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OER & ZTC: Open Educational Resources & Zero-Textbook Cost Classes

A guide for faculty about OER & ZTC at El Camino College.

Textbooks

book cover Chemistry, 2nd Edition by Various Authors (2019): OpenStax.

Chemistry 2e is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of the two-semester general chemistry course. The textbook provides an important opportunity for students to learn the core concepts of chemistry and understand how those concepts apply to their lives and the world around them. The book also includes a number of innovative features, including interactive exercises and real-world applications, designed to enhance student learning. The second edition has been revised to incorporate clearer, more current, and more dynamic explanations, while maintaining the same organization as the first edition. 


book coverChemistry: Atoms First, Second Edition by Various Authors (2019): OpenStax.

The intention of “atoms-first” involves a few basic principles: first, it introduces atomic and molecular structure much earlier than the traditional approach, and it threads these themes through subsequent chapters. This approach may be chosen as a way to delay the introduction of material such as stoichiometry that students traditionally find abstract and difficult, thereby allowing students time to acclimate their study skills to chemistry. Additionally, it gives students a basis for understanding the application of quantitative principles to the chemistry that underlies the entire course. It also aims to center the study of chemistry on the atomic foundation that many will expand upon in a later course covering organic chemistry, easing that transition when the time arrives.


book cover Introductory Chemistry by David W. Ball (2011): Saylor Foundation. 

David W. Ball of Cleveland State University brings his new survey of general chemistry text, Introductory Chemistry, to the market with a fresh theme that will be sure to hold student interest: "Chemistry is Everywhere." Introductory Chemistry is intended for a one-semester introductory or preparatory chemistry course. Throughout the chapters, David presents two features that reinforce the theme of the textbook, that chemistry is everywhere.

 


book coverThe Basics of General, Organic and Biological Chemistry by David W Ball, John W Hill & Rhonda J Scott (2011):
Saylor Foundation. 

The Basics of General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry by David W. Ball, John W. Hill, and Rhonda J. Scott is for the one-semester General, Organic and Biological Chemistry course. The authors designed this textbook from the ground up to meet the needs of a one-semester course. It is 20 chapters in length and approximately 350-400 pages; just the right breadth and depth for instructors to teach and students to grasp.


book cover Organic Chemistry with a Biological Emphasis - Volumes I & II by Timothy Soderberg (2020): University of Minnesota.

This textbook is designed for a two-semester, sophomore-level course in organic chemistry in which biological chemistry takes center stage. This covers the core concepts of organic structure, structure determination, and reactivity in the standard order. What is different is the context: biological chemistry is fully integrated into the explanation of central principles. Many laboratory synthesis reactions are also covered, generally in parallel with their biochemical counterparts - but it is intentionally the biological chemistry that comes first.


book coverOrganic Chemistry Lab Techniques by Lisa Nichols (2016): Lisa Nichols. 

This resource was created by Lisa Nichols (chemistry faculty at Butte Community College in Northern California) as a result of an academic sabbatical leave in the Fall-2015 to Spring 2016 term. The target audience are undergraduate students in organic chemistry. In this resource you will find theory and procedures on the main organic lab techniques (chromatography, crystallization, extraction, distillation) as well as general concepts on how to set up and heat apparatuses

Courses

Chemistry for Majors (Lumen/OpenStax)

This course provides an opportunity for students to learn the core concepts of chemistry and understand how those concepts apply to their lives and the world around them, meeting the scope and sequence of most general chemistry courses. Topics include stoichiometry, thermodynamics, and nuclear chemistry. This course is designed to be taught over a series of two semesters. This course, based on OpenStax Chemistry, is supplemented by faculty resources developed by Jessica Garber-Morales of Tidewater Community College and Shawn Shields of Germanna Community College.

 

Chemistry for Majors: Atoms First (Lumen/OpenStax)

This course provides an opportunity for students to learn the core concepts of chemistry and understand how those concepts apply to their lives and the world around them, meeting the scope and sequence of most general chemistry courses. Topics include stoichiometry, thermodynamics, and nuclear chemistry. This course is designed to be taught over a series of two semesters. This course, based on OpenStax Chemistry, is supplemented by faculty resources developed by Jessica Garber-Morales of Tidewater Community College and Shawn Shields of Germanna Community College.

 

College Chemistry 1 Labs (Lumen/SUNY)

The course will explore the fundamental laws, theories, and mathematical concepts of chemistry. It is designed primarily for science and engineering majors. It requires a strong background in mathematics.

 

 

Freshman Organic Chemistry I (Open Yale)

This is the first semester in a two-semester introductory course focused on current theories of structure and mechanism in organic chemistry, their historical development, and their basis in experimental observation. The course is open to freshmen with excellent preparation in chemistry and physics, and it aims to develop both taste for original science and intellectual skills necessary for creative research.

 

Freshman Organic Chemistry II (Open Yale)

This is a continuation of Freshman Organic Chemistry I (CHEM 125a), the introductory course on current theories of structure and mechanism in organic chemistry for students with excellent preparation in chemistry and physics. This semester treats simple and complex reaction mechanisms, spectroscopy, organic synthesis, and some molecules of nature.

 

General Chemistry for Science Majors (ASCCC OERI)

CHEM 110/120 (General Chemistry for Science Majors) – Ancillaries for General Chemistry courses. The video mini lessons are available at 3C Media Solutions.

 

 

General Chemistry I (Saylor)

General Chemistry I will introduce you to the world of chemistry! The ancient Egyptians first identified, studied, and applied the principles of chemistry to extract metal from ores, make alcoholic beverages, glaze pottery, turn fat into soap, and much more. What began as a quest to build better weapons and create potions capable of ensuring everlasting life became the foundation of modern science.

 

Introduction to Chemistry (Lumen)

This extensive introductory course covers foundational topics such as understanding atoms, molecules and ions, mass relationships, chemical equations, thermochemistry, chemical bonding, and real-world chemistry applications.

Additional Resources

ACS Homepage (American Chemical Society) 

Analytical Chemistry 2.0 (BCcampus) 

Chemistry (Khan Academy) 

Chemistry Bookshelf (LibreTexts)

Chemistry Course List (Open Learning Initiative)

Chemistry text collection (IntechOpen)

CK12 Basic Chemistry (CK12)

CK12 Intermediate Chemistry (CK12)

General Chemistry Text (2012 Archive)

Periodic Stats Interactive Website (Periodicstats.com)

PHET Interactive Simulations: Chemistry (University of Colorado, Boulder)