Every textbook has errors, some more than others. (I’m looking at your 3e Chemistry!). Did you know Apologia has errata files. Yes, loads! These are especially useful when you can’t imagine how on earth that could be the correct answer. Here are the errata for the Elementary Science series, Young Explorers. Here are the errata pages for the middle and high school science textbooks currently published. Here are the Physics’ errata pages by edition. Here are the Advanced Biology pages by edition.
I became interested in errors in textbooks when I taught Physical Science. I kept stumbling on to errors in problems. One key study from N.C. State uncovered Physical Science textbooks rife with errors. Guess what? This Nature article indicates the situation among science textbooks hasn’t changed. Mass marketed science and math textbooks are edited; however the ancillary material often isn’t. Ancillary material includes the teacher’s textbook, answers, tests, and worksheets.
So what? My undergrad was Bio. It was a nightmare learning how to teach Chemistry and Physical Science initially. Sure, I had had Chem in college, topics seldom encountered in high school. It meant relearning everything. Consequently, when I encountered errors, I spent hours trying to determine what I had done incorrectly. Many, many middle school teachers lack Chem and Physics skills; they are responsible for teaching Physical Science. Like you, they are counting on the material to be correct. The next time you stumble on a topic or a problem, check the errata. It might not be you at all.
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