In another comparison, human to yeast sequencing shows a difference in the 44th position. This suggests that humans and yeast are as closely related as humans and rhesus monkeys. 1 Review Questions - Biology 2e | OpenStax 4. . There seems to be less volume of coverage of Ecology/Evolution compared to Organismal Physiology, but this seems comparable to most equivalent textbooks. If this statement were true, the energy of ATP could not be used to supply energy to reactions within cells. I found the online interface difficult to use, because the pages load slowly and only one section of a chapter was visible on the page at a time. I also think that the consistent lumping of Archaea and Bacteria together as prokaryotes is out-of-date (see my comments on this above). There is little consistency in the images- some ar every nicely edited and some are difficult to see. The illustrations while generally very appropriate perhaps could be shown larger and in more visually appealing ways (e.g. Each section is relatively short and self-contained. I use Openstax Biology 2e as a textbook for my AP Bio and dual credit class. The glossary appears comprehensive, however, many duplicates (ie. On page 52, the text states, Like hydrogen bonds, van der Waals interactions are weak attractions or interactions between molecules. I felt the order in which the authors approached topics was intuitive to how a student might learn the topic. I compare the chapter from Biology 2e to both the first edition Openstax Biology and a traditional introductory text from a major publisher. The first forms of life on Earth were ________. The material is provided in a clear and succinct manner, a well-organized book with subheadings and appropriate level of reading smaller sections. I teach "Cell Biology for Health Occupations" at a community college, and we currently use an abridged version of Pearson's Campbell Biology in Focus textbook. No insensitive or offensive language. Also helpful is the ability to highlight within the text, only requiring a simple log in. For instance, serendipity is defined right away on page 22, which I thought was odd to define that in a Biology text. The term Agnatha was abandoned long ago, as jawless fishes include cyclostomes and ostracoderms and are not a clade. Scientists are not ones to dress up language, aiming instead to say things as precisely as possible. It also seems easy enough to omit or shift order to fit one's preferred teaching plan given the clearly titled subdivisions in each chapter. The links to learning videos are often from utube with no evidence that they come from scientific peer reviewed sources. The text is organized in a way that most introductory instructors would be familiar with. If an extensively updated version was available which also addressed some of the other concerns noted earlier I would definitely adopt this textbook in my majors biology sequence. The abstracts are a good concise summary of what the chapter intends. If xenon has an atomic number of 54 and a mass number of 108, how many neutrons does it have? read more. I think that the chapter glossaries and ample index do a good job with the jargon. 10. :8N9! Other The modularity of this book is stellar, especially in the online version. I understand. The associated slide deck is not as comprehensive needs significant jazzing up to keep students engaged when lecturing. I had no issues browsing and reading the textbook. However, I now realize that instructors are encouraged to cut irrelevant material and use relevant material to their coursework. The set up of the text book is easy to navigate and the framework is consistent. The target audience is of a generation that grew up with the internet, Youtube and social media. Those that occurred did not interrupt the flow of reading and understanding. I think this book is comprehensive for a general biology textbook, but it lacks some depth and breath for some concepts. Some of the sources for the videos are Wikimedia which may not be produced or edited by scientifically credible authors or creators. This book includes less detail on landmark scientific discoveries than other books Ive used. Then, your guest may have a special flair for Bru coffee; in that case, you can try out our, Bru Coffee Premix. Links to online content varied in quality and ability to engage students in a dynamic way. This book uses the These and many more errors and omissions can be corrected by a revision of the text and replacement of figures. Webtwo sugar monomers that a glycosidic bond links. 12.1, 15.1,16.1,17.1 all were poor choices. Still, if you prefer to create your own lectures, this text is without a doubt a top choice. The organization is so similar, in fact, that I have to believe it was intentionally pattered, sometimes chapter-by-chapter, after offerings from major commercial publishers. Images are simple and clear. However, they are inconsistent in the quality of the website links. Reading this textbook was remarkably easy and smooth which is much different than the textbooks I remember reading for general biology when I was an undergraduate. In approximately 280 pages these offer a solid introduction to structure and physiological function. I still would not recommend my students this current version as it may not be easy to follow and is at times confusing. I found chapters and subheadings on nearly every topic that I expected to see in a biology text for majors. Key words are in bold and are defined at the end of the chapter. Difficult terms are defined in a "Key Terms" section. Easier import power into different LMS platforms. Biology (OpenStax) is as comprehensive as, and follows the general topical format of a commercially available introductory biology textbook designed for life science majors. See Vogel (1994) Dealing honestly with diffusion. The book accurately covers different aspects of biology. This text covers all subject matter used in a one semester introductory biology course. Bonobos are ignored as humans other closest genetic relative in the early chapters on inheritance. Authors also mention many ways that biological studies can help society. The grammar in this text is excellent. It covers all of the same topics as books sold by the major publishing companies, but it's free to the students! Should a student wish to purchase a physical copy, they can do so at a very reasonable rate. I found the book to be consistent in regards of terminology and layout, definitions of terms, and general chapter scheme. The search feature worked well, and the table of contents was easy to navigate. The authors cover the basics of each subject well within each section and unit. read more. It was initially well-written, and has benefitted from additional suggestions and corrections by users. Each unit is divided into multiple chapters, which are themselves, subdivided into sections with clear headings. Students can download this text for free, view it on their devices and print it out. (For example, a link to the genetics of human eye-color exercise inaccurately depicts human eye color as a two-gene character). There are an array of instructor resources available through OpenStax for this text. Figure numbers are in an orange/brown and stand out (easy to find). Reviewed by Maria Quintero, Graduate teaching assistant, Florida State University on 11/28/18, This seems like a great book for freshman because often at that stage the students are interested in science but are unsure of what branch of science they want to go into. Again, while this error is very minor, it risks confusing students, especially those not familiar with chemical equations. The material is presented in a logical and consistent manner to facilitate effective learning and understanding. Cloud Technical and Community College on 4/11/17, This text book is as comprehensive as the McGraw Hill and Pearson texts that we have been using. I did not notice any obvious internal inconsistencies in framework or use of terminology. The first forms of life on Earth were ________. Organization of the chapters for a biology course that covers: molecules, cells, energy, cell reproduction and genetics, this text follows the conventional organization. Topics are broken up enough so that particular areas could be omitted if needed without making a chapter or coverage of a topic incomplete. Alternate ISBN (s) 9781506699851. Topics are explained simply in shorter rather than longer paragraphs, and details that often bog down longer texts are omitted. I did notice a few grammatical errors, but it wasn't terrible. I would like to see more than headshots of "discoverers", particularly since they are bound to be primarily white men, and more emphasis on the work of culturally diverse teams, reflective of what labs and discoveries look like today. 14 Key Terms - Biology 2e | OpenStax Key Terms We're unable to load Study Guides on this page. The topics are presented in a logical, clear fashion, with minimal searching for an area of interest. I wonder if the text needed a firmer editor. hypothesis variable theory control 6. The art is well done and has clear images that are well labeled. Reviewed by Ken Carloni, Assoc. Please check your connection and try again. I tried several times to access the Instructor Power Points that are supposedly available, and I could not get the website to work. Be on the watch that the figures mirror the text, but aside from that, I look forward to using this for my class. Many biology textbooks seem to be set up this way and I think this organization makes the material flow well. On page 749, the text says, In the following Cenozoic Era, mammals radiated into terrestrial and aquatic niches once occupied by dinosaurs. No, the aquatic reptiles of the Mesozoic were not dinosaurs. There just were not enough instances for me to make a suitable comment in this area for the OER Biology textbook by Clark et al. The chapters are divided into topical sections, making it easy to assign or not assign specific topics. Currently there are quite large sections of text that could be more concise. Not being as comprehensive a science thesaurus is the best part of the book, its simplicity invites the first time science student or a new college level science student. As with any textbook, minor errors have made their way into the book. The textbook is well organized and flows in a logical manner. Modularity is consistent and adequately divided throughout. and you must attribute OpenStax. Chapters are broken down into easy-to-assign modules. At approximately 1,500 pages, the book is slightly longer than other books weve used, but the additional length may be due to the 2. There is very little discussion of this domain in the text. The interface is simple. It has a good online index that is searchable. Unit 7, Chapters 33 41, covers the major systems of animals, including digestive, nervous, sensory, endocrine, musculoskeletal, respiratory, circulatory, excretory, immune, and reproductive systems. I didn't notice any errors in the textbook. The textbook is comparable to a general biology textbook for majors from any of the major publishers. I saw a handful of images that were ambiguous enough to construe as possibly portraying people of color, but only one photograph (portraying gouty toes) was from someone with a dark complexion. I use the text currently as a supplementary resource, and am planning on switching to use the text as a the primary resource for students during the next academic year. Yes, my other comments are as follows: Many times, a new term is used, but there is no definition or introduction of it. It is a false savings to provide a free textbook that lacks features that are crucial and necessary to student understanding of what is, frankly, very challenging material. No references for further reading (e.g., review or primary literature) are provided. The figures are simplistic, which for some topics is helpful like meiosis, but in other cases I think more details in the figure would be helpful. storage carbohydrate in animals. Each chapter consists a number of sections - this makes it easy for the student to break the material up into manageable chunks. On page 24, the term germline cells is used but is not clearly defined. As I mentioned earlier, I have concerns about the "facts only" approach that is used in some of the sections I reviewed. There is good use of bolding for emphasizing particular text and themes. While the artwork is generally good some of the illustrations are too small and generally not as visually appealing as in commercial textbooks. If you are looking for a reputed brand such as the Atlantis Coffee Vending Machine Noida, you are unlikely to be disappointed. Sections will need to be fully revised to provide updates of text and figures. It's professional and well-written, and while the visuals (though accurate) may be less polished than a traditional textbook, I think the fact that it's free more than makes up for that lack. I found only one incongruence. However, I now realize that instructors are encouraged to cut irrelevant material and use relevant material to their coursework. The information and real life examples provided in the text are both up-to-date and relevant. The relevance of the opening figures to the chapter content is not always obvious. I navigated to TpT to see your store and noticed you had answer keys for reading guides (Chapter 10 I believe) that are not shared here. Many students imagine that diffusion explains the spread of molecules of dye in a beaker of water or the movement of molecules of scent in a room and this example feeds this misconception. Examples used early in a chapter may be revisited later in that same chapter as new information is presented, facilitating layering of knowledge and continuity of understanding. The questions at the end of sections are helpful to student learning. Overall this text covers each topic in adequate detail and provides enough detail and content for a two semester coverage of biology for majors, especially if this text is used alongside additional instructor input and labs. Some of the links would not open, such as a video link illustrating the fluidity of membranes. In fact, throughout the textbook, bacteria are mentioned in contexts where bacteria and archaea should both be included. The section dedicated to gene therapy is very short and there's no specific mention to CRISPR. However, I did not encounter anything glaring. Each chapter begins with a list of learning objectives. read more. While I feel some of the topics and concepts are broken up over more than one chapter, there is ample opportunity to pick and choose which sections to use. Core concepts for introductory level college course are addressed in sufficient detail, without overly complicating the material for this audience. All Right Reserved. Most of the current research examples just serve to further elaborate or explain a concept and thus many examples would still be relevant even if the theories or studies became outdated. This text is modular in the way that most textbooks are modular -- information is organized into chapters, and chapters are organized with subheadings. There are a few issues with image resolution; however, this was only a minor concern. The text itself is consistent from chapter to chapter, utilizing the Link to Learning feature within the text however opens up a portal to knowledge that could easily draw the learner off task. I noticed one broken video link, but that's the nature of this kind of resource. If xenon has an atomic number of 54 and a mass number of 108, how many neutrons does it have? Population genetics is the study of: I must admit that at first glance this book looked to me to be much less glitzy than traditionally published books, without all the bells and whistles, the fancy graphics and human interest stories. WebBiology 2e (2nd Edition) Book Edition. Any chance youve made reading guides for the Cell Communication chapters? Reviewed by Laurie Lawson, Associate Professor, Tidewater Community College on 1/30/23, This online textbook covers most chapters for the biology 101 and 102 courses taught at TCC. The text embraces cultural diversity and is written from a perspective that respects humans as humans, and life as life. It was comparable to the similar chapter from a traditional textbook. I could find only a few minor grammatical issues. A quibble I have with this and most other textbooks is that the energy of a phosphate bond is described solely in terms of the chemistry. Most of the "skin tones" colorized in these diagrams where light beige to pinkish tan, but it would be easy to resort to a pale olive tone or even a neutral light grey if a darker brown tone would make it difficult to visualize the line drawing of the system portrayed in the image. Overall, the text is accurate. and Biology by Russell et al which are all well suited for a two-semester general biology sequence such as is typically taken by biology and science majors. Images use a variety of skin tones in the peripheral nervous system and human pregnancy and birth sections. The figures have a hyperlink in the text that the student can click on. The book is accurate as far as the coverage and presentation of the subject matter is concerned. Some chapters contain references to "recent work" that will not be recent in a few years, although the text also does not give specific years the work was published. Pinacocytes are epithelial-like cells, form the outermost layer of sponges, and enclose a jelly-like substance called mesohyl. Even if this text was not free, I suspect it would be a better choice because the page-count is more manageable. Another oddity is that table headings are located below their respective tables, rather than above them, contrary to the way these are normally presented. These are some tough topics for students that could be explained more clearly with more examples. biology astronomy physics Most of the material taught in introductory biology courses has not changed in the last 15-20 years and this book is certainly up to date. It was easy to download and view. Material flows logically both between and within chapters. The section on temperate forests is actually inaccurate in spots, stating that deciduous trees are dominant in this biome, and omitting the fact that coniferous forest are also dominant in these forests. There is a comprehensive table of contents, index, and "Key Terms" page for each section. I do wish there was more content on plant biology. Joint and body movement illustrations and descriptions are very detailed The text covers most necessary areas, but not always with clarity or accuracy. On page 496, the explanation of punctuated equilibrium is very weak. The text that I perused did not contain any grammatical errors. For the most part, concepts are discussed in an appropriate amount of detail. How do the various kinds of microscopes differ as tools in the study of cells? The first forms of life on Earth were ________. But an editor had to step in and work for consistency. I did not notice grammatical errors, although there are occasional typos. 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