Biology 11th Edition

Book Preface

This eleventh edition of Solomon, Martin, Martin, and Berg’s Biology conveys our vision of the dynamic science of biology and how it affects every aspect of our lives, from our own health and behavior to the challenging global environmental issues that confront us. New discoveries in the biological sciences continue to increase our understanding of both the unity and diversity of life’s processes and adaptations. With this understanding, we become ever more aware of our interdependence with the vast diversity of organisms with which we share planet Earth.

Biology: The Student-Friendly Biology Textbook
We want beginning students to experience learning biology as an exciting journey of discovery. In the eleventh edition of Biology, we explore Earth’s diverse organisms, their remarkable adaptations to the environment, and their evolutionary and ecological relationships. We present the workings of science and the contributions of scientists whose discoveries not only expand our knowledge of biology but also help shape and protect the future of our planet. Biology provides insight into what science is, how scientists work, what scientists have contributed, and how scientific knowledge affects daily life. Since the first edition of Biology, we have worked very hard to present the principles of biology in an integrated way that is accurate, interesting, and conceptually accessible to students. In this eleventh edition of Biology, we continue this tradition. We also continue to present biology in an inquiry-based framework. Some professors interpret inquiry as a learning method that takes place in the laboratory as students perform experiments. While laboratory research is certainly an integral part of inquiry-based learning, inquiry is also a way of learning in which students actively pursue knowledge outside the laboratory. In Biology, we have always presented the history of scientific advances, including scientific debates, to help students understand that science is a process—that is, a field of investigative inquiry—as well as a body of knowledge, the product of inquiry. In the eleventh edition of Biology, we further integrate inquirybased learning into the textbook, as discussed in the following sections. Throughout the text, we stimulate interest by relating concepts to experiences within the student’s frame of reference. By helping students make such connections, we facilitate their mastery of general concepts. The combined effect of an engaging writing style, interesting and exciting features, and our well-tested Learning System provides the ingredients for students to succeed in their study of biology.

The Solomon/Martin/Martin/Berg Learning System
In the eleventh edition, we have continued to refine our highly successful Learning System. This system provides the student with the learning strategies needed to integrate biological concepts and demonstrate mastery of these concepts. Learning biology is challenging because it requires learning many new terms and facts that must then be integrated into the framework of biological principles. To help students focus on important principles and concepts, we provide Learning Outcomes for the course and Learning Objectives for each major section of every chapter. At the end of each section, we provide Checkpoint questions based on the Learning Objectives so that students can assess their level of understanding of the material presented in the section. At the end of each chapter, we include a Summary: Focus on Learning Objectives that is organized around the Learning Objectives and emphasizes key terms in context. The Summary is followed by Test Your Understanding, a set of questions organized according to Bloom’s taxonomy. Questions include Know and Comprehend multiple-choice exercises as well as a variety of questions that encourage the student to Apply and Analyze and Evaluate and Synthesize the topics in the chapter. Students are directed to www.cengagebrain.com, a powerful online tool that offers access to MindTap and additional study materials. See the Resources for Students section of the Preface for details.
Pedagogical Features Our Learning System includes numerous learning strategies that help students increase their success: • Our updated art program reinforces concepts discussed in the text and presents complex processes in clear steps. Key Experiment figures emphasize the scientific process in both classic and modern research. These figures encourage students to evaluate investigative approaches that scientists have taken. Examples include Figures 4-12, 8-9, and 52-1. Key Point figures state important concepts in process diagrams of complex topics. Examples include Figures 4-11, 4-15, 27-2, 31-32, and 42-6. Many of the Key Point figures have numbered parts that show sequences of events in biological processes or life cycles. • Numerous photographs, both alone and combined with line art, help students grasp concepts by connecting the “real” to the “ideal.” The line art uses features such as orientation icons to help students put the detailed figures into the broader context. We use symbols and colors consistently throughout the book to help students connect concepts. For example, the same four colors and shapes are used throughout the book to identify guanine, cytosine, adenine, and thymine. Similarly, the same colors are used consistently in illustrations and tables to indicate specific clades of organisms. Research Method figures describe why biologists use a particular method and explain how the method is executed. Examples include Figures 4-7 and 15-9. • Many questions carry special designations: Predict;

Connect; Visualize; Evolution Link; Interpret Data; or
Science, Technology, and Society. These questions emphasize that learning is enhanced by many diverse approaches. • Inquiring About boxes explore issues of special relevance to students, such as the effects of smoking, how traumatic experiences affect the body, and breast cancer. These boxes also provide a forum for discussing some interesting topics in more detail, such as the smallest ancient humans, ancient plants and coal formation, hydrothermal vent communities, declining amphibian populations, and stratospheric ozone depletion. • A list of Key Concepts at the beginning of each chapter provides a chapter overview and helps the student focus on important principles discussed in the chapter. • Learning Objectives at the beginning of each major section in the chapter indicate, in behavioral terms, what the student must do to demonstrate mastery of the material in that section. • Each major section of the chapter is followed by a series of Checkpoint questions that assess comprehension by asking the student to describe, explain, compare, contrast, or illustrate important concepts. The Checkpoint questions are based on the section Learning Objectives. • Concept Statement Subheads introduce sections, previewing and summarizing the key idea or ideas to be discussed in that section. • Sequence Summaries within the text simplify and summarize information presented in paragraph form. For example, paragraphs describing blood circulation through the body or the steps by which cells take in certain materials are followed by a Sequence Summary listing the sequence of structures or steps. • Numerous tables, many illustrated, help the student organize and summarize material presented in the text. Many tables are color-coded. • A Summary: Focus on Learning Objectives at the end of each chapter is organized around the chapter Learning Objectives. This summary provides a review of the material, and because selected key terms are boldfaced in the summary, students learn vocabulary words within the context of related concepts. • Test Your Understanding end-of-chapter questions are organized according to Bloom’s taxonomy, providing students with the opportunity to evaluate their understanding of the material in the chapter. Know and Comprehend multiple-choice questions reinforce important terms and concepts. Apply and Analyze questions challenge students to integrate their knowledge. Higher-level Evaluate and Synthesize questions encourage students to apply the concepts just learned to new situations or to make connections among important concepts. Each chapter has one or more Evolution Link questions, and many chapters contain one or more Interpret Data questions that require students to actively interpret experimental data presented in the chapter. Also included are Predict, Connect, Visualize, and Science, Technology, and Society questions. Answers to the Test Your Understanding questions are provided in Appendix E online at www.cengagebrain.com. • The Glossary at the end of the book, the most comprehensive glossary found in any biology text, provides precise definitions of terms. The Glossary is especially useful because it is extensively cross-referenced and includes pronunciations for many terms. The vertical
yellow bar along the margin facilitates rapid access to the
Glossary. MindTap also includes glossary flash cards with pronunciations.