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 new traits that first appear in seedless tracheophytes
Discuss how each trait is important for adaptation to life on land
Identify the classes of seedless tracheophytes
Describe the life cycle of a fern
Explain the role of seedless plants in the ecosystem

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

Define water potential and explain how it is influenced by solutes, pressure, gravity, and the matric potential
Describe how water potential, evapotranspiration, and stomatal regulation influence how water is transported in plants
Explain how photosynthates are transported in plants

This tutorial examines how water moves through a plant. Follow the pathway that water takes through plants from the roots to evaporation from cells in the leaves. Learn what controls rates of transpiration, how environmental conditions alter rates of transpiration, and how the plant itself can change rates of transpiration. Includes a glossary and a detailed animation.