Biology is designed for multi-semester biology courses for science majors. It is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. To meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, some content has been strategically condensed while maintaining the overall scope and coverage of traditional texts for this course. Instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe the structure of eukaryotic cellsCompare animal cells with plant cellsState the role of the plasma membraneSummarize the functions of the major cell organelles

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Explain the relevance of photosynthesis to other living thingsDescribe the main structures involved in photosynthesisIdentify the substrates and products of photosynthesisSummarize the process of photosynthesis

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Explain the relevance of photosynthesis to other living thingsDescribe the main structures involved in photosynthesisIdentify the substrates and products of photosynthesisSummarize the process of photosynthesis

In this activity, students will investigate how much chlorophyll is in olive oil using a Varnier Spectrometer. Students will measure and analyze the visible light absorbance spectra of three standard olive oils obtained from any supermarket: extra virgin, regular, and light.

Through a teacher-led discussion, students realize that the food energy plants obtain comes from sunlight via the plant process of photosynthesis. They learn what photosynthesis is, at an age-appropriate level of detail and vocabulary, and then begin to question how we know that photosynthesis occurs, if we can't see it happening. Elodea is a common water plant that students can use to directly observe evidence of photosynthesis. When Elodea is placed in a glass beaker near a good light source, bubbles of oxygen will be released as products of photosynthesis. By counting the number of bubbles that rise to the surface in a five-minute period, students can compare the photosynthetic activity of Elodea in the presence of high and low light levels.

Fundamentals of Biology focuses on the basic principles of biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, and recombinant DNA. These principles are necessary to understanding the basic mechanisms of life and anchor the biological knowledge that is required to understand many of the challenges in everyday life, from human health and disease to loss of biodiversity and environmental quality.
Course Format

This course has been designed for independent study. It consists of four units, one for each topic. The units can be used individually or in combination. The materials for each unit include:

Lecture Videos by MIT faculty.
Learning activities, including Interactive Concept Quizzes, designed to reinforce main concepts from lectures.
Problem Sets you do on your own and check your answers against the Solutions when you're done.
Problem Solving Video help sessions taught by experienced MIT Teaching Assistants.
Lists of important Terms and Definitions.
Suggested Topics and Links for further study.
Exams with Solution Keys.

Content Development

Eric Lander
Robert Weinberg
Tyler Jacks
Hazel Sive
Graham Walker
Sallie Chisholm
Dr. Michelle Mischke

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Just as it does for humans, morning signals the time to wake up for plants. Sunlight triggers stomata, which are tiny pores on plant leaves, to open. This boosts photosynthesis by letting CO₂ in and O₂ out. Cells known as guard cells are the gatekeepers of this process, and opening the stomata requires a lot of energy. But scientists have long wondered where this energy comes from. Because while guard cells serve a key photosynthetic function, they appear less equipped than surrounding cells to perform photosynthesis. Now, researchers from HKU and ETH have discovered guard cells’ secret source of fuel. Experiments on Arabidopsis plants showed that guard cells import most of their energy in the form of sugar from surrounding mesophyll cells. Mesophyll cells contain many more chloroplasts than guard cells, helping them produce large amounts of sugar through photosynthesis..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This is an out of class exercise that allows students to explore biological molecules that contain heme like molecules with metals bound in them. The properties of these molecules give them different colors and functions, but all are related evolutionarily.