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Contents - Lessons & Practice

Science

Concepts of Biology

OpenStax book

OpenStax

Concepts of Biology

21 lessons

One lesson for each chapter of Concepts of Biology, in the book’s order. The lesson teaches what that chapter says you need to know, then checks it.

  1. 1Introduction to BiologyLiving things are highly organized following a hierarchy that includes atoms, molecules, organelles, cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems.
  2. 2Chemistry of LifeAtoms, which consist of protons, neutrons, and electrons, are the smallest units of an element that retain all of the properties of that element.
  3. 3Cell Structure and FunctionAll prokaryotes have plasma membranes, cytoplasm, ribosomes, a cell wall, DNA, and lack membrane-bound organelles.
  4. 4How Cells Obtain EnergyThe physical laws that describe the transfer of energy are the laws of thermodynamics.
  5. 5PhotosynthesisThe most common and abundant pigment is chlorophyll a .
  6. 6Reproduction at the Cellular LevelAn organism’s traits are determined in large part by the genes inherited from each parent, but also by the environment that they experience.
  7. 7The Cellular Basis of InheritanceThere are three main categories of life cycles: diploid-dominant, demonstrated by most animals; haploid-dominant, demonstrated by all fungi and some algae; and alternation of generations, demonstrated by plants and…
  8. 8Patterns of InheritanceIf the traits are inherited as dominant and recessive, the F 1 offspring will all exhibit the same phenotype as the parent homozygous for the dominant trait.
  9. 9Molecular BiologyEach nucleotide is composed of a nitrogenous base, a five-carbon sugar (deoxyribose), and a phosphate group.
  10. 10BiotechnologyIn molecular cloning with bacteria, a desired DNA fragment is inserted into a bacterial plasmid using restriction enzymes and the plasmid is taken up by a bacterium, which will then express the foreign DNA.
  11. 11Evolution and Its ProcessesEvolution by natural selection arises from three conditions: individuals within a species vary, some of those variations are heritable, and organisms have more offspring than resources can support.
  12. 12Diversity of LifeHowever, today many scientists build phylogenetic trees to illustrate evolutionary relationships and the taxonomic classification system is expected to reflect evolutionary relationships
  13. 13Diversity of Microbes, Fungi, and ProtistsMicrobial mats are thought to represent the earliest forms of life on Earth, and there is fossil evidence, called stromatolites, of their presence about 3.5 billion years ago.
  14. 14Diversity of PlantsAll land plants share the following characteristics: alternation of generations, with the haploid plant called a gametophyte and the diploid plant called a sporophyte; formation of haploid spores in a sporangium; and…
  15. 15Diversity of AnimalsAnimals with three germ layers, called triploblasts, are further characterized by the presence or absence of an internal body cavity called a coelom.
  16. 16The Body’s SystemsThe blood vessels that transport blood into and out of the kidneys arise from and merge with the aorta and inferior vena cava, respectively.
  17. 17The Immune System and DiseaseTheir genomes contain either DNA or RNA, and they replicate using the replication proteins of a host cell.
  18. 18Animal Reproduction and DevelopmentAsexual reproduction in animals occurs through fission, budding, fragmentation, and parthenogenesis.
  19. 19Population and Community EcologyWhen resources become limiting, populations follow a logistic growth curve in which population size will level off at the carrying capacity
  20. 20Ecosystems and the BiosphereOrganisms in an ecosystem acquire energy in a variety of ways, which is transferred between trophic levels as the energy flows from the base to the top of the food web, with energy being lost at each transfer.
  21. 21Conservation and BiodiversityThese include numbers of species, genetic diversity, chemical diversity, and ecosystem diversity.