practice understanding hypothesis biology basics unit

Module 1: Introduction to Biology

Experiments and hypotheses, learning outcomes.

• Form a hypothesis and use it to design a scientific experiment

Now we’ll focus on the methods of scientific inquiry. Science often involves making observations and developing hypotheses. Experiments and further observations are often used to test the hypotheses.

A scientific experiment is a carefully organized procedure in which the scientist intervenes in a system to change something, then observes the result of the change. Scientific inquiry often involves doing experiments, though not always. For example, a scientist studying the mating behaviors of ladybugs might begin with detailed observations of ladybugs mating in their natural habitats. While this research may not be experimental, it is scientific: it involves careful and verifiable observation of the natural world. The same scientist might then treat some of the ladybugs with a hormone hypothesized to trigger mating and observe whether these ladybugs mated sooner or more often than untreated ones. This would qualify as an experiment because the scientist is now making a change in the system and observing the effects.

Forming a Hypothesis

When conducting scientific experiments, researchers develop hypotheses to guide experimental design. A hypothesis is a suggested explanation that is both testable and falsifiable. You must be able to test your hypothesis through observations and research, and it must be possible to prove your hypothesis false.

For example, Michael observes that maple trees lose their leaves in the fall. He might then propose a possible explanation for this observation: “cold weather causes maple trees to lose their leaves in the fall.” This statement is testable. He could grow maple trees in a warm enclosed environment such as a greenhouse and see if their leaves still dropped in the fall. The hypothesis is also falsifiable. If the leaves still dropped in the warm environment, then clearly temperature was not the main factor in causing maple leaves to drop in autumn.

In the Try It below, you can practice recognizing scientific hypotheses. As you consider each statement, try to think as a scientist would: can I test this hypothesis with observations or experiments? Is the statement falsifiable? If the answer to either of these questions is “no,” the statement is not a valid scientific hypothesis.

Practice Questions

Determine whether each following statement is a scientific hypothesis.

Air pollution from automobile exhaust can trigger symptoms in people with asthma.

• No. This statement is not testable or falsifiable.
• No. This statement is not testable.
• No. This statement is not falsifiable.
• Yes. This statement is testable and falsifiable.

Natural disasters, such as tornadoes, are punishments for bad thoughts and behaviors.

a: No. This statement is not testable or falsifiable. “Bad thoughts and behaviors” are excessively vague and subjective variables that would be impossible to measure or agree upon in a reliable way. The statement might be “falsifiable” if you came up with a counterexample: a “wicked” place that was not punished by a natural disaster. But some would question whether the people in that place were really wicked, and others would continue to predict that a natural disaster was bound to strike that place at some point. There is no reason to suspect that people’s immoral behavior affects the weather unless you bring up the intervention of a supernatural being, making this idea even harder to test.

Testing a Vaccine

Let’s examine the scientific process by discussing an actual scientific experiment conducted by researchers at the University of Washington. These researchers investigated whether a vaccine may reduce the incidence of the human papillomavirus (HPV). The experimental process and results were published in an article titled, “ A controlled trial of a human papillomavirus type 16 vaccine .”

Preliminary observations made by the researchers who conducted the HPV experiment are listed below:

• Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States.
• There are about 40 different types of HPV. A significant number of people that have HPV are unaware of it because many of these viruses cause no symptoms.
• Some types of HPV can cause cervical cancer.
• About 4,000 women a year die of cervical cancer in the United States.

Practice Question

Researchers have developed a potential vaccine against HPV and want to test it. What is the first testable hypothesis that the researchers should study?

• HPV causes cervical cancer.
• People should not have unprotected sex with many partners.
• People who get the vaccine will not get HPV.
• The HPV vaccine will protect people against cancer.

Experimental Design

You’ve successfully identified a hypothesis for the University of Washington’s study on HPV: People who get the HPV vaccine will not get HPV.

The next step is to design an experiment that will test this hypothesis. There are several important factors to consider when designing a scientific experiment. First, scientific experiments must have an experimental group. This is the group that receives the experimental treatment necessary to address the hypothesis.

The experimental group receives the vaccine, but how can we know if the vaccine made a difference? Many things may change HPV infection rates in a group of people over time. To clearly show that the vaccine was effective in helping the experimental group, we need to include in our study an otherwise similar control group that does not get the treatment. We can then compare the two groups and determine if the vaccine made a difference. The control group shows us what happens in the absence of the factor under study.

However, the control group cannot get “nothing.” Instead, the control group often receives a placebo. A placebo is a procedure that has no expected therapeutic effect—such as giving a person a sugar pill or a shot containing only plain saline solution with no drug. Scientific studies have shown that the “placebo effect” can alter experimental results because when individuals are told that they are or are not being treated, this knowledge can alter their actions or their emotions, which can then alter the results of the experiment.

Moreover, if the doctor knows which group a patient is in, this can also influence the results of the experiment. Without saying so directly, the doctor may show—through body language or other subtle cues—their views about whether the patient is likely to get well. These errors can then alter the patient’s experience and change the results of the experiment. Therefore, many clinical studies are “double blind.” In these studies, neither the doctor nor the patient knows which group the patient is in until all experimental results have been collected.

Both placebo treatments and double-blind procedures are designed to prevent bias. Bias is any systematic error that makes a particular experimental outcome more or less likely. Errors can happen in any experiment: people make mistakes in measurement, instruments fail, computer glitches can alter data. But most such errors are random and don’t favor one outcome over another. Patients’ belief in a treatment can make it more likely to appear to “work.” Placebos and double-blind procedures are used to level the playing field so that both groups of study subjects are treated equally and share similar beliefs about their treatment.

The scientists who are researching the effectiveness of the HPV vaccine will test their hypothesis by separating 2,392 young women into two groups: the control group and the experimental group. Answer the following questions about these two groups.

• This group is given a placebo.
• This group is deliberately infected with HPV.
• This group is given nothing.
• This group is given the HPV vaccine.
• a: This group is given a placebo. A placebo will be a shot, just like the HPV vaccine, but it will have no active ingredient. It may change peoples’ thinking or behavior to have such a shot given to them, but it will not stimulate the immune systems of the subjects in the same way as predicted for the vaccine itself.
• d: This group is given the HPV vaccine. The experimental group will receive the HPV vaccine and researchers will then be able to see if it works, when compared to the control group.

Experimental Variables

A variable is a characteristic of a subject (in this case, of a person in the study) that can vary over time or among individuals. Sometimes a variable takes the form of a category, such as male or female; often a variable can be measured precisely, such as body height. Ideally, only one variable is different between the control group and the experimental group in a scientific experiment. Otherwise, the researchers will not be able to determine which variable caused any differences seen in the results. For example, imagine that the people in the control group were, on average, much more sexually active than the people in the experimental group. If, at the end of the experiment, the control group had a higher rate of HPV infection, could you confidently determine why? Maybe the experimental subjects were protected by the vaccine, but maybe they were protected by their low level of sexual contact.

To avoid this situation, experimenters make sure that their subject groups are as similar as possible in all variables except for the variable that is being tested in the experiment. This variable, or factor, will be deliberately changed in the experimental group. The one variable that is different between the two groups is called the independent variable. An independent variable is known or hypothesized to cause some outcome. Imagine an educational researcher investigating the effectiveness of a new teaching strategy in a classroom. The experimental group receives the new teaching strategy, while the control group receives the traditional strategy. It is the teaching strategy that is the independent variable in this scenario. In an experiment, the independent variable is the variable that the scientist deliberately changes or imposes on the subjects.

Dependent variables are known or hypothesized consequences; they are the effects that result from changes or differences in an independent variable. In an experiment, the dependent variables are those that the scientist measures before, during, and particularly at the end of the experiment to see if they have changed as expected. The dependent variable must be stated so that it is clear how it will be observed or measured. Rather than comparing “learning” among students (which is a vague and difficult to measure concept), an educational researcher might choose to compare test scores, which are very specific and easy to measure.

In any real-world example, many, many variables MIGHT affect the outcome of an experiment, yet only one or a few independent variables can be tested. Other variables must be kept as similar as possible between the study groups and are called control variables . For our educational research example, if the control group consisted only of people between the ages of 18 and 20 and the experimental group contained people between the ages of 30 and 35, we would not know if it was the teaching strategy or the students’ ages that played a larger role in the results. To avoid this problem, a good study will be set up so that each group contains students with a similar age profile. In a well-designed educational research study, student age will be a controlled variable, along with other possibly important factors like gender, past educational achievement, and pre-existing knowledge of the subject area.

What is the independent variable in this experiment?

• Sex (all of the subjects will be female)
• Presence or absence of the HPV vaccine
• Presence or absence of HPV (the virus)

List three control variables other than age.

What is the dependent variable in this experiment?

• Sex (male or female)
• Rates of HPV infection
• Age (years)
• Revision and adaptation. Authored by : Shelli Carter and Lumen Learning. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• Scientific Inquiry. Provided by : Open Learning Initiative. Located at : https://oli.cmu.edu/jcourse/workbook/activity/page?context=434a5c2680020ca6017c03488572e0f8 . Project : Introduction to Biology (Open + Free). License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

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Biology Unit 1 - Scientific Investigation

Students also studied

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• Quantitative data
• Scientific Investigation

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Biology Lesson Plans

When I started my teaching career, I was literally told to go to the state website and print off the standards. That was it. No packet of biology lesson plans. I was lucky enough to have a textbook that I got a few days before school started, but as we all know a textbook isn’t the be all end all. I struggled and wish there had been more teachers sharing what and how to approach biology.

That is why I’m here. To share my experience after 20 years of teaching. Now keep in mind that resources and ideas are suggestions – at the end of the day you’ll need to find what works for you. From the tiniest cells to the most diverse ecosystems, I’ll share my approach to biology topics and my reasoning for the approach I use. No need to reinvent the wheel. So, buckle up, put on your lab coats, and get ready for support from your new teacher bestie – that’s me. Biology, here we come! Looking for Biology Teaching Resources ? I’ve got something just for you. CLICK HERE for All My Biology Teaching Resources.

>>>Grab my Biology Scope & Sequence <<<

Table of Contents

You can click any link in the below to be taken directly to this section of the post.

Creating Biology Lesson Plans

• Introduction to Biology
• Chemistry of Life
• Cell Transport
• Cell Cycle & Cancer
• DNA & RNA
• DNA replication
• Protein Synthesis
• Mendel and Punnett Squares
• Other Inheritance Patterns
• Mutations, Pedigrees, and Karyotypes
• Biotechnology
• Ecological Levels and Dichotomous Keys
• Biogeochemical Cycles
• Energy Flow in Ecosystems

Photosynthesis

Cellular Respiration

• Darwin and Natural Selection
• Isolation, Speciation, and Extinction
• Evidence of Evolution
• Ecology: Niche, Competition and Predation
• Population Ecology and Growth Curves
• Human Impact

My Biology Sequence

• Hands-on Activities
• Critical Thinking
• A dapting and Modifying

I’m here looking to support high school biology teachers, but many of the ideas I share can be adapted for middle school or even higher education. I’ve taught in all three. When I think about creating lessons plans for biology, I start with the standards and work backwards. If I know where I want to go, it helps me figure out how I want to get there.

This is not a one and done thing. I’m constantly revising. Because student needs are different, I try to have lots of options for each of the biology topics. I think about learning and study strategies that support learning. The strategies I want to incorporate are :

• Retrieval Practice:  Self-Testing
• Interleaving:  Creating Patterns
• Concrete Examples:  Use Examples
• Dual Coding:  Use Visuals and Text (Adding auditory is good too)
• Elaboration:  Expand the Idea
• Spaced Practice:  Don’t Cram

This can be done using 5e lessons or by establishing patterns and routines.

Grab My Biology Lesson Templates and Example (Characteristics of Life)

My typical units loosely follows a 5e instructional model.

I like to include an engagement activity to introduce them to the topic. This might be a demonstration, a quote, a discussion or even a video. Follow through by asking some questions and having a discussion. This doesn’t need to be long or drawn out. The purpose of an engagement activity is to spark curiosity. This activity should focus on creating interest and excitement for your students and give you insight into what they already know (or think they know) about the topic.

Examples of Engagement Activities:

• Current Events

Engagement Activity:

• Generates interest
• Gives you information about their background knowledge

Exploration Activity

Exploring the activity creates more understanding and continues to activate background knowledge. During this time the students will use and develop creative thinking skills. Utilizing observation, data collection, and begin to make connections. I like to use learning stations and lab activities during this stage to get hands-on experience.

Exploration Activity:

• Gives students a chance to generate their own understanding
• Provides time to make connections to background knowledge and the new topic

Explanation Activity

The idea behind the explanation phase is to give students an opportunity to explain what they are learning. For secondary science, that often involves teacher led instruction to cover difficult concepts and vocabulary.

We spend time discussing their experiences in the exploration activities and beginning to describe it in a meaningful way. I like to have some discussion and introduce vocabulary during this time. For example, if we are exploring thermal transfer and the students have been working through the a solar water heater challenge then as they are talking about what they saw I might explain that is convection, radiation, etc.

I like for students to have something to reference for homework, in class work, and to prepare for exams. I love to use graphic notes when I am explaining and clarifying. This provides dual encoding which helps students retain the information. I make each sheet in 4 varieties: complete, highlighted, fill-in-the-blank, and open ended (headings and images). This makes it easy to adapt to the learner and the circumstances going on. Class cut short because you have half a day? Use the completed notes instead.

Explanation Activity :

• Students explain what they observed in exploration using evidence based reasoning
• Teacher provides additional information to clarify and solidify concepts

Elaboration Activity

The activities in this phase of the learning cycle should encourage students to apply their new understanding of concepts, while reinforcing new skills.

Examples of things I’ve used in the past as elaboration activities:

• problem based learning
• short term research projects
• case studies
• scenarios sorts
• escape rooms

Elaboration Activity:

• The goal of this phase is to help develop deeper and broader understandings of the concepts.
• You may see concepts that require re-teaching. This method is designed to flex with the students’ needs and just take the time to explain more.

Evaluation Activity

Assessment is ongoing throughout this process. I build in to lots of checks for understanding throughout my lessons. At the end, I like to have an exam because it prepares students that will be taking end of course testing and move on to the college classroom. I also will usually have alternative assessment opportunities for units that include projects, presentations, papers, and experiments.

• Students demonstrate their mastery of the concept
• Present any additional areas that may need re-teaching

My daily lesson plans follow a routine.

Let me start by saying this is not a rigid set up. You may move back and forth between the types of activities. This might take several class periods to accomplish. Unfortunately, there are standards to be met and time constraints (as well as the other realities of teaching) that keep this from being perfect. My simplified version for each topic includes vocabulary, identification, application, review, and assessment. This is done with an eye towards the most helpful study strategies: retrieval practice, interleaving, concrete examples, dual coding, elaboration, and spaced practice.

I try to make sure there is a good mix of activities each time I have my students. This helps them stay focused. I like to be able to switch up what we are doing every 10-15 minutes. This strikes a balance between presentation (teacher led) and doing (student-led) classroom time. This helps me have more time to work individually with students and makes differentiation easier too.

My typical routine looks something like this:

• Prep Activity to Get Students Started. Usually I pick one of the following: a bellringer to review, new vocabulary activity, or a connection question
• Go over homework or assignments
• Introduce new topic (try to keep to 10 minutes or less).
• Apply information from new topic
• Review and make sense of what we just did

Grab the Scope & Sequence I use with Resource Ideas & MORE.

Explore the Topics of Biology

Biology basics.

Introduction to Biology: homeostasis, characteristics of life , scientific method , branches of biology, levels of organization , STEM careers

Grab my Characteristics of Life Lesson Plan

Chemistry of Life: atoms , ionic and covalent molecules, polar/non polar, hydrophobic/hydrophilic, properties of water, pH, biomolecules

Introduction to Cells: cell theory, prokaryotic/eukaryotic, plant/animal cells, organelles, cell differentiation

Cell Transport: structure and function of the cell membrane, passive/active transport, osmosis and tonicity

Cell Cycle: chromosomes, mitosis , regulation and cancer

DNA & RNA: structure, basic function, DNA replication

Protein Synthesis: central dogma, transcription, translation, regulation

Meiosis: gamete formation, haploid/diploid, process of meiosis, mitosis vs. meiosis

Mendelian Genetics: Gregor Mendel, genotypes vs. phenotypes, homozygous vs. heterozygous alleles, Mendel’s Laws and Punnett squares

Other Inheritance Patterns: incomplete dominance, co-dominance, multiple alleles, polygenic inheritance, linked genes and sex-linked traits

Mutations and Pedigrees: causes and types of mutations, common genetic disorders, pedigrees and karyotypes

Biotechnology: genetic engineering and societal implications

Ecology Part 1

I divide my ecology units into two parts and teach evolution in the middle.

Introduction to Ecology: levels of ecological organization (biosphere to species), biotic and abiotic factors, review of taxonomy, dichotomous keys and biomes

Biogeochemical Cycles: water cycle, carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, biotic factors in nutrient cycling and human impact

Energy in an Ecosystem: trace the flow of energy and matter in an ecosystem, autotrophs vs. heterotrophs, producers and consumers, food chains and food webs, trophic levels and pyramids, biomass and biomagnification

Energy in Living Systems

Enzymes and reactions

Introduction to Evolution: Darwin, principles of natural selection, artificial selection, fitness of a species, genetic drift and gene flow, modes of selection

Evolution in Action: speciation and isolation, extinction, rates of evolution and types of evolution

Evidence of Evolution: fossil record, comparative anatomy and embryology, biogeography, molecular biology and observed change

Ecology Part 2

Ecological Relationships: niche, predation, competition and symbiosis

Population Growth Patterns: exponential vs. logistic growth, carrying capacity, limiting factors and survivorship curves

Human Impact: climate change, carbon footprint, alternative energy, renewable resources, habitat loss, biodiversity and invasive species

Ecological Succession

I don’t have to cover the topics in a specific sequence. As long as I cover the standards, I’m good. That gives me autonomy to put it in the order that makes sense to me. It also means I’ve spent a lot of time and energy and working out a sequence that fits how I understand and present the material.

For instance, I like to teach ecology in two units with evolution in between. I feel like the concepts of evolution overlap with a lot of the population ecology concepts so I like to cover evolution first, but if I do the whole unit after evolution there is a big gap between the end of of the evolution unit and the talking about competition and niche. Another example is when to cover energy dynamics of the cell and I like to do it after talking about energy in an ecosystem.

You have to find what works for you.

Grab this free scope and sequence

Biology Activities: More than Lab

This can be a topic of frustration in science teaching, but we often call things labs that aren’t really labs. I think that is totally okay. There is plenty of time to teach students how to find an essential question, create a hypothesis, design an experiment, test the hypothesis, collect and analyze the data, and present conclusions. In fact, each one of these steps is a skill that requires a lot of repetition to master. If we are just having students go through the steps of a process that we have predetermined, the argument is that isn’t true science or lab work. It isn’t AND that isn’t the point. The point of these hands-on explorations is to see the concepts in action and not become bench scientists.

Getting dirty with lab equipment isn’t the only way to to let kids explore. We work through labs, watch demonstrations, use learning stations and other activities where kids move around the room. For me, the goal is to get them learning and many kids need some movement, talking, or extra time. Building in student led learning is essential in my classroom.

Using Technology in the Biology Classroom

I love using technology in the classroom and is a requirement for most of us.

I love games where we can get the whole class involved and often use technology to do that. Sites like Kahoot or even interactive slide decks can be great for this. I like to mix it up between more technology heavy games AND good old games like Bingo or using dry erase boards.

Videos and animations are a tool that helps bring biology to life. Concepts like protein synthesis, metabolism, photosynthesis, and osmosis are so much easier to explain using animations and videos.

Using digital assignments is not going away. Using technology is a great way to get kids engaged. Make sure you are using high quality assignments and remember (for most students) putting pencil to paper has more impact for long term memory. I often pair digital assignments with a record sheet to get the extra input.

Looking for Ideas on the Order of Topics?

Building review into your biology lesson plans.

My students understanding of what it means to study and know the material well enough for a test seems to go down every year. I’m often told by students that they understand a concept, but they don’t have it memorized yet. What? The reality is that most of us have end of course testing to worry about and being able to read and understand the notes isn’t an option for that.

These are some of my favorite ways to build in review:

• Sorting Cards
• Question of the Day
• Escape Rooms
• How does this relate?
• Case studies
• Anything can be used as review

I like my review to be low stakes. This gets higher participation and helps lower the stress level. If kids are in fight or flight, they aren’t learning. Lowering the stakes and making it fun helps make it more effective.

Creating a Culture of Critical Thinking

Asking good questions.

Every teacher I know is trying to encourage questions and open discussions in the classroom. Have you ever had a student try to ask a question, but struggles to do it in a coherent way? This means we need more question time in our biology lesson plans. To help students ask engaging questions you can provide question stems and frameworks.

Ways to implement: You can hand students cards and ask them to write a question before class and take them up at the beginning of class and go over them. You can take those same cards and create a list of questions that you refer to over the entire unit. Questioning is a skill that we have to support them to develop.

Promoting scientific reasoning and evidence-based conclusions

I use claim-evidence-reasoning resources at the very beginning of biology so that students will get the chance to see the framework in action. We refer to this idea that the claim needs to be supported by evidence based reasoning throughout the year. Kids love mistakes and bloopers. The more scenarios that you can provide where there are errors in this path to critical thinking – the easier it will be for them to point it out for themselves.

Use experimental design and investigations as a tool in teaching critical thinking. Using questions to develop claims (hypothesis) and data to back up their reasoning is good for every student.

Adapting Lesson Plans in Biology

If there is anything we learned in 2020, it is the need to shift and stay flexible. Most of us now see the need to have plans that can be moved to alternative teaching settings like virtual or hybrid. Luckily, teachers have been modifying and adapting for a long time.

Adapting lessons and making modifications to meet the needs of the learners we have is one of the most difficult tasks educators face. This is an area I feel passionate about and continue to learn more and more. When I purchase resources, I look for things that are editable or easy to adapt . I’ve been adding more choice boards, word walls, and other teaching tools that help build an environment where students feel understood and met where they are. This is a work in progress.

Assessing Progress and Celebrating Success

I like lots of formative assessment. This lets me see where we need to spend more time and who needs a little extra work on a topic before the stakes get higher. I don’t like spending all of my time grading. I try to provide points for effort in formative assessments to make keeping up with the record keeping easier on me.

I like to ask questions. What made you come up with this answer? Could there be another explanation? What evidence did you use to come up with this answer? Are you finding it hard to remember the steps or the definitions?

Every person deserves celebration. Find out what is motivating and makes your kids happy and do that.

Teaching Biology isn’t just Lesson Plans

In my 20 years of teaching, I’ve made lots of mistakes. I hope that this post can be a reference for you to make the most of your classroom experience. There is no need to reinvent the wheel with your biology lessons. Try some of my ideas and let me know how they work. Remember that my way isn’t the right way. You have to find what works for you and the kids you teach.

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In Concepts of Biology , most art contains attribution to its creator within the caption. Because the art is openly licensed, anyone may reuse the art as long as they provide the same attribution to its original source. To maximize readability and content flow, some art does not include attribution in the text. If you reuse art from this text that does not have attribution provided, use the following attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY 4.0 license.

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About Concepts of Biology

Concepts of Biology is designed for the single-semester introduction to biology course for non-science majors, which for many students is their only college-level science course. As such, this course represents an important opportunity for students to develop the necessary knowledge, tools, and skills to make informed decisions as they continue with their lives. Rather than being mired down with facts and vocabulary, the typical non-science major student needs information presented in a way that is easy to read and understand. Even more importantly, the content should be meaningful. Students do much better when they understand why biology is relevant to their everyday lives. For these reasons, Concepts of Biology is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. We also strive to show the interconnectedness of topics within this extremely broad discipline. In order to meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, we maintain the overall organization and coverage found in most syllabi for this course. A strength of Concepts of Biology is that instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Concepts of Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.

Coverage and Scope

Our Concepts of Biology textbook adheres to the scope and sequence of most one-semester non-majors courses nationwide. We also strive to make biology, as a discipline, interesting and accessible to students. In addition to a comprehensive coverage of core concepts and foundational research, we have incorporated features that draw learners into the discipline in meaningful ways. Our scope of content was developed after surveying over a hundred biology professors and listening to their coverage needs. We provide a thorough treatment of biology’s fundamental concepts with a scope that is manageable for instructors and students alike.

• Unit 1: The Cellular Foundation of Life . Our opening unit introduces students to the sciences, including the process of science and the underlying concepts from the physical sciences that provide a framework within which learners comprehend biological processes. Additionally, students will gain solid understanding of the structures, functions, and processes of the most basic unit of life: the cell.
• Unit 2: Cell Division and Genetics . Our genetics unit takes learners from the foundations of cellular reproduction to the experiments that revealed the basis of genetics and laws of inheritance.
• Unit 3: Molecular Biology and Biotechnology . Students will learn the intricacies of DNA, protein synthesis, and gene regulation and current applications of biotechnology and genomics.
• Unit 4: Evolution and the Diversity of Life . The core concepts of evolution are discussed in this unit with examples illustrating evolutionary processes. Additionally, the evolutionary basis of biology reappears throughout the textbook in general discussion and is reinforced through special call-out features highlighting specific evolution-based topics. The diversity of life is explored with detailed study of various organisms and discussion of emerging phylogenetic relationships between and among bacteria, protist kingdoms, fungi, plants, and animals.
• Unit 5: Animal Structure and Function . An introduction to the form and function of the animal body is followed by chapters on the immune system and animal development. This unit touches on the biology of all organisms while maintaining an engaging focus on human anatomy and physiology that helps students connect to the topics.
• Unit 6: Ecology . Ecological concepts are broadly covered in this unit, with features highlighting localized, real-world issues of conservation and biodiversity.

Pedagogical Foundation and Features

Because of the impact science has on students and society, an important goal of science education is to achieve a scientifically literate population that consistently makes informed decisions. Scientific literacy transcends a basic understanding of scientific principles and processes to include the ability to make sense of the myriad instances where people encounter science in day-to-day life. Thus, a scientifically literate person is one who uses science content knowledge to make informed decisions, either personally or socially, about topics or issues that have a connection with science. Concepts of Biology is grounded on a solid scientific base and designed to promote scientific literacy. Throughout the text, you will find features that engage the students in scientific inquiry by taking selected topics a step further.

• Evolution Connection features uphold the importance of evolution to all biological study through discussions like “Global Decline of Coral Reefs” and “The Red Queen Hypothesis.”
• Career Connection features present information on a variety of careers in the biological sciences, introducing students to the educational requirements and day-to-day work life of a variety of professions, such as forensic scientists, registered dietitians, and biogeographers.
• Everyday Connection features tie biological concepts to emerging issues and discuss science in terms of everyday life. Topics include “Invasive Species” and “Photosynthesis at the Grocery Store.”

Answers to Questions in the Book

Answers to Visual Connection Questions, Review Questions, and Critical Thinking Questions are provided in the Instructor Answer Guide via the Instructor Resources page. Select answers to these questions are provided for students via the Student Resources page.

Art and Animations that Engage

Our art program takes a straightforward approach designed to help students learn the concepts of biology through simple, effective illustrations, photos, and micrographs. Concepts of Biology also incorporates links to relevant animations and interactive exercises that help bring biology to life for students.

• Visual Connection features call out core figures in each chapter for student attention. Questions about key figures, including clicker questions that can be used in the classroom, engage students’ critical thinking and analytical abilities to ensure their genuine understanding of the concept at hand.
• Link to Learning features direct students to online interactive exercises and animations to add a fuller context and examples to core content.

About Our Team

Concepts of Biology would not be possible if not for the tremendous contributions of the authors and community reviewing team

Senior Contributing Authors

Samantha Fowler, Clayton State University Rebecca Roush, Sandhills Community College James Wise, Hampton University

Contributing Authors and Reviewers

Mark Belk, Brigham Young University Lisa Boggs, Southwestern Oklahoma State University Sherryl Broverman, Duke University David Byres, Florida State College at Jacksonville Aaron Cassill, The University of Texas at San Antonio Karen Champ, College of Central Florida Sue Chaplin, University of St. Thomas Diane Day, Clayton State University Jean DeSaix, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill David Hunnicutt, St. Norbert College Barbara Kuehner, Hawaii Community College Brenda Leady, University of Toledo Bernie Marcus, Genesee Community College Flora Mhlanga, Lipscomb University Madeline Mignone, Dominican College Elizabeth Nash, Long Beach City College Mark Newton, San Jose City College Diana Oliveras, University of Colorado Boulder Ann Paterson, Williams Baptist College Joel Piperberg, Millersville University Nick Reeves, Mt. San Jacinto College Ann Reisenauer, San Jose State University Lynn Rumfelt, Gordon College Michael Rutledge, Middle Tennessee State University Edward Saiff, Ramapo College of New Jersey Brian Shmaefsky, Kingwood College Gary Shultz, Marshall University Donald Slish, SUNY Plattsburgh Anh-Hue Tu, Georgia Southwestern State University Elena Zoubina, Bridgewater State University

Learning Resources

Wiley Plus for Biology-Fall 2013 Pilot WileyPLUS provides an engaging online environment for effective teaching and learning. WileyPLUS builds students’ confidence because it takes the guesswork out of studying by providing a clear roadmap; what to do, how to do it, and if they did it right. With WileyPLUS, students take more initiative. Therefore, the course has a greater impact on their learning experience. Adaptive tools provide students with a personal, adaptive learning experience so they can build their proficiency on topics and use their study time most effectively. Please let us know if you would like to participate in a Fall 2013 Pilot.

Concepts of Biology Powerpoint Slides (faculty only) The PowerPoint slides are based on the extensive illustrations from College Physics. They can be edited, incorporated into lecture notes, and you are free to share with anyone in the community. This is a restricted item requiring faculty registration. NOTE: This file is very large and may take some time to download.

SimBio (Laboratory) SimBio’s interactive modules (virtual labs and interactive tutorials and chapters) provide engaging, discovery-based learning tools that complement many of the chapters of Concepts of Biology. SimBio is best known for their EcoBeaker® and EvoBeaker® suites of simulated ecology and evolution laboratories that guide students through the “discovery” of important concepts via a mix of structured and open-ended experimentation on simulated systems. In response to popular demand, SimBio has begun applying the same powerful approaches to topics in cell biology, genetics, and neurobiology. All of SimBio’s modules include instant-feedback questions that enhance student comprehension and auto-graded questions that facilitate implementation.

Additional Resources

Student and instructor resources.

We’ve compiled additional resources for both students and instructors, including Getting Started Guides, an instructor’s answer guide, test bank, and image slides. Instructor resources require a verified instructor account, which you can apply for when you log in or create your account on OpenStax.org. Take advantage of these resources to supplement your OpenStax book.

Instructor’s answer guide. Each component of the instructor’s guide is designed to provide maximum guidance for delivering the content in an interesting and dynamic manner.

PowerPoint lecture slides. The PowerPoint slides provide learning objectives, images and descriptions, feature focuses, and discussion questions as a starting place for instructors to build their lectures.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity builds trust, understanding, equity, and genuine learning. While students may encounter significant challenges in their courses and their lives, doing their own work and maintaining a high degree of authenticity will result in meaningful outcomes that will extend far beyond their college career. Faculty, administrators, resource providers, and students should work together to maintain a fair and positive experience.

We realize that students benefit when academic integrity ground rules are established early in the course. To that end, OpenStax has created an interactive to aid with academic integrity discussions in your course.

At OpenStax we are also developing resources supporting authentic learning experiences and assessment. Please visit this book’s page for updates. For an in-depth review of academic integrity strategies, we highly recommend visiting the International Center of Academic Integrity (ICAI) website at https://academicintegrity.org/ .

Community Hubs

OpenStax partners with the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME) to offer Community Hubs on OER Commons—a platform for instructors to share community-created resources that support OpenStax books, free of charge. Through our Community Hubs, instructors can upload their own materials or download resources to use in their own courses, including additional ancillaries, teaching material, multimedia, and relevant course content. We encourage instructors to join the hubs for the subjects most relevant to your teaching and research as an opportunity both to enrich your courses and to engage with other faculty. To reach the Community Hubs, visit www.oercommons.org/hubs/openstax.

Technology partners

As allies in making high-quality learning materials accessible, our technology partners offer optional low-cost tools that are integrated with OpenStax books. To access the technology options for your text, visit your book page on OpenStax.org.

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

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Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/concepts-biology/pages/1-introduction

• Authors: Samantha Fowler, Rebecca Roush, James Wise
• Publisher/website: OpenStax
• Book title: Concepts of Biology
• Publication date: Apr 25, 2013
• Location: Houston, Texas
• Book URL: https://openstax.org/books/concepts-biology/pages/1-introduction
• Section URL: https://openstax.org/books/concepts-biology/pages/preface

© Jul 10, 2024 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.