Open Educational Resources in Physics
This page provides access to open educational resources (OER) in Physics from a variety of repositories and publishers. The purpose is to showcase content that might be of interest to faculty who are considering adopting OER for use in their classes. This list of content is by no means exhaustive and more resources are available.
Open Textbooks
Applications of Maxwell's Equations by
Publication Date: last updated 2020This book was developed at Simon Fraser University for an upper-level physics course. Along with a careful exposition of electricity and magnetism, it devotes a chapter to ferromagnets. The topics covered include electromagnetics, magnetostatics, waves, transmission lines, waveguides, antennas, and radiating systems.
College Physics by ISBN: 9781938168000Publication Date: 2012College Physics meets standard scope and sequence requirements for a two-semester introductory algebra-based physics course. The text is grounded in real-world examples to help students grasp fundamental physics concepts. It requires knowledge of algebra and some trigonometry, but not calculus. College Physics includes learning objectives, concept questions, links to labs and simulations, and ample practice opportunities for traditional physics application problems.
Mechanics and Relativity by Publication Date: 2018In Mechanics and Relativity, the reader is taken on a tour through time and space. Starting from the basic axioms formulated by Newton and Einstein, the theory of motion at both the everyday and the highly relativistic level is developed without the need of prior knowledge. The relevant mathematics is provided in an appendix. The text contains various worked examples and a large number of original problems to help the reader develop an intuition for the physics. Applications covered in the book span a wide range of physical phenomena, including rocket motion, spinning tennis rackets and high-energy particle collisions.
University Physics, Volume 1 by ISBN: 9781938168277Publication Date: 2016University Physics is a three-volume collection that meets the scope and sequence requirements for two- and three-semester calculus-based physics courses. Volume 1 covers mechanics, sound, oscillations, and waves. This textbook emphasizes connections between theory and application, making physics concepts interesting and accessible to students while maintaining the mathematical rigor inherent in the subject. Frequent, strong examples focus on how to approach a problem, how to work with the equations, and how to check and generalize the result.
University Physics, Volume 2 by ISBN: 9781938168161Publication Date: 2016University Physics is a three-volume collection that meets the scope and sequence requirements for two- and three-semester calculus-based physics courses. Volume 2 covers thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism. This textbook emphasizes connections between theory and application, making physics concepts interesting and accessible to students while maintaining the mathematical rigor inherent in the subject. Frequent, strong examples focus on how to approach a problem, how to work with the equations, and how to check and generalize the result.
University Physics, Volume 3 by ISBN: 9781938168185Publication Date: 2016University Physics is a three-volume collection that meets the scope and sequence requirements for two- and three-semester calculus-based physics courses. Volume 3 covers optics and modern physics. This textbook emphasizes connections between theory and application, making physics concepts interesting and accessible to students while maintaining the mathematical rigor inherent in the subject. Frequent, strong examples focus on how to approach a problem, how to work with the equations, and how to check and generalize the result.
Where to Find More
The following are dedicated search engines, repositories, and publishers hosted by organizations dedicated to open and institutions of higher education that can connect users with OER.
- LibreTextssupported by the Department of Education Open Textbook Pilot Project, the UC Davis Office of the Provost, the UC Davis Library, the California State University Affordable Learning Solutions Program, and Merlot
- The Mason OER Metafinder (MOM)from George Mason University
- MERLOTfrom California State University Long Beach
- Milne Open Textbooksfrom SUNY Geneseo
- OASISfrom SUNY Geneseo
- OER Commonsfrom ISKME
- OpenStaxfrom Rice University
- Open Textbook Libraryfrom the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
- SkillsCommonsfrom California State University Long Beach
Additional Free and Low-Cost Options
The following free and affordable resource collections lack the wider flexibility of OER, but they offer tremendous value for instructors looking to reduce the textbook cost burden on students.
Open Access (OA) Collections
Additional physics content from arXiv can be found at https://arxiv.org/
Additional Resources
PhET Interactive Simulations in Chemistry - Founded in 2002 by Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman, the PhET Interactive Simulations project at the University of Colorado Boulder creates free interactive math and science simulations. PhET sims are based on extensive education research and engage students through an intuitive, game-like environment where students learn through exploration and discovery.
