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:Discuss internal and external methods of fertilizationDescribe the methods used by animals for development of offspring during gestationDescribe the anatomical adaptions that occurred in animals to facilitate reproduction

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Discuss how fertilization occursExplain how the embryo forms from the zygoteDiscuss the role of cleavage and gastrulation in animal development

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe the behavior of chromosomes during meiosisDescribe cellular events during meiosisExplain the differences between meiosis and mitosisExplain the mechanisms within meiosis that generate genetic variation among the products of meiosis

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe the behavior of chromosomes during meiosisDescribe cellular events during meiosisExplain the differences between meiosis and mitosisExplain the mechanisms within meiosis that generate genetic variation among the products of meiosis

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe what must occur for plant fertilizationExplain cross-pollination and the ways in which it takes placeDescribe the process that leads to the development of a seedDefine double fertilization

This second lesson enables students to apply what they know about human reproduction via PIV sex (Lesson 1 of this series) to other means of reproduction. They will not only learn the steps in how insemination and IVF work to create a pregnancy, but they will also learn that people other than parents can provide the genetic material (eggs, sperm, and embryos) and give birth to a child for someone else (surrogates). Students will be working in small groups to help one another understand the concepts and to practice using the inclusive language that the educator modeled in the first lesson.

Students use model chromosomes and answer analysis and discussion questions to learn about meiosis and fertilization. As they model meiosis and fertilization, students follow the alleles of a human gene from the parents' body cells through gametes to zygotes; thus, students learn how a person inherits one copy of each gene from each of his/her parents. To learn how meiosis contributes to genetic variation, students analyze the results of crossing over and independent assortment. Students also compare and contrast meiosis and mitosis, and they learn how a mistake in meiosis can result in Down syndrome or death of an embryo. This activity helps students meet the Next Generation Science Standards.

 In this lesson, teachers will describe how puberty prepares human bodies for the potential to reproduce as well as the process of human reproduction with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation. Teachers should review information learned last class while going through slides and questioning the students on what they recall. Teachers explain to students that all of the changes they experience during puberty are due to a new surge of hormones that both females and males experience, often differently. Teachers will also discuss the process of human reproduction by describing the steps needed to conceive a baby. The last activity has students create a diagram of the steps of conception in the right order for teachers to assess what they have retained from the lesson. All mistakes should be reviewed and corrected by the teacher, and then end the lesson with an open-discussion for question.

power point presentation of seed development and maturation
Seed Germination

This lesson defines sexual intercourse and the cells involved with reproduction (sperm and egg) using an AMAZE video. It also includes a discussion of how pregnancy can happen via other methods as well. Using a small group activity, this lesson also examines the economic reality of accessing reproductive health care and how economic disparities impact who can and cannot utilize these methods. This information sets the foundation for understanding a basic physiological process and underpins future lessons about pregnancy prevention.