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 two major innovations that allowed seed plants to reproduce in the absence of water
Explain when seed plants first appeared and when gymnosperms became the dominant plant group
Discuss the purpose of pollen grains and seeds
Describe the significance of angiosperms bearing both flowers and fruit

Explore the diversity and taxonomy of the plant kingdom.

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Aaylah is learning how to group some plants. Help her identify different types of plants.

Help Carla take care of her green plants in her plant nursery, and learn about plant reproduction.

In this Dinosaur Train clip, students learn how seeds grow into plants, and how to plant a garden. [2:03]

Students begin by reading Dr. Seuss' "The Lorax" as an example of how overdevelopment can cause long-lasting environmental destruction. Students discuss how to balance the needs of the environment with the needs of human industry. Student teams are asked to serve as natural resource engineers, city planning engineers and civil engineers with the task to replant the nearly destroyed forest and develop a sustainable community design that can co-exist with the re-established natural area.

Watching plants grow is like watching paint dry: It happens so slowly that the changes are imperceptible from one moment to the next -- and yet the end results are dramatic. This video segment shows just how amazing plant development can be by depicting various phases of the process using time-lapse photography. Footage from NOVA: "The Shape of Things."

A fairly extensive listing of interactive pictures of fruits comes alive with audio to help students learn the correct Spanish pronunciation. Move the mouse over each picture to hear the word.

What do plants need? Students examine the effects of light and air on green plants, learning the processes of photosynthesis and transpiration. Student teams plant seeds, placing some in sunlight and others in darkness. They make predictions about the outcomes and record ongoing observations of the condition of the stems, leaves and roots. Then, several healthy plants are placed in glass jars with lids overnight. Condensation forms, illustrating the process of transpiration, or the release of moisture to the atmosphere by plants.

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.

In this ZOOMSci experiment, you're invited to walk through a grassy or weedy field in your stocking feet, then plant a sock and see what grows.

Inspector LePlant and his friends look at the world of plants in this site for younger students. Features include the parts of plants and the seven basic requirements that plants need to survive as well as a short quiz.