Biology: Concepts and Investigations (WCB General Biology) 4th Edition

Book Preface

Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action encourages instructors to improve student engagement and learning in introductory biology courses. The central idea of the original Vision and Change report—and of the conferences and reports that followed—is that we need to turn away from teaching methods that reward students who memorize and regurgitate superficial knowledge. Instead, we need to emphasize deeper learning that requires students to understand and apply course content. This idea is precisely what I have tried to achieve since I started teaching at the University of Oklahoma in 1997, and it has been a guiding principle in the creation of my books  and digital material as well.

This edition retains what users have always loved about this book: the art program, readable narrative, handy study tips, Investigating Life essays, and tutorial animations. We also supply a variety of supplements that make teaching easier, including eye-catching PowerPoint® lectures with integrated clicker questions that assess conceptual understanding. As you examine this new edition, however, I hope you will see an even stronger emphasis on connections and the “big picture.” Our most prominent new feature, Survey the Landscape, shows how each chapter’s content fits into the unit’s overall emphasis. Students often struggle to connect new topics to what they have learned previously; Survey the Landscape is designed to help them keep an eye on the big picture. These new figures, which appear in each chapter opener, can be integrated with the Pull It Together figure in every chapter’s summary to help students see the “forest” and the “trees.”

Many other changes to this book reflect the growing numbers of instructors and students who are embracing digital textbooks. Much of our work for the fourth edition was behindthe- scenes adjustments that make the narrative and art more digital-friendly. Moreover, SmartBook® user data from thousands of students using the third edition helped us to identify passages that needed clarification. The user data also guided us as we created a carefully selected array of digital Learning Resources to accompany many probes in SmartBook. In addition, many chapters have bonus features for ebook users, including new digital-only miniglossaries and figures.

I agree with the Vision and Change report’s call for instructors to embrace active learning techniques, but I also believe that one set of tools and techniques does not work in every classroom. For that reason, my team and I are proud to create a package that gives you the flexibility to teach introductory biology in a way that works best for you. The following sections illustrate the features and resources for this edition that can help you meet your teaching goals.

I hope that you and your students enjoy this text and that it helps cultivate an understanding of, and deep appreciation for, biology.

Mariëlle Hoefnagels
The University of Oklahoma

Brief Contents
UNIT 1 Science, Chemistry, and Cells
1 The Scientific Study of Life 2
2 The Chemistry of Life 18
3 Cells 44
4 The Energy of Life 70
5 Photosynthesis 88
6 Respiration and Fermentation 104
UNIT 2 DNA, Inheritance, and Biotechnology
7 DNA Structure and Gene Function 120
8 DNA Replication, Binary Fission, and Mitosis 146
9 Sexual Reproduction and Meiosis 166
10 Patterns of Inheritance 186
11 DNA Technology 216
UNIT 3 The Evolution of Life
12 The Forces of Evolutionary Change 236
13 Evidence of Evolution 260
14 Speciation and Extinction 280
15 The Origin and History of Life 304
UNIT 4 The Diversity of Life
16 Viruses 330
17 Bacteria and Archaea 344
18 Protists 360
19 Plants 378
20 Fungi 398
21 Animals 416
UNIT 5 Plant Life
22 Plant Form and Function 460
23 Plant Nutrition and Transport 482
24 Reproduction and Development of Flowering Plants 496
UNIT 6 Animal Life
25 Animal Tissues and Organ Systems 518
26 The Nervous System 534
27 The Senses 558
28 The Endocrine System 574
29 The Skeletal and Muscular Systems 590
30 The Circulatory System 608
31 The Respiratory System 628
32 Digestion and Nutrition 644
33 Regulation of Temperature and Body Fluids 664
34 The Immune System 680
35 Animal Reproduction and Development 700
UNIT 7 The Ecology of Life
36 Animal Behavior 728
37 Populations 748
38 Communities and Ecosystems 766
39 Biomes 788
40 Preserving Biodiversity 808