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 how scientists developed the present-day theory of evolution
Define adaptation
Explain convergent and divergent evolution
Describe homologous and vestigial structures
Discuss misconceptions about the theory of evolution

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.

Intermediate Algebra is a textbook for students who have some acquaintance with the basic notions of variables and equations, negative numbers, and graphs, although we provide a "Toolkit" to help the reader refresh any skills that may have gotten a little rusty. In this book we journey farther into the subject, to explore a greater variety of topics including graphs and modeling, curve-fitting, variation, exponentials and logarithms, and the conic sections. We use technology to handle data and give some instructions for using a graphing calculator, but these can easily be adapted to any other graphing utility.

Table of Contents
1. Linear Models
2. Applications of Linear Models
3. Quadratic Models
4. Applications of Quadratic Models
5. Functions and Their Graphs
6. Powers and Roots
7. Exponential Functions
8. Polynomials and Rational Functions
9. Equations and Graphs
10. Logarithmic Functions