If my course outline tells me i need the 5th edition of a textbook, is it okay if i just grab the 4th edition? It will save me so much money that way.. :/
Depends on the class. Readings often won't line up if the editions are different. Also if the homework comes out of the book, the ordering of questions/ questions themselves often change between editions. In which case if you had the old version you would need to look at the newer one before each assignment to see what the questions are. Otherwise general content will be quite similar.
the textbook will probably be quite similar but the questions/page numbers maybe slightly rearranged. you should still e-mail the prof to double check!
really hard to say for certain due to the many variables involved. however, i think it will depend a lot on how many years between the two editions. if the 5th edition came out in 2011 but the 4th edition in 2006 it's probably too much of a gap. A lot of the times though there will be like 2 years between editions and chances are the info probably won't be too different. if you are really keen on saving cash i'd probably take the chance.
you should also double check whether your prof has put the book up for reserve at the sfu library. if you buy an older edition you could always use that reserve book to read/scan material you are missing or to make a comparison between the two books.
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you should also double check whether your prof has put the book up for reserve at the sfu library. if you buy an older edition you could always use that reserve book to read/scan material you are missing or to make a comparison between the two books.