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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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Advanced-Level Writing in the University Classroom and Beyond: Mindful Practices for Technical, Business, and Scientific Communication
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Welcome to Advanced-Level Writing in the University Classroom and Beyond: Mindful Practices for Technical, Business, and Scientific Communication. To encourage this open textbook’s use in various undergraduate classes, it has been developed as an all-in-one resource that concentrates on technical writing, business writing, scientific writing, and technical editing. It offers a no-cost alternative to commercial products, combining practical guidance with interactive exercises and thoughtfully designed writing opportunities.

Subject:
Composition and Rhetoric
English Language Arts
Material Type:
Textbook
Author:
Dawn Atkinson
Stacey Corbitt
Date Added:
07/08/2024
Advanced Problems in Mathematics: Preparing for University
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CC BY
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This new and expanded edition is intended to help candidates prepare for entrance examinations in mathematics and scientific subjects, including STEP (Sixth Term Examination Paper). STEP is an examination used by Cambridge Colleges for conditional offers in mathematics. They are also used by some other UK universities and many mathematics departments recommend that their applicants practice on the past papers even if they do not take the examination.

Advanced Problems in Mathematics bridges the gap between school and university mathematics, and prepares students for an undergraduate mathematics course. The questions analysed in this book are all based on past STEP questions and each question is followed by a comment and a full solution. The comments direct the reader’s attention to key points and put the question in its true mathematical context. The solutions point students to the methodology required to address advanced mathematical problems critically and independently.

This book is a must read for any student wishing to apply to scientific subjects at university level and for anyone interested in advanced mathematics.

Subject:
Mathematics
Material Type:
Textbook
Provider:
Open Book Publishers
Author:
Stephen Siklos
Date Added:
10/01/2019
Advanced Public Speaking
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CC BY-NC
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Short Description:
This advanced public speaking textbook is designed to encourage you as a speaker and to help you sharpen your skills. It is written to feel like you are sitting with a trusted mentor over coffee as you receive practical advice on speaking. Grow in confidence, unleash your personal power and find your unique style as you learn to take your speaking to the next level--polished and professional. SCROLL DOWN for Chapters

Word Count: 183127

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Subject:
Business and Communication
Communication
Composition and Rhetoric
English Language Arts
Material Type:
Textbook
Provider:
University of Arkansas
Author:
Lynn Meade
Date Added:
09/02/2021
The Adventure of Physics - Vol. I: Fall, Flow, and Heat
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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 space move leads to many adventures. This volume presents the best of them in the domain of everyday life.

Carefully observing everyday motion allows us to deduce six essential statements: everyday motion is continuous, conserved, relative, reversible, mirror-invariant – and lazy. Yes, nature is indeed lazy: in every motion, it minimizes change. This text explores how these six results are deduced and how they fit with all those observations that seem to contradict them. In the structure of modern physics, shown in Figure 1, the results on everyday motion form the major part of the starting point at the bottom. The present volume is the first of a six-volume overview of physics. It resulted from a threefold aim I have pursued since 1990: to present 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. Reading 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.’ Clarifying 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. III: Light, Charges, and Brains
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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 adven- tures. 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.

Special relativity is the exploration of the energy speed limit c. General relativity is the exploration of the force limit c4/4G. The text shows that in both domains, all equations follow from these two limit values. This simple, intuitive and unusual way of learning relativity should reward the curiosity of every reader – whether student or professional.

The present volume is the second of a six-volume overview of physics that arose from a threefold aim that I have pursued since 1990: to present 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. 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
Aerodynamics and Aircraft Performance
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CC BY
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Aerodynamics and Aircraft Performance, 3rd edition is a college undergraduate-level introductory textbook on aircraft aerodynamics and performance. This text is designed for a course in Aircraft Performance that is taught before the students have had any course in fluid mechanics, fluid dynamics, or aerodynamics. The text is meant to provide the essential information from these types of courses that is needed for teaching basic subsonic aircraft performance, and it is assumed that the students will learn the full story of aerodynamics in other, later courses. The text assumes that the students will have had a university level Physics sequence in which they will have been introduced to the most fundamental concepts of statics, dynamics, fluid mechanics, and basic conservation laws that are needed to understand the coverage that follows. It is also assumed that students will have completed first year university level calculus sequence plus a course in multi-variable calculus. Separate courses in engineering statics and dynamics are helpful but not necessary. Any student who takes a course using this text after completing courses in aerodynamics or fluid dynamics should find the chapters of this book covering those subjects an interesting review of the material.

The 236-page text was created specifically for use by undergraduate students in Aerospace Engineering and was based on Professor Marchman’s many years of experience teaching related subject matter as well as his numerous wind tunnel research projects related to aircraft aerodynamics and his personal experience as the owner and pilot of a general aviation airplane. It has been used at Virginia Tech and other universities.

Table of Contents
1. Introduction to Aerodynamics
2. Propulsion
3. Additional Aerodynamics Tools
4. Performance in Striaght and Level Flight
5. Altitude Change: Climb and Glide
6. Range and Endurance
7. Accelerated Performance: Takeoff and Landing
8. Accelerated Performance: Turns
9. The Role of Performance in Aircraft Design: Constraint Analysis
Appendix A: Airfoil Data

Instructors reviewing, adopting, or adapting parts or the whole of the text are requested to register their interest at: https://bit.ly/aerodynamics_interest.

978-1-949373-63-9 (PDF) http://hdl.handle.net/10919/96525
978-1-949373-64-6 (ePub) http://hdl.handle.net/10919/96525
978-1-949373-62-2 (HTML/Pressbooks) https://pressbooks.lib.vt.edu/aerodynamics

Subject:
Applied Science
Engineering
Material Type:
Textbook
Provider:
Virginia Tech
Provider Set:
VTech Works
Author:
James F. Marchman III
Date Added:
08/09/2021
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
Air Safety Investigation: The Journey
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CC BY
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"Air Safety Investigation – The Journey" is an introductory book that explores the world of air safety investigation. Unlike a how-to manual for investigating aviation accidents, this book focuses on the essential knowledge and mindset required to conduct a safety investigation. It covers the various phases of an investigation, from gathering facts to formulating safety recommendations, with each chapter addressing a different relevant aspect. With the increasing complexity of investigations, critical thinking, logic, and speculation are essential skills for investigators to possess. This book delves into these topics, offering thought-provoking examples and questions to address the challenges of drawing conclusions and obtaining positive investigative outcomes. Its aim is to help students and readers interested in air safety develop the necessary mindset and knowledge to conduct an investigation. By the end of the book, readers will gain a deeper understanding of the complexities involved in an air safety investigation.

Subject:
Applied Science
Engineering
Material Type:
Textbook
Provider:
Delft University of Technology
Author:
Michiel Schuurman
Date Added:
08/15/2023
Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C)
Unrestricted Use
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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CC BY
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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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CC BY-NC
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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.

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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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CC BY-NC
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0.0 stars

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. Clicking begins pdf download.

Subject:
Political Science
Social Science
Material Type:
Textbook
Author:
Benjamin R. Kantack
Date Added:
11/21/2021