Nature of Life
2nd Edition
Published on 1. December 1992
Book
Hardback
896 pages
978-0-07-050633-6 (ISBN)
Description
Written for introductory biology courses, "The Nature of Life" features the integrated themes of the first edition, energy, reproduction and evolution, with the addition of a fourth theme which focuses on the environment. The book is based around the various levels of organization (atoms, cells, organisms and populations) and presents natural history examples. The text presents introductory essays on the various topics, and then tries to get students to think critically about the subjects by using a variety of pedagogical aids and questions. It addresses current environmental concerns with the increased coverage of environmental science woven throughout the text as well as highlighted in new "Emphasis on the Environment" boxes. There are new boxed essays, including one entitled "Biology: A Human Endeavor". A variety of accompanying software packages are available.
More details
Edition
2nd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
McGraw-Hill Education - Europe
Target group
Primary & secondary/elementary & high school
College/higher education
Dimensions
Width: 236 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-07-050633-6 (9780070506336)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Content
Part 1 Life's fundamentals: atoms, molecules and life; cells - the basic units of life; the dynamic cell; how living things harvest energy from nutrient molecules; photosynthesis - trapping sunlight to build nutrients. Part 2 Perpetuation of life: cell cycles - life cycles; Mendelian genetics; DNA - the thread of life; how genes work - from DNA to RNA to protein; designer genes - recombination and recombinant DNA research; human genetics; reproduction and development - the start of a new generation ; the human life cycle. Part 3 Life's variety: life's origins and diversity on our planet; the single-celled kingdoms - monera and protista; the kingdoms fungi and plantae - decomposers and producers; the animal kingdom I - invertebrates, the quiet majority; the chordates - vertebrates and their relatives. Part 4 How animals survive: animal physiology and the problem of homeostasis; circulation - transporting gases and materials; immune system and the body's defences; respiration - gas exchange in animals; animal nutrition and digestion; excretion and the balancing of water and salt; hormones and other molecular messengers; how nerve cells work to control behaviour; senses and the brain; the dynamic animal - skeleton and muscles in motion. Part 5 How plants survive: plant architecture and plant function; regulators of plant growth and development; water, nutrients and plant survival. Part 6 Interactions - organisms and environment: the genetic basis for evolution; population ecology - patterns in space and time; the ecology of populations interacting in time and space; ecosystems - webs of life and the physical world; the biosphere - Earth's thin film of life. Part 7 Behaviour and the future: animal behaviour - adaptations for survival.