(If there’s a more appropriate forum for this, please move the thread)
My D and are are looking at all the options for buying/renting textbooks for her 1st semester, and there are a few questions I’m hoping some of you that have been through this process can answer.
For this particular class (Chemistry), the textbook is “Chemistry: An Atoms-Focused Approach (2nd Edition)” by Gilbert.
Her school bookstore has 3 “versions”. For these we’re wondering what these differences mean:
- (w/Access & Wkbk)
- (w/Chem Connection WKBK & Smart 5 Acc)
- (w/Wkbk)
Her school uses the “efollet.com” site as their bookstore (as do a lot of other schools), and the bookstore page for this class says “pick 1 of the 3 options”
I’m assuming “Wkbk” is workbook? However, here’s the more pressing issue - each of these versions has a different ISBN #, but when I look on Amazon or just any general ISBN lookup website - nothing is found for the ISBN’s given by the efollet site.
I can search for the book by title/author and I find it on other sites, for example here on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Atoms-Focused-Approach-Thomas-Gilbert/dp/0393614050/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531139726&sr=8-1&keywords=chemistry+atoms+focused+approach
But that’s a different ISBN than the above 3 (def the same book thought)… so I’m assuming the Amazon one is different because it doesn’t have the Workbook, access code, Chem Connect, etc (whatever all those are)?
When my D is back from vacation she’ll email the professor, but just wondering if anyone here had any input… if the school itself is saying “pick 1 of 3”, I assume that means the supplemental stuff like “Access” and “Smart 5 Acc” isn’t required… but what is it anyway? I see no mention of those things on the Amazon site for the book.
Thanks!
That’s really the answer.
Additional internet content.
The instructor can advise if s/he will be assigning material from the workbook and/or online resources and even if not assigned, if s/he suggests these tools as helpful. Some resources may also be on reserve at the campus library, which is fine if the book is not used daily.
Additionally, in some instances, publishers assign different ISBN numbers depending upon how materials are packaged together. A particular college may get an exclusive bundling that warrants a new ISBN. International versions, although usually identical, get a different ISBN. However, the textbook is identical in content (if they are all the second edition). It might be hardcover vs softcover or a blue cover instead of a green cover, but the insides are the same. Additionally, in some cases, the prof may say an earlier (and therefore cheaper) edition is OK. But your D needs to ask.
Those are digital access codes for supplemental online course materials. Codes aren’t offered thru amazon because the materials may be specific to a particular college. ( As opposed to thru the publisher.) Your d may be able to purchase an access code separately from the textbook thru her college bookstore. Access code are only valid for a single user and cannot be reused/ resold.
Re: different ISBNs are required for each different combination and each edition available. The textbook may be the same. Or it may not be. Some universities require a school- specific version of a textbook where the chapters are organized differently or there is different pagination or different problem sets.
I agree - it’s a direct professor question she should ask.
Other options; Go onto the bookstore website and see if you can put in the class and section and see if it tells you what versions you need.
See if you can find the syllabus of the professor for that class and see if it says what book it is.
It looks like that’s what she did.
She shot off a quick email and surprising heard back already… the supplemental Workbook and “Smartwork 5” (publishers interactive learning environment) aren’t required, hence why you can pick from any of the 3 since the textbook is the only requirement (she’ll def be getting them though!)
At least now I know “Smart 5 Acc” is the Access code for Smartwork 5, which is specific to that publisher.
The ISBN thing is annoying… must be school specific since they don’t even match the ISBN’s fore the bundles right from the publisher.