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Biology
Committed to Advanced Placement Biology! Committed to Students
New pedagogical features to guide student learning Each chapter begins with an outline of the chapter. Learning outcomes are included for every major topic to help students see the forest for the trees and focus on the main concepts and relationships of the details being presented to them. Scientific Thinking illustrations are highlighted and provide students with questions, as well as a hypothesis, prediction, observation, experiment, etc., as appropriate to guide their thought process and teach them to think like a scientist. Inquiry questions are found throughout the text to push the students further in their ability to think scientifically. Learning outcomes are revisited with a short review prior to moving on to the next major topic. A logically organized summary is available at the end of each chapter for students to use as a quick study tool. End of chapter review questions include Understanding, Applying and Synthesizing levels.
Committed to Biology Teachers
The dynamic author team comprised of Jonathan Losos, Evolutionary Biologist at Harvard University, Ken Mason, Molecular Biologist at University of Iowa, and Susan Singer, Plant Geneticist, Carleton College, have joined forces to move this high-quality textbook forward in a significant way for a new generation of students. All three authors have extensive experience teaching undergraduate biology and have used this knowledge as a guide in producing a text that is up-to-date, beautifully illustrated, and pedagogically sound for the student. They have provided clear, explicit learning objectives, and more closely integrate the text with its media support materials to provide instructors with an excellent complement to their teaching.
Committed to Today's Learning Environment Connect(TM) High School Study Center Enhanced Image and Lecture PPt New Animations Active Learning Exercises Learn Engaging, Interactive Questions and Activities Student Self Study Succeed Enhanced Testbank Powerful Diagnostics and Reports for Students and Instructors Connect Plus eBook
Request an Examination Copy
Visit the Online Learning Center
New pedagogical features to guide student learning Each chapter begins with an outline of the chapter. Learning outcomes are included for every major topic to help students see the forest for the trees and focus on the main concepts and relationships of the details being presented to them. Scientific Thinking illustrations are highlighted and provide students with questions, as well as a hypothesis, prediction, observation, experiment, etc., as appropriate to guide their thought process and teach them to think like a scientist. Inquiry questions are found throughout the text to push the students further in their ability to think scientifically. Learning outcomes are revisited with a short review prior to moving on to the next major topic. A logically organized summary is available at the end of each chapter for students to use as a quick study tool. End of chapter review questions include Understanding, Applying and Synthesizing levels.
Committed to Biology Teachers
The dynamic author team comprised of Jonathan Losos, Evolutionary Biologist at Harvard University, Ken Mason, Molecular Biologist at University of Iowa, and Susan Singer, Plant Geneticist, Carleton College, have joined forces to move this high-quality textbook forward in a significant way for a new generation of students. All three authors have extensive experience teaching undergraduate biology and have used this knowledge as a guide in producing a text that is up-to-date, beautifully illustrated, and pedagogically sound for the student. They have provided clear, explicit learning objectives, and more closely integrate the text with its media support materials to provide instructors with an excellent complement to their teaching.
Committed to Today's Learning Environment Connect(TM) High School Study Center Enhanced Image and Lecture PPt New Animations Active Learning Exercises Learn Engaging, Interactive Questions and Activities Student Self Study Succeed Enhanced Testbank Powerful Diagnostics and Reports for Students and Instructors Connect Plus eBook
Request an Examination Copy
Visit the Online Learning Center
1279 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1942
73 people are currently reading
852 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 7, 2019
Good book with alot of details
March 12, 2016
Overall, this was an okay text. I read it not for a course but to update my personal knowledge of the subject originally gained in the 1970s and only supplemented in a piecemeal fashion.
A problem: The authors/ editors do not seem to have a consistent view of their audience, which seems a problem for a textbook. Some parts of the book are moderately challenging, requiring one to bring to active use material learned in earlier chapters; this is particularly so in the coverage of biochemistry and cytology.
Another inconsistency, not unrelated to the first, is in the rigor of the science. For example, the chapters on ecology seemed more loosely reasoned then the book's earlier chapters. My retained knowledge gained from Scientific American articles and from economics showed up gaps in these chapters.
Finally the tone was inconsistent, ranging from dispassionately descriptive to preachy.
Minor point: the glossary needs expansion. It misses terms, not common outside the field, that are used in widely separated parts of the text.
A problem: The authors/ editors do not seem to have a consistent view of their audience, which seems a problem for a textbook. Some parts of the book are moderately challenging, requiring one to bring to active use material learned in earlier chapters; this is particularly so in the coverage of biochemistry and cytology.
Another inconsistency, not unrelated to the first, is in the rigor of the science. For example, the chapters on ecology seemed more loosely reasoned then the book's earlier chapters. My retained knowledge gained from Scientific American articles and from economics showed up gaps in these chapters.
Finally the tone was inconsistent, ranging from dispassionately descriptive to preachy.
Minor point: the glossary needs expansion. It misses terms, not common outside the field, that are used in widely separated parts of the text.
December 26, 2024
Enjoyable to read and has been a useful reference/refresher when needed. Very large quantity of information covered. Goes into a good amount of depth for an introductory textbook, but stopped before I felt bogged down or overwhelmed.
July 1, 2022
I've only gotten through the first portion of this book, using it as teaching material, so take my rating and review with a grain of salt. I'm finished with it for the foreseeable future though so marking as complete. This is a very comprehensive and detailed biology text that does a fantastic job of laying out intro information and then going one step further into that subject's processes. It might be a bit too detailed for someone's first glimpse at these subjects, but is ideal for someone who has had an intro and wants a bit more, or someone revisiting these subjects after a long break away from the material to keep it interesting.
January 22, 2016
Pre-read/use:
I thought the previous edition of this book was pretty good. I think this book should be largely similar to the previous edition, but with some better instructor resources. I'm going to ask my students to rate it at the end of the semester and I'll post their rating here with my review.
Post-read/use:
Still good. Not as many updates as I thought there would be. The publisher caught me on this one.
I thought the previous edition of this book was pretty good. I think this book should be largely similar to the previous edition, but with some better instructor resources. I'm going to ask my students to rate it at the end of the semester and I'll post their rating here with my review.
Post-read/use:
Still good. Not as many updates as I thought there would be. The publisher caught me on this one.
April 30, 2011
A fantastic textbook that explains biology in terms of time, energy, evolution, behaviour and ecosystem. The scope is utterly amazing. A good teacher should be able to take this book and show how life scales from the single-cell to the biosphere for each of the many physiological processes we depend on.
February 14, 2019
Best in my opinion for high schooler or college student
Read
July 14, 2019i wants to read because it is interesting books
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 18, 2019
Read every word of an earlier edition of this book at least three times.
February 10, 2012
This book was really comprehensive. It covered a lot of different areas of study in biology. I used it for two classes and have read just about all of it. The graphics are helpful in explaining concepts. I liked that there were quizzes at the end of each chapter with answers in the back of the book. The topics were explained in such a way that somebody new to biology or someone who hasn't studied it in a long time (like myself) can understand it. The book also goes in depth on many topics so even someone versed in this field of study will be able to learn something.
March 7, 2008
cannot wait to read a non biology text book. haha
Read
June 9, 2008Finals. Ugh. Ugh again.
January 11, 2010
Good stuff for everyone here. Too much fun. Again, McGraw-Hill did an excellent job with the teaching/learning resources that accompany this text.
November 28, 2011
Reading for Ecology is finished...two classes, 1 paper, and 1 final to go!
February 16, 2013
amazing
September 17, 2015
i want to download this book how i can download it
Currently reading
March 2, 2016i think this book.....
April 14, 2025
Such a tear causing book so many tears shed
April 12th 2025:
Just because I had to read it again doesn’t change my opinion
April 12th 2025:
Just because I had to read it again doesn’t change my opinion
May 18, 2017
Had to buy for biology class. Reads like a textbook but I still enjoyed reading it. Definitely keeping for my library
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews