture notes for an Oregon State University course in fluid mechanics, designed for beginning graduate students in physical oceanography. Because of its fundamental nature, this course is often taken by students outside physical oceanography, e.g., atmospheric science, civil engineering, physics and mathematics.
In later courses, the student will discover esoteric fluid phenomena such as internal waves that propagate through the sky, water phase changes that govern clouds, and planetary rotation effects that control large-scale winds and ocean currents. In contrast, this course concerns phenomena that we have all been familiar with since childhood: flows you see in sinks and bathtubs, in rivers, and at the beach. In this context, we develop the mathematical techniques and scientific reasoning skills needed for higher-level courses and professional research. Prerequisites are few: basic linear algebra, differential and integral calculus and Newton’s laws of motion. As we go along we discover the need for the more advanced tools of tensor analysis.

Subject:
Oceanography
Physical Science
Material Type:
Textbook
Provider:
Oregon State University
Author:
W.D. Smyth
Date Added:
01/06/2020
Allied Health Microbiology
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Open Stax

Short Description:
Welcome to Microbiology, an OpenStax resource. This textbook was written to increase student access to high-quality learning materials, maintaining highest standards of academic rigor at little to no cost. Data dashboard

Long Description:
Download for free at https://open.oregonstate.education/microbiology

Publication and on-going maintenance of this textbook is possible due to grant support from Oregon State University Ecampus.

Suggest a correction

Word Count: 147866

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Subject:
Applied Science
Health, Medicine and Nursing
Material Type:
Textbook
Provider:
Oregon State University
Author:
Linda Bruslind
Date Added:
12/01/2019
America: The User's Manual (Third Edition)
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This is a free textbook written for introductory undergraduate courses in American politics and government, covering the creation and principles of the Constitution, the fundamentals of American public opinion and political behavior, and the basic functions of the three branches of government.

Subject:
Political Science
Social Science
Material Type:
Textbook
Author:
Benjamin R. Kantack
Date Added:
11/21/2021
American Contract Law for a Global Age
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American Contract Law for a Global Age by Franklin G. Snyder and Mark Edwin Burge of Texas A&M University School of Law is a casebook designed primarily for the first-year Contracts course as it is taught in American law schools, but is configured so as to be usable either as a primary text or a supplement in any upper-level U.S. or foreign class that seeks to introduce American contract law to students. As an eLangdell text, it offers maximum flexibility for students to read either in hard copy or electronic format on most electronic devices.

Why “American” Contract Law? Nearly all American contract law texts focus on U.S. law. This volume simply makes that focus explicit. Modern American lawyers face an increasingly global world, and the book makes it clear that American law is not the only important commercial law regime in the world. But much of the value that the cosmopolitan and transnational American-trained lawyer brings to the table is an understanding of the contract law of the United States. To this end, the venerable English cases that exemplify common law doctrine are here presented not in their hoary 19th century settings. but in the 21st century forms that students can intuitively grasp.

Subject:
Law
Material Type:
Textbook
Provider:
The Center for Computer Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI)
Provider Set:
The eLangdell Bookstore
Author:
Frank Snyder
Mark Edwin Burge
Date Added:
07/10/2019
American Encounters: Art, History, and Cultural Identity
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American Encounters provides a narrative of the history of American art that focuses on historical encounters among diverse cultures, upon broad structural transformations such as the rise of the middle classes and the emergence of consumer and mass culture, and on the fluid conversations between "high" art and vernacular expressions. The text emphasizes the intersections among cultures and populations, as well as the exchanges, borrowings, and appropriations that have enriched and vitalized our collective cultural heritage.

Subject:
Art History
Arts and Humanities
Material Type:
Textbook
Provider:
Washington University Libraries
Author:
Angela L Miller
Bryan J Wolf
Janet Catherine Berlo
Jennifer L Roberts
Date Added:
06/15/2022
American Environmental History
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Short Description:
A comprehensive survey of American Environmental History

Long Description:
For too long the environment has been considered little more than a neutral background to history. This text surveys findings of the new field of Environmental History about how the environment of the Americas influenced the actions of people here and how people affected their environments, from prehistory to the present.

Word Count: 80438

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Subject:
Career and Technical Education
Environmental Studies
History
Material Type:
Textbook
Author:
Dan Allosso
Date Added:
03/01/2019
American Government 3e
Unrestricted Use
CC BY
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American Government is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of the single-semester American government course. This title includes innovative features designed to enhance student learning, including Insider Perspective features and a Get Connected Module that shows students how they can get engaged in the political process. The book provides an important opportunity for students to learn the core concepts of American government and understand how those concepts apply to their lives and the world around them. American Government includes updated information on the 2016 presidential election.

Subject:
Political Science
Social Science
Material Type:
Textbook
Provider:
Rice University
Provider Set:
OpenStax College
Author:
Glen Krutz
Sylvie Waskiewicz
Date Added:
08/23/2017
American Government and Politics in the Information Age
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This text is a comprehensive introduction to the vital subject of American government and politics. Governments decide who gets what, when, how (See Harold D. Lasswell, Politics: Who Gets What, When, How, [New York: McGraw-Hill, 1936]); they make policies and pass laws that are binding on all a society’s members; they decide about taxation and spending, benefits and costs, even life and death.Governments possess power—the ability to gain compliance and to get people under their jurisdiction to obey them—and they may exercise their power by using the police and military to enforce their decisions. However, power need not involve the exercise of force or compulsion; people often obey because they think it is in their interest to do so, they have no reason to disobey, or they fear punishment. Above all, people obey their government because it has authority; its power is seen by people as rightfully held, as legitimate. People can grant their government legitimacy because they have been socialized to do so; because there are processes, such as elections, that enable them to choose and change their rulers; and because they believe that their governing institutions operate justly.Politics is the process by which leaders are selected and policy decisions are made and executed. It involves people and groups, both inside and outside of government, engaged in deliberation and debate, disagreement and conflict, cooperation and consensus, and power struggles.In covering American government and politics, this text introduces the intricacies of the Constitution, the complexities of federalism, the meanings of civil liberties, and the conflicts over civil rights;explains how people are socialized to politics, acquire and express opinions, and participate in political life; describes interest groups, political parties, and elections—the intermediaries that link people to government and politics; details the branches of government and how they operate; and shows how policies are made and affect people’s lives.

Subject:
Political Science
Social Science
Material Type:
Textbook
Provider:
University of Minnesota
Provider Set:
University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing
Author:
David L. Paletz
Diana Owen
Timothy E. Cook
Date Added:
06/06/2011
The American Journalism Handbook: Concepts, Issues, and Skills - 1st Ed
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This book is designed to help us understand the many changes to U.S. journalism and imagine new futures for it – futures in which it can serve as an even more useful tool for promoting a well-functioning society. But, before we can imagine new futures, we must take a step back and examine the institution of U.S. journalism through a critical and in-depth lens. This book aims to offer just that. It provides a conceptual foundation for understanding the development, logic, and practice of journalism in the United States; describes some of the key challenges, tensions, and opportunities it has faced, is facing, and will likely face; and offers guidance to help individuals develop the skills needed engage in impactful journalism.

Subject:
Business and Communication
Journalism
Material Type:
Textbook
Author:
Rodrigo Zamith
Date Added:
08/31/2022
The American LGBTQ Rights Movement: An Introduction
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The American LGBTQ Rights Movement: An Introduction is a peer-reviewed chronological survey of the LGBTQ fight for equal rights from the turn of the 20th century to the early 21st century. Illustrated with historical photographs, the book beautifully reveals the heroic people and key events that shaped the American LGBTQ rights movement. The book includes personal narratives to capture the lived experience from each era, as well as details of essential organizations, texts, and court cases that defined LGBTQ activism and advocacy.

Subject:
Gender and Sexuality Studies
Social Science
Sociology
Material Type:
Textbook
Provider:
Humboldt State University
Author:
Kyle Morgan
Meg Rodriguez
Date Added:
10/08/2020
American Literature I: An Anthology of Texts From Early America Through the Civil War
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Long Description:
This book offers an anthology of texts that includes letters, journals, poetry, newspaper articles, pamphlets, sermons, narratives, and short fiction written in and about America beginning with collected oral stories from Native American tribes and ending with the poetry of Emily Dickinson. Many major and minor authors are included, providing a sampling of the different styles, topics, cultures, and concerns present during the formation and development of America through the mid-nineteenth century.

Word Count: 481042

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Subject:
English Language Arts
Reading Literature
Material Type:
Textbook
Provider:
Virtual Library of Virginia Open Publishing
Author:
Jenifer Kurtz
Date Added:
08/16/2019