Biology 2e is designed to cover the scope and sequence requirements of a typical two-semester biology course for science majors. The text provides comprehensive coverage of foundational research and core biology concepts through an evolutionary lens. Biology includes rich features that engage students in scientific inquiry, highlight careers in the biological sciences, and offer everyday applications. The book also includes various types of practice and homework questions that help students understand—and apply—key concepts. The 2nd edition has been revised to incorporate clearer, more current, and more dynamic explanations, while maintaining the same organization as the first edition. Art and illustrations have been substantially improved, and the textbook features additional assessments and related resources.

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe the structure of eukaryotic cells
Compare animal cells with plant cells
State the role of the plasma membrane
Summarize the functions of the major cell organelles

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Explain the significance of photosynthesis to other living organisms
Describe the main structures involved in photosynthesis
Identify the substrates and products of photosynthesis

Overview of plant cells and the unique structures found in plants cells only.

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An illustrated tutorial describing the structure and function of the chloroplast organelle in a plant cell. [0:37]

In this activity, students will investigate how much chlorophyll is in olive oil using a Varnier Spectrometer. Students will measure and analyze the visible light absorbance spectra of three standard olive oils obtained from any supermarket: extra virgin, regular, and light.

Through a teacher-led discussion, students realize that the food energy plants obtain comes from sunlight via the plant process of photosynthesis. They learn what photosynthesis is, at an age-appropriate level of detail and vocabulary, and then begin to question how we know that photosynthesis occurs, if we can't see it happening. Elodea is a common water plant that students can use to directly observe evidence of photosynthesis. When Elodea is placed in a glass beaker near a good light source, bubbles of oxygen will be released as products of photosynthesis. By counting the number of bubbles that rise to the surface in a five-minute period, students can compare the photosynthetic activity of Elodea in the presence of high and low light levels.

This site describes cellular components involved in light reaction and describes steps involved in photosynthesis.

Understand the process of photosynthesis that allows plants to grow.

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Explore the light reaction process of photosynthesis.

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In this activity, you will be able to observe the oxygen production in leaves by doing a floating leaf disk experiment. You can also find out how quickly plants produce oxygen, and what variables affect photosynthesis.

Discover how chlorophyll is related to photosynthesis and watch a map evolve from July 2002 to October 2008 showing the varying levels of chlorophyll. Read about how important chlorophyll and photosynthesis are to our environment.

This video segment from Interactive NOVA: "Earth" looks at photosynthesis, the chemical process plants use to make their own food.

Students gain an understanding of the parts of a plant, plant types and how they produce their own food from sunlight through photosynthesis. They also learn about transpiration, the process by which plants release moisture to the atmosphere. With this understanding, students test the effects of photosynthesis and transpiration by growing a plant from seed. They learn how plants play an important part in maintaining a balanced environment in which the living organisms of the Earth survive. This lesson is part of a series of six lessons in which students use their evolving understanding of various environments and the engineering design process, to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems.

A brief, descriptive podcast examining the main structures and functions of green plants. [0:47]

This lesson will explain the role of plants in everyday life. It is 1 of 5 in the series titled "Plants."

This lesson explains the role plants play in the conversion of inorganic materials into organic material to support living things. It is 2 of 3 in the series titled "The Role of Plants in the Food Chain."