This video segment explores the world of the beaver, including the biology of the species and, more importantly, its ability to transform an ecosystem for its own benefit.

This video segment describes how the Australopithecus afarensis skeleton known as Lucy could have been fossilized. Footage courtesy of NOVA: "In Search of Human Origins."

This video segment from NOVA: "The Mystery of Animal Pathfinders" explores honeybee communication and navigation.

This is an activity that involves students modeling the behavior and competition that Charles Darwin's finches would have gone through as they competed for food and space on the Galapagos Islands. Some will survive. Some won't.

Cocos Island, a remote volcanic summit in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, serves as a beacon for hungry predators, including thousands of hammerhead sharks that travel here each year in search of prey. This video segment from NOVA: "Island of Sharks" depicts some of the common predator-prey interactions that take place in the nutrient-rich waters surrounding the island.

Use this assessment to see what your students have learned about adaptations. This type of assessment allows students to observe and make open-ended claims backed up by evidence. Included are a power point presentation, student quiz, and a video explanation.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, scientists discuss their attempts to grow human body parts in a jar.

This exercise contains two interrelated modules that introduce students to modern biological techniques in the area of Bioinformatics, which is the application of computer technology to the management of biological information. The need for Bioinformatics has arisen from the recent explosion of publicly available genomic information, such as that resulting from the Human Genome Project.

This video segment from Evolution: "Extinction!" shows the impact of invasive species on native ecosystems.

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:

Identify the shared characteristics of the natural sciences
Summarize the steps of the scientific method
Compare inductive reasoning with deductive reasoning
Describe the goals of basic science and applied science

This in-depth site provides middle and high school science teachers with a wide array of free instructional resources, such as slide sets, streaming video presentations, and laboratory activities. Information is provided that is supported by lessons and web-based materials.

This ZOOM video segment shows how to create a self-contained environment and explores evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.

This interactive resource adapted from NASA describes the different temperature, precipitation, and vegetation patterns in seven biomes: coniferous forest, temperate deciduous forest, desert, grassland, rainforest, shrubland, and tundra.

There are almost as many types of bird beaks as there are types of food that birds like to eat. This collection of images shows a wide range of beaks and the types of foods handled by each.

This activity is a field investigation of the bird population in the schoolyard and how the students will plan to attract more birds.

In this Nature video, learn about the extraordinary impact that birds have on the agriculture of a small Indian community.