Want to cite, share, or modify this book? I do think that changes to the layout and would make this book more accessible. I was wondering if you had any more? For additional free and open resources, visit http://www.openstax.org/. I would love to see a version that takes advantage of the electronic format more and becomes a little more interactive. One inconsistency of note is the use, or lack of use, of graphical phylogenetic hypotheses. Biology was very comprehensive in its covering of general biology topics and the "Link to Learning" feature allows the learner to expand the concept. I did not observe any culturally insensitive content. Examples are found on page 27: A community is the sum of populations inhabiting a particular area. In another comparison, human to yeast sequencing shows a difference in the 44th position. This suggests that humans and yeast are as closely related as humans and rhesus monkeys. We biologists study the diversity of life! As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. This error appears to be due to a change in the figure from the first edition which was not accompanied by a corresponding change to the caption.) For example, in chapter 10 the authors write, The variation of individuals within a species is due to the specific combination of the genes inherited from both parents (p. 281). Inclusion of well-labeled figures, tables, and charts throughout the text to compare and contrast structures and to help students visualize processes are particularly helpful. I did not notice anything culturally insensitive or offensive. The online interface is clear, easy to use, and free of problems. Others are likely typos (e.g., in Table 4.1, it is shown that "Some" bacteria have cilia, which is not correct. read more. I found it had enough depth for a majors course while being accessible for non-majors. storage carbohydrate in animals. This seems like a great book for freshman because often at that stage the students are interested in science but are unsure of what branch of science they want to go into. 6. In general, the content of the text is accurate. read more. Biology 2e is designed to cover the scope and sequence requirements of a typical two-semester biology course for science majors. Furthermore, authors did not avoid controversial topics, but instead try to present all sides of scientific debates or discussions, distilling information in a way that is easy to understand for students just starting college. The book reads clearly to me. I was going to also review it for "Animal Form and Function" but the quality was so poor I decided not to spend my time. Overall the text is not overly technical, but sometimes it fails when it is not technical enough. This will also help to keep the use of jargon and technical language in context. That should be fine on a laptop or desktop computer. I have found the content for this purpose mostly comprehensive, with some need to supplement. Like most Biology textbooks, this was hit or miss for me. Some of the figures did not match well with the text. Our resource for Biology includes answers to chapter exercises, as well as detailed information to walk you through the process step by step. read more. With the thorough index, it should be easy for instructors and students to track sections and subsections. On page 90, the text states, Being the outermost structure in animal cells, the plasma membrane is responsible for the transport of materials and cellular recognition and it is involved in cell-to-cell communication. Why only animal cells? Something especially unique about this book is the Career connections Section within every chapter. The instructor will easily be able to present topics in the order in which they prefer. However, I have found some points of disagreement that are perhaps matters of emphasis, philosophy or omission. Indexes and glossaries are good, which is important because definitions are often not given in the text. I think my students will have an easier time following this book than some of the publishers' textbooks that appear to be written for more upper level students than freshmen. Very good easy to read book. In other places, there are attempts to make connections with topics introduced in later chapters. This is particularly problematic combined with having limited images. We recommend using a Students are more likely to complete assigned readings that are shorter sections and mostly self-contained. I have used chapter 1-16 of this book for a 100-level community college class "Integrated Chemistry and Cellular Biology for Healthcare Professionals". This is not correct in the formal sense of classification. Consistency is good but not great. The grammar in this text is excellent. WebAnswer Both systems involve chemical messengers that must interact with receptors in order to have an effect. Webopening section of a scientific paper that summarizes the research and conclusions. Finally, the sections on eukaryotic transcription, translation, and gene regulation (Ch 15 & 16) provide sufficient background for students to understand why all cells in an animal can have all the same genes but nonetheless have very different patterns of gene expression and function. The links to talks given by leading researchers (e.g. The information presented was accurate and relevant. These and many more errors and omissions can be corrected by a revision of the text and replacement of figures. Some of the text in images is a little hard to read. Note: I have not yet used this book in a class. Biology is an extremely broad subject area to We found both the online book and pdf to be easy to navigate and especially appreciated the online versions expandable table of contents panel that allows for easy navigations across chapters. In other instances, particularly later chapters, clarity could be improved with more and/or improved visuals. The topics are arranged in a typically progression and build on one another in a traditional fashion. For these attractions to happen, the molecules need to be very close to one another. There is one image of a white woman scientist and there are two dark-complexioned individuals with skin conditions. On page 1304, the text states, Animals faced with temperature fluctuations may respond with adaptations, such as migration, in order to survive. This reinforces a common and deeply rooted student misconception that organisms adapt in order to survive. Reading those sections alone would seem to reinforce memorization of the details rather than an understanding of the relevance process. However, I now realize that instructors are encouraged to cut irrelevant material and use relevant material to their coursework. This will probably be apparent especially in the molecular genetics topics. Thats because you are tearing the rigid cell walls of the celery cells with your teeth. No, its not the cell walls. While some introductory biology students have a general career plan, many are unaware of the scope of what work in biology can be. For a majors, there might be some supplemental material required, if the instructor wants to dig into particularly new technologies. For example the authors point out the differences between T-helper cells such as TH1, Th2 and Regulatory T-cells. Content is consistent with any basic entrance level Biology course. biology astronomy physics glycosidic bond. However, I now realize that instructors are encouraged to cut irrelevant material and use relevant material to their coursework. The vast majority of the content is accurate. Although a keen student will immediately connect pH with hydrogen ion concentration, I think it would be more useful and consistent to refer to hydrogen ion gradient as it does in the text. - Many figures appear blurry in the pdf version of the text. Career Connections are great throughout, but some appear to be written from an American perspective. The text itself is consistent from chapter to chapter, utilizing the Link to Learning feature within the text however opens up a portal to knowledge that could easily draw the learner off task. The prose is consistent and accessible to students. The genetics section of this book appears to be consistent. Therefore in order to reach this audience effectively (to help them retain material), it is better to have a few more images. The first third of this Biology 2e text is roughly equivalent to our abridged version Images and figures need revision as many are displaying with poor resolution in the pdf version. I found the book well written and very readable. On page 808, the text states, We will consider hagfishes and lampreys together as jawless fishes, the agnathans, although emerging classification schemes separate them into chordate jawless fishes (the hagfishes) and vertebrate jawless fishes (the lampreys). This is incorrect and out-of-date. Definitely share, Im in that group. This is a fine textbook for my purposes (intro to chemistry and cell biology, as a foundation for an anatomy and physiology sequence). I did not notice any obvious internal inconsistencies in framework or use of terminology. I was impressed with the quality of the content. Biology 2e seems to go into slightly more detail in some places, especially in regard to molecular biology. For example, the structure and function of ATP was discussed only briefly in chapter 7. I like the way the text is easy to read, it seems different than the worst textbooks. In fact, not only are there no such problems, but many of the examples used demonstrate a clear commitment to human (and other biological) diversity. The figures in the online version are too small. Would it be possible to move the image credits to an Appendix at the end of the text? Although there were some minor figure errors which I did not find in the traditional textbook, there was effectively no difference in accuracy. Biology (OpenStax) is as comprehensive as, and follows the general topical format of a commercially available introductory biology textbook designed for life science majors. Ecosystem concepts range from excellent to shallow (or none). I did find a couple of minor errors that are not related to conceptual issues. This textbook is almost exactly like any paper textbook. It also seems easy enough to omit or shift order to fit one's preferred teaching plan given the clearly titled subdivisions in each chapter. These are concise and provide a better big-picture summary than the text I currently use, where students often become overwhelmed and lost in the details. If you are looking for a majors level textbook that covers all the content covered in the vast majority of first semester biology course, this will work for you. The modularity of this book is stellar, especially in the online version. 54 27 100 108 5. The content, as least in the chapters I cover, is extremely similar to my current majors level text (Campbell Biology 10th Ed., Reece et. For example, the large aquatic reptiles of the Mesozoic Era were not in fact dinosaurs; they were just contemporaries of dinosaurs. I felt the order in which the authors approached topics was intuitive to how a student might learn the topic. While I feel some of the topics and concepts are broken up over more than one chapter, there is ample opportunity to pick and choose which sections to use. In some cases, the art is overly simplistic, and in others it is difficult to follow the progression of events in a process. Thanks!! I am seriously considering transitioning to this text from my much more expensive versions that I currently require. Many of the areas of biology are constantly changing with the ever increasing research being performed. read more. On page 503, the text states, Evolutionary theory states that humans, beetles, plants, and bacteria all share a common ancestor, but that millions of years of evolution have shaped each of these organisms into the forms seen today. No, billions of years. The organization of the text follows the same logical fashion as previous texts. Not having to worry about printing costs per page allows for more freedom and prevents "widowing and orphaning" of paragraphs that don't belong with the rest of the page content. There are many genes on our autosomes that affect primary and secondary sexual characteristics (including the potential to affect some aspects of gender expression). The text is relatively up-to-date, certainly adequately so. The book is reasonably current, as much as the most recent editions of mainstream print biology texts. Of the Career Connection vignettes that do have photographs, it appeared to me that all people shown were light skinned and only one was likely to be female-identified. As the text states, the ATP yield from a single molecule of glucose will be variable, so I can appreciate some reluctance to nail down a specific number. Pinacocytes are epithelial-like cells, form the outermost layer of sponges, and enclose a jelly-like substance called mesohyl. In some cases, it appears that the authors do not fully understand them. I am writing this review for potential "Introductory Biology" course (chapters 1-16), thus, I currently use it as supplemental resource. This is a nice replacement for a standard paper textbook. While I think the traditional text did a better job of framing the big-picture perspective of cellular respiration, the depth offered by Openstax is beyond reproach. These concepts are best taught with interactive animations that allow the student to try different responses and then get immediate feedback on whether they were correct or not. Thus, we found sentence syntax and structure could be improved in places. The writing is not hard to understand and students can quickly search for terms to help them find information. The section on prokaryotic cells does not mention the circular shape of their DNA, but it is then eluded to in the section on eukaryotic cells. There is a comprehensive table of contents, index, and "Key Terms" page for each section. This book will serve the purpose of introductory biology and could very well be used in place of the expensive textbooks. I am interpreting this question as 5 = no grammatical errors and 1 = oh-my-goodness-so-bad. None of the existing textbooks for zoology cover this material well enough to be worth the cost to students. It would be easy for the instructor to build off the foundation that was laid out in the text. Bonobos are ignored as humans other closest genetic relative in the early chapters on inheritance. ATP. Content is very up-to-date, and I did check out how frequently the content was altered (it mentions this at the bottom of the online version). Organization was straightforward and followed standard introductory biology progression. 12.7 needed to show red, white and pink phenotypes. I honestly do not think that the author has a clear understanding of this important topic. Reviewed by John Lepri, Professor (Biology), University of North Carolina at Greensboro on 12/5/16, Spanning 47 chapters, the OpenStax "Biology" production is as comprehensive as its competitors. The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo Reading sections seem appropriate. As no comprehensive textbook like this is ever completely error-free despite the best of intentions, I am sure there are some inadvertent mistakes. Unit 1: The Chemistry of Life, Unit 2: The Cell, Unit 3: Genetics, etc. This would have gotten a slightly higher grade had so many labels been misapplied. This structure is also attractive to instructors as it allows us the freedom to pick and choose textbook content to assign. The terms higher and lower organisms are used throughout the text. The book is not written in a conversational or condescending voice, a plague among other biology textbooks. Click on the cover of the book for which you would like to submit a correction., 3. Most references to him or her could be made more inclusive via use of the gender-neutral term them. Further, dichotomizing the sex steroids, estrogens and androgens, as female and male, respectively, is unnecessary, misleading, and may make some students feel excluded. I dont see any glaring errors in terms of subjects that are missing from the text. The latter include art connection questions (which refer to diagrams in the chapter), multiple choice review questions and free response critical thinking questions. I appreciated the occasional career connection boxes. (a) element; (b) element; (c) compound; (d) mixture; (e) compound; (f) compound; (g) compound; (h) mixture. Fairly clunky art program. One critique is that the learning outcomes at General coverage is good the text covers all of the areas Id expect to see in an introductory biology textbook, including behavior, which I find is sometimes overlooked. My major complaint is that many of the figures were small in my browser, with no way I could find to be enlarged, except for right-clicking and opening them in a new tab. The structure of the text is similar to most text books for this level of biology and the units are divided appropriately. The text book used various external resources with both female and male voices. For instance different aspects regarding natural selection are found in three sections in two different chapters, being the sections: understanding evolution, population genetics, and adaptive evolution. Reviewed by Theresa Spradling, Professor, University of Northern Iowa on 2/8/17, This book is on par in scope with the commonly used Campbell Biology. The fact that it is open source textbook, allows it to be readily modified or updated by individual instructors. The book had a slightly heavier bias toward molecular techniques rather than organismal or behavioral science, but that field appears to be the current zeitgeist, maintaining the book's relevancy. For example, there is no reference to CRISPR-cas9 gene editing. inhibition by a binding event at a site different from the active site, which induces a conformational change and reduces the enzyme's affinity for its substrate. This is a wonderful substitute text for major's Biology courses and you cannot beat the price! Art program is adequate but not inspiring. The adaption section will be added to Biology 2e: Adaptation All living organisms exhibit a fit to their environment. read more. The variation of individuals within a species is due to genetic factors, environmental factors, and their interactions. When more depth is required, other web sites and tutorials can be added to the students' reading materials. It also makes it easier for a student to be able to navigate through the text and find a particular idea or piece of information that they may be searching for. There are very few grammatical or typographical errors, and these can easily be fixed in subsequent versions. The addition of vocabulary terms and definitions at the end of each chapter aid in clarifying any concerns with terminology. Protists are another trouble spot, but the authors do a good job discussing the modern perspective on the protists. I am happy that each chapter here truly stands alone, and chapters can be covered in any order. Only a few places where text touches on the ethics of science, could use more. In Chapter 11, the text states, Spores are haploid cells that can produce a haploid organism or can fuse with another spore to form a diploid cell. Spores never fuse with other spores to form diploid cells. On the instructor side, anyone who relies on powerpoints, especially new instructors, would find the lack of included images to be challenging and the need to add images will raise some issues around using copyrighted material from other sources. There might be some supplemental material required, if the instructor wants to dig into particularly new technologies on... Easy for the instructor wants to dig into particularly new technologies genetics section of book... Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases female and male voices depth required!, particularly later chapters, clarity could be improved in places when more depth is required, if the wants. Terms of subjects that are not related to conceptual issues wants to dig into particularly new technologies their interactions in. Would like to submit a correction., 3 tearing the rigid cell walls the. 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