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 scientific reasons for the success of Mendel’s experimental work
Describe the expected outcomes of monohybrid crosses involving dominant and recessive alleles
Apply the sum and product rules to calculate probabilities

How genetics can add to our understanding of cognition, language, emotion, personality, and behavior. Use of gene mapping to estimate risk factors for psychological disorders and variation in behavioral and personality traits. Mendelian genetics, genetic mapping techniques, and statistical analysis of large populations and their application to particular studies in behavioral genetics. Topics also include environmental influence on genetic programs, evolutionary genetics, and the larger scientific, social, ethical, and philosophical implications.

This is a course developed for students who are going to do evolution for the first time. Therefore, they should have working knowledge of the chromosome theory and the nature of meiosis with particular reference to recombination and its advantages in the process of reproduction. They should also be conversant with the principles and concepts of Mendelian and post Mendelian genetics to be able to describe such terms as genotype, phenotype and variation. This will require them to know that a gene is the unit of heredity and that it is located on the Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule. They should understand the structure and role of DNA, as the universal molecule that specifies the amino acid sequence of proteins in cells of organisms. This knowledge should be of an elementary type as described in Advanced Level Biology textbooks.