Synopses & Reviews
BIOLOGY: CONCEPTS AND APPLICATIONS supplies an 800 page, introductory issues-oriented approach with enormous instructional power. Starr supports mastery throughout while encouraging the critical thinking students need as citizens, voters, parents, and consumers. The "Impacts, Issues" and "How Would You Vote?" features new to this edition make biology come alive. An "Impacts, Issues" case study opens each chapter focusing on a biology-related societal issue. Short films that expand on the issue are on the free Student CD. Each chapter's "How Would You Vote?" asks students to consider biology-related news, apply knowledge, cast a vote on the web and see state and nationwide voting tallies. The access codes that accompany all new copies provide online access to 1) BiologyNow, a learning tool that helps students assess their unique study needs through pretests, post-test and personalized learning plans; 2) InfoTrac, a library of full text articles; 3) vMentor, a live tutoring service and 4) "How Do I Prepare," a feature that allows students to review basic math, chemistry, and other skills that will help them more easily master introductory biology. And now with an MP3 download of this title, you don't have to lose prep time during a long commute?any MP3 player lets you or your students listen and review the text at the gym, in the library, at the office ? anywhere! Starr is the most successful author in non-majors biology because of her clear and engaging writing, trend-setting art, and unparalleled student and instructor media.
Synopsis
This best-selling text is designed to help students understand biology by engaging them in learning in every way possible. The book's extensive array of multimedia resources enriches the book's hallmark features: unique visuals on every page, applications in every chapter that show how biology is inextricably linked to everyday life, and activities and resources throughout the book that encourage critical thinking and spark curiosity in biological investigation. CD-ROM and segments on the FREE accompanying interactive CD-ROM, AS WELL AS CNN Today Videos, Web links, and reading from the InfoTrac College Edition library are all integrated with the text to support, illuminate, and reinforce the text. Cecie Starr's visuals work hand in hand with her clear writing. Each basic concept appears as a one- or two-page concept spread. This format helps student focus on information in manageable easy-to-understand segments. Main points are laid out clearly, summarized, and reinforced by visuals. The carefully written transitions between Concept Spreads help students grasp how each concept fits into the whole story. In the process, students develop an understanding of biology's amazing diversity and underlying unity.
About the Author
For the past two decades, Cecie Starr has been known as one of the best-selling biology textbook authors. Her texts, appreciated for their clarity in both the written word and the visual representation of biological concepts, include multiple editions of BIOLOGY: THE UNITY AND DIVERSITY OF LIFE, BIOLOGY: CONCEPTS AND APPLICATIONS, and BIOLOGY TODAY AND TOMORROW. Her original dream was to become an architect. Instead of building houses, she now builds, with care and attention to detail, incredible texts based on this philosophy: "I invite students into a chapter through an intriguing story. Once inside, they get the great windows that biologists construct on the world of life. Biology is not just another house. It is a conceptual mansion. I hope to do it justice."
Table of Contents
Introduction. 1. Concepts and Methods in Biology. Part I: PRINCIPLES OF CELLULAR LIFE. 2. Chemical Foundations for Cells. 3. Carbon Compounds in Cells. 4. Cell Structure and Function. 5. Ground Rules of Metabolism. 6. How Cells Acquire Energy. 7. How Cells Release Stored Energy. Part II: PRINCIPLES OF INHERITANCE. 8. Cell Division and Mitosis. 9. Meiosis. 10. Observable Patterns of Inheritance. 11. Chromosomes and Human Genetics. 12. DNA Structure and Function. 13. From DNA to Proteins. 14. Controls Over Genes. 15. Recombinant DNA and Genetic Engineering. Part III: PRINCIPLES OF EVOLUTION. 16. Microevolution. 17. Speciation. 18. The Macroevolutionary Puzzle. Part IV: EVOLUTION AND BIODIVERSITY. 19. The Origin and Evolution of Life. 20. Prokaryotes, Viruses, and Protistans. 21. Fungi. 22. Plants. 23. Animals: The Invertebrates. 24. Animals: The Vertebrates. 25. Biodiversity in Perspective. Part V: PLANT STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION. 26. Plant Tissues. 27.Plant Nutrition and Transport. 28. Plant Reproduction and Development. Part VI: ANIMAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION. 29. Tissues, Organ Systems, and Homeostasis. 30. Integration and Control: Nervous Systems. 31. Sensory Reception. 32. Endocrine Control. 33. Protection, Support, and Movement. 34. Circulation. 35. Immunity. 36. Respiration. 37. Digestion and Human Nutrition. 38. The Internal Environment. 39. Animal Reproduction And Development. PART VII: ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR. 40. Population Ecology. 41. Social Interactions. 42. Community Interactions. 43. Ecosystems. 44. The Biosphere. 45. Human Impact on the Biosphere. Appendix I: Classification Scheme. Appendix II: Units of Measure. Appendix III: Answers to Self-Quizzes. Appendix IV: Answers to Genetics Problems. Appendix V: A Closer Look At Some Major Metabolic Pathways. Appendix VI: Periodic Table of the Elements.