- The Calculus Lifesaver by Adrian Banner ($16.74)
Need more problems?
- The Humongous Book of Calculus Problems by W. Michael Kelley ($13.57)
And that's just for starters. Five minutes of searching will get you half a dozen alternatives.
If ramen noodle sales spike at the start of every semester, here’s one possible reason: textbooks can cost as much as a class itself; materials for an introductory physics course can easily top $300.
Cost-conscious students can of course save money with used or online books and recoup some of their cash come buyback time. Still, it’s a steep price for most 18-year-olds.
But soon, introductory physics texts will have a new competitor, developed at Rice University. A free online physics book, peer-reviewed and designed to compete with major publishers’ offerings, will debut next month through the non-profit publisher OpenStax College.
Ditch the Textbooks - Jason Fertig
In the USA Today, Peter Funt addresses the painful reality of high textbook prices. Mr. Funt notes that professors don’t have to adopt a new version of a book if that updated version puts forth only cosmetic changes. He also notes the growing availability of e-textbooks as cheaper alternatives to high-priced physical books.
While he proposes some basic steps to ease the cost burden on students, this is a more complex issue. Namely — why do certain courses need textbooks?
Column: How to break the college textbook racket - Peter Funt
A congressional advisory committee identified several factors that inflate prices. The most damaging is that the primary choosers of books are not the primary users; that is, teachers usually select the books, but students pay for them. Second, students often are resigned to hikes in prices because they are generally hostage to professors' selections.
