Free Online Textbook List

From Online Degree Discussion

We support the Open Textbook Revolution and the educators making it possible.

Our list features 350 free textbooks in over 49 subject areas.

There is truly a world of learning as close as your fingertips.


Free Online Biology Textbooks

Biologists study living organisms, their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. It is a huge field of study, as varied as the many creatures and plants that share the earth with us.

Sub-disciplines of biology include biochemistry, molecular biology, physiology and ecology. This is the field of study originated by Aristotle and dates back to 300 years before the birth of Christ.

Biology is one of those fields of study that many colleges and universities require all of their students to take an introductory course. It can be a real challenge for non-science majors. The availability of free course materials, lecture notes and online biology textbooks provide students with a better chance than ever to succeed.

As I continue building the free textbook section of Online Degree Discussion, I hope to continue finding more free online biology textbooks to add to this list. If you know of any that I’m missing, please let me know.

Subcategories

  • Botany (3)

    • List of Free Online Biology Textbooks

    Essentials of Glycobiology

    This online textbook has been compiled by a group of glycobiology educators and scholars under the direction of Dr. Ajit Varki and in collaboration with the National Library of Medicine/National Center for Biotechnology Information (NLM/NCBI). It was originally published in 2003 and the current version identifies a copyright date of 2009. Chapter titles include: General [...]

    Inside the Cell

    Written by: Alisa Machalek, Alison Davis and Kirstie Saltsman

    The National Institute of General Medical Sciences offers this online science education booklet. It’s written by Alisa Machalek, Alison Davis and Kirstie Saltsman. Biology students can learn about the parts of a cell, how they function, what they do, how they multiply and why they die.

    Introduction to Biology

    Full online open course, including textbook offered from the folks at Professional Education, Testing and Certification Organization International. The site is listing the course as not yet ready for students and you will have to go through several pop-up warning messages to get to the textbook but the materials looked fairly complete when I visited [...]

    Kimball’s Biology Pages

    Written by: John W. Kimball (Tufts University and Harvard)

    John W. Kimball is now retired after teaching biology and chemistry to high school students at Phillips Academy, biology at Harvard and immunology at Tufts University and Harvard. His textbook is in it’s sixth edition and is now available online. Students can access the material alphabetically by topic, through a table of contents or in [...]

    Todar’s Online Textbook of Bacteriology

    Written by: Kenneth Todar (University of Wisconsin at Madison)

    Written by Kenneth Todar. Ph.D. of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, this online textbook covers general microbiology along with medical bacteriology. The author considers it suitable to both advanced high school students and college students. The author is continuously adding new material and revising the existing material. The text is fully illustrated, searchable and [...]