This course is an introduction to the basic principles of biology focusing on humans as biological organisms. Topics include chemistry; cell and tissue structure; human body structure and function; human reproduction and development; human genetics, heredity and evolution; and human ecology. An emphasis is placed on the application of principles to current issues, including common human diseases, genetic engineering, and the impact of humans on the world's ecosystems.

Biology is designed for multi-semester biology courses for science majors. It is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. To meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, some content has been strategically condensed while maintaining the overall scope and coverage of traditional texts for this course. Instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Explain the relationship between genotypes and phenotypes in dominant and recessive gene systemsDevelop a Punnett square to calculate the expected proportions of genotypes and phenotypes in a monohybrid crossExplain the purpose and methods of a test crossIdentify non-Mendelian inheritance patterns such as incomplete dominance, codominance, recessive lethals, multiple alleles, and sex linkage

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Explain Mendel’s law of segregation and independent assortment in terms of genetics and the events of meiosisUse the forked-line method and the probability rules to calculate the probability of genotypes and phenotypes from multiple gene crossesExplain the effect of linkage and recombination on gamete genotypesExplain the phenotypic outcomes of epistatic effects between genes

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe the scientific reasons for the success of Mendel’s experimental workDescribe the expected outcomes of monohybrid crosses involving dominant and recessive allelesApply the sum and product rules to calculate probabilities