About

While we at SBCentral understand that not everyone learns the same way, we also recognize that a list of recommended resources is extremely invaluable. Included below is a collection of print and digital resources we believe provide good content for Science Bowl’s scope (as opposed to the Subject Olympiads, which test more advanced content). DOE-endorsed textbooks have been indicated with an asterisk (*), and unless otherwise specified, all resources are for the High School Science Bowl. Please note that this list is non-exhaustive.
If a resource is missing a description, it means none of our staff members are qualified to give it a review. If you have used the material in question, feel free to email us with a short summary discussing its strong and weak points.
The SBCentral team strictly does not approve of or condone digital piracy, and as such, we would like to request that our community refrains from using websites such as libgen, zlib, or cloud.mehvix to obtain resources.

Astronomy

• Astronomy 2e, Openstax
  Openstax is not traditionally used for scibowl, and it is lacking in a few areas such as solar system astro as compared to some other textbooks, but the format is very good for quick review as a player and answerline finding as a writer. Also, it is free access!
• Foundations of Astronomy, Seeds*
• Astronomy Today, Chaisson
  This book is really good for solar system knowledge but is a bit lacking in other areas like cosmology.
• Fundamental Astronomy, Karttunen
  Compared to the other astronomy books listed, this book goes into far more depth. As a result, it may be intimidating for beginners, but it provides thorough knowledge. There is a fair bit of math, but it isn’t as intimidating as astrophysics-specific textbooks.
• Introductory Astronomy and Astrophysics, Zeilick*
  This is a detailed book for learning astrophysics. The math in here involves significant calculus and is far beyond anything you will need for Science Bowl.

Biology

• Biology, Campbell*
  This is generally considered THE BOOK for biology. It is not dense as some of the other biology textbooks listed, making it a great introduction for any beginner. There are many versions available, but anything 9th edition or more recent will be sufficient.
• Biology 2e, Openstax
• Biology of Plants, Ravens*
  While many of the later chapters are beyond the scope of Science Bowl as there generally are not many questions on advanced botany content, earlier chapters provide a good reframing of general cellular and molecular biology concepts in the context of plants.
• Human Physiology, Vander
  This book is generally used in Subject Olympiad circles as a less-dense alternative to Constanzo. The two contain equal content, just with different presentation
• Physiology, Constanzo*
  Nats likes to ask advanced anatomy and physiology questions, which is why NSB recommends Costanzo’s. This is a very detailed book, but is considered significantly denser than Vander

Chemistry

• Chemical Principles, Atkins
• Chemistry, Zumdahl*
• Chemistry 2e, Openstax
• Organic Chemistry as a Second Language, Klein*

Earth and Space

• Earth, Tarbuck and Lutgens*
• Focus on Earth Science California Edition, Prentice Hall (MS)
  While technically a 6th grade earth science book, this edition is actually quite useful for High School Science Bowl if you can get through the filler.
• Foundations of Earth Science, Tarbuck and Lutgens*
• Oceanography, Garrison*
• Physical Geology, Earle
  This book is very concise, with minimal if any filler. While it may not be the best introduction for someone who has never been exposed to earth science before, it is very good for a more experienced player looking for review. Skip Chapter 21, as specifics of Canadian local geology is not relevant for Science Bowl, an American competition.

Physics

• Electricity and Magnetism, Purcell
  Advanced E&M textbook. Gives you a deep understanding of E&M concepts that a book like HRK will not. Note this is a very advanced book, so don’t feel like you need to start with it to learn E&M.
• Physics, Vol. 5, Halliday, Resnick, and Krane
  The comprehensive guide to physics. Technically, this covers all the content you will need for high school competitions in physics. Like most physics books, it requires some calculus experience beforehand, but other than that it is well-suited for beginners.
• Modern Physics, Fourth Edition, Krane
  While HRK has modern physics, this is a much more comprehensive and well-updated guide. Includes topics like basic quantum mechanics, nuclear decay, particle physics, solid state physics, and cosmology. It compresses broad subjects into only a chapter, making it well suited for learning the relevant information about modern physics fairly quickly.
• Physics, Giancoli*
  Algebra-based physics book. Covers a lot of the content you’ll need for science bowl, but doesn’t give you as good of an understanding of physics as HRK.
• Physics 2e, Openstax
• University Physics, Young*

Student Made Resources

In general, student-made guides will be geared toward doing well at a particular competition as opposed to gaining a strong foundation in a subject at large. We’ve included some here to help supplement topics not commonly covered in introductory-level textbooks

• USAAAO guides
  Can be used for a more in-depth understanding of stellar and galactic astronomy, both of which appear frequently in Science Bowl.
• Bioly Guides
  Can be used to supplement biochemistry (emphasis on basic metabolism, pentose phosphate pathway, and urea cycle) and biosystematics for Science Bowl. While both don’t show up often in questions, a well-rounded biology player should be able to understand these concepts.

Video Resources

• EdX
• Great Courses Plus
  A subscription-based streaming site for video lectures in all subjects. Lectures are generally geared toward the average person and may feel a little slow at times, but altogether they are very good for building a strong foundation. If you don’t have the patience for textbooks or the technical background for university-level courses, Wondrium is a very good starting point
• MIT OpenCourseWare* and Open Learning Library
  MIT releases their lecture videos and notes for free online for many of their courses, as well as psets and exams. Open Learning Library is a more structured way to learn, with a sequential learning path involving videos and assignments. While most of these will be way overkill for Science Bowl and olympiads, some of the GIR courses roughly correspond with AP-level material: 5.111 (chemistry), 7.016 (biology), 8.01 (mechanics), 8.02 (e&m), 18.01 (single-variable calculus)
• Stanford Online