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Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life, 15th Edition

Cecie Starr, Ralph Taggart, Christine Evers, Lisa Starr

  • Copyright 2019
  • {{checkPublicationMessage('Published', '2018-01-01T00:00:00+0000')}}
Starting At $84.95 See pricing and ISBN options
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Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life 15th Edition by Cecie Starr/Ralph Taggart/Christine Evers/Lisa Starr
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Overview

BIOLOGY: THE UNITY AND DIVERSITY OF LIFE, 15th Edition, reveals the biological world in wondrous detail. Packed with eye-catching photos and images, this best-selling text engages students with applications and activities that encourage critical thinking. Chapter-opening Core Concepts help students focus on the topics that matter most in every chapter. Each section within a chapter begins with clear Learning Objectives and section-ending Take Home Messages reinforce these key concepts. Links to Earlier Concepts help students make important connections and appreciate how living systems are interconnected and interacting. Available with MindTap for Biology, the platform that gives instructors complete control of their course and powers students from memorization to mastery.

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Meet the Authors

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Cecie Starr

For decades, Cecie Starr has been known as one of the best-selling biology textbook authors. Her texts, appreciated for their clarity in both the written word and the visual representation of biological concepts, include multiple editions of BIOLOGY: THE UNITY AND DIVERSITY OF LIFE, BIOLOGY: CONCEPTS AND APPLICATIONS, and BIOLOGY TODAY AND TOMORROW. Her original dream was to become an architect. Instead of building houses, she now builds, with care and attention to detail, texts based on this philosophy: "I invite students into a chapter through an intriguing story. Once inside, they get the great windows that biologists construct on the world of life. Biology is not just another house. It is a conceptual mansion. I hope to do it justice."

Ralph Taggart

Ralph Taggart, Former Chair of Biological Sciences at Michigan State University, Ralph Taggert is now the chair of Geological Sciences. Professor Taggart, known for his outstanding research in Paleobotany, has taught the general biology course for over 20 years.

Christine Evers

Christine Evers has been providing tools for biology education for more than 20 years. Before becoming a textbook author, she provided content for Genentech’s Access Excellence website and developed digital course materials for a variety of publishers. She received her undergraduate education at SUNY Stony Brook and did graduate work at Yale University.

Lisa Starr

Lisa Starr has been creating incredible art for the Starr biology textbooks since 1997 and began authoring the books in 2004. She has a passion for all things science, and particularly enjoys parsing complex scientific concepts into written and visual content that engages nonscientists. She has an education in chemistry and biochemistry and an extensive background in molecular biology-based research in both academic and industrial settings.

What's New

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  • Powered by You: MindTap gives instructors complete control of their course – to design engaging content, to challenge every individual, and to build their confidence. The clear learning path guides students and includes study resources, Conceptual Learning Assignments, and more.
  • Distributed Practice: The science of learning teaches that distributed practice is the best way to digest and understand information. Adaptive Mastery Training in MindTap provides distributed practice in which students study foundational topics bit by bit, helping them master key terms, deepen their understanding, and build long-term memory of core concepts.
  • Core Concepts: New chapter-opening Core Concepts are supported by Learning Objectives that correlate with the Core Concepts in Biological Literacy published in "Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education."

Features

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  • Unmatched Clarity: BIOLOGY: THE UNITY AND DIVERSITY OF LIFE, 15th Edition, makes subjects accessible without glossing over the science--even for the most complex topics.
  • Data Analysis: Analytical activities using real data give students the opportunity to hone their critical thinking skills and gain insight into contemporary research.
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  • Human Impacts: Engaging, up-to-date content focuses on real-world applications and the many ways human activities affect the environment.
  • Visual Substance: Both pleasing to the eye and scientifically accurate, the book's art program adds real depth to the material with step-by-step "Figure It Out" images and animated figures in MindTap.

Table of Contents

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1. Invitation to Biology.
UNIT 1: PRINCIPLES OF CELLULAR LIFE.
2. Life's Chemical Basis.
3. Molecules of Life.
4. Cell Structure.
5. Ground Rules of Metabolism.
6. Where it Starts: Photosynthesis.
7. How Cells Release Chemical Energy.
UNIT II: GENETICS.
8. DNA Structure and Function.
9. From DNA to Protein.
10. Control of Gene Expression.
11. How Cells Reproduce.
12. Meiosis and Sexual Reproduction.
13. Observing Patterns in Inherited Traits.
14. Chromosomes and Human Inheritance.
15. Studying and Manipulating Genomes.
UNIT III: PRINCIPLES OF EVOLUTION.
16. Evidence of Evolution.
17. Processes of Evolution.
18. Organizing Information about Species.
19. Life's Origin and Early Evolution.
UNIT IV: EVOLUTION AND BIODIVERSITY.
20. Viruses, Bacteria, and Archaea.
21. Protists: The Simplest Eukaryotes.
22. The Land Plants.
23. Fungi.
24. Animal Evolution: The Invertebrates.
25. Animal Evolution: The Chordates.
26. Human Evolution.
UNIT V: HOW PLANTS WORK.
27. Plant Tissues.
28. Plant Nutrition and Transport.
29. Life Cycles of Flowering Plants.
30. Communication Strategies in Plants.
UNIT VI: HOW ANIMALS WORK.
31. Animal Tissues and Organ Systems.
32. Neural Control.
33. Sensory Perception.
34. Endocrine Control.
35. Structural Support and Movement.
36. Circulation.
37. Immunity.
38. Respiration.
39. Digestion and Nutrition.
40. Maintaining the Internal Environment.
41. Animal Reproductive System.
42. Animal Development.
43. Animal Behavior.
UNIT VII: PRINCIPLES OF ECOLOGY.
44. Population Ecology.
45. Community Ecology.
46. Ecosystems.
47. The Biosphere.
48. Human Impacts on the Biosphere.

Compare Buying Options

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MindTap Options

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MindTap
Each MindTap product offers the full, mobile-ready textbook combined with superior and proven learning tools at one affordable price. Students who purchase digital access can add a print option at any time when a print option is available for their course.

This Cengage solution can be seamlessly integrated into most Learning Management Systems (Blackboard, Brightspace by D2L, Canvas, Moodle, and more) but does require a different ISBN for access codes. Please work with your Cengage Learning Consultant to ensure the proper course set up and ordering information. For additional information, please visit the LMS Integration site.

Standalone Digital Access — Ultimate Value

Recommended and most popular

  • ISBN-10: 1337408506
  • ISBN-13: 9781337408509
  • RETAIL $84.95
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Textbook Only Options

Traditional eBook and Print Options

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  • ISBN-10: 0357687698
  • ISBN-13: 9780357687697
  • RETAIL $84.95

  • ISBN-10: 1337408336
  • ISBN-13: 9781337408332
  • RETAIL $217.95
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Supplements

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Cengage provides a range of supplements that are updated in coordination with the main title selection. For more information about these supplements, contact your Learning Consultant.

FOR STUDENTS

MindTap Biology, 2 terms (12 months) Instant Access for Starr/Taggart/Evers/Starr's Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life

ISBN: 9781337408509
MindTap Biology for Starr/Taggart/Evers/Starr’s Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life, 15th Edition, is the digital learning solution that powers students from memorization to mastery. It gives you complete control of your course--to provide engaging content, to challenge every individual and to build their confidence. Empower students to accelerate their progress with MindTap. MindTap: Powered by You.MindTap gives you complete ownership of your content and learning experience. Emphasize the most important topics and add your own material or notes in the ebook--and select from these key features to include in your course: Science in Context activities engage students in current societal issues, connecting biology with current events. Students read, research and then voice their opinions on the topics.Learning Objective Quick Checks enable students to check their understanding of the key concepts after reading a section. Immediate feedback reinforces the learning. Conceptual Learning Assignments help students learn and understand key concepts via focused assignments and active learning opportunities that include randomized, automatically graded questions, exceptional text interaction and detailed explanations.The Online Study Guide enables students to test their knowledge of concepts, gain immediate feedback and prepare for course tests. Chapter Test questions are customizable and auto-graded.