MasteringBiology with Pearson eText Student Access Code Card for Biology: Life of Earth with Physiology (9e)

Used by over a million science students, the Mastering platform is the most effective and widely used online tutorial, homework, and assessment system for the sciences. Pearson eText gives students access to the text whenever and wherever they can access the Internet. The eText pages look exactly like the printed text, and include powerful interactive and customization functions. This is the product access code card for MasteringBiology^® with Pearson eText and does not include the actual bound book.  

Known for its thorough coverage of diversity, ecology, and environmental issues, this comprehensive book engages students with integrated, relevant case studies, and challenges them with thought-provoking questions throughout each chapter.   

The fully revised Biology: Life on Earth with Physiology, Ninth Edition, has the same friendly writing style appreciated by thousands of students, but with greater emphasis on engaging, real-world applications. New to this edition are “Case Study Continued” sections, which connect a chapter’s case study to relevant biological topics covered in the chapter, and “Have you ever wondered?” features that respond to commonly asked questions from students. Thoroughly revised illustrations and expanded critical thinking questions have been added to each chapter and are supplemented by the powerful new MasteringBiology^™ program that helps students make effective use of their study time outside of the classroom.   

For courses not covering plant and animal anatomy & physiology, an alternate version—Biology: Life on Earth, Ninth Edition—is also available.

• “Case Study Continued” sections appear two to three times per chapter, and connect the chapter-opening case study to relevant biological concepts.
• NEW! Case Studies for the Ninth Edition include the blood doping scandal at the 2008 Tour de France (Chapter 8), and concerns about threatened Monarch butterfly populations (Chapter 30).
• Updated boxed essays include:
  • New “Health Watch” boxes added to Unit 3 "Evolution and Diversity of Life” and Unit 4 (Behavior and Ecology), covering topics such as the impact of some photosynthetic microorganisms on human health (Chapter 26).
  • New “Earth Watch” boxes include an examination into the pros and cons of biofuels (Chapter 7), and a look at how how human actions might be speeding the evolution of Earth’s organisms (Chapter 14).
  • New “Scientific Inquiry” essay topics include the evolution of the “one gene, one protein” hypothesis (Chapter 12) and an exploration into the relationship between a parasitic roundworm and its host ant Chapter 27).
• “Have you ever wondered?” features appear in each chapter, and pose high-interest questions that students might very well have asked themselves or instructors, along with simple and clear scientific explanations for each question. Examples include “why do bruises turn colors?” (Chapter 12) and “why are backaches so common?” (Chapter 14).
• An invigorated art program not only draws students into learning the material, but also teaches concepts more effectively by providing:
  • Numbered steps that break down complex processes into more manageable steps.
  • Integrated comments that focus the student’s attention on key points within a figure.
  • Greater consistency in color and illustration format, which makes it easier for students to make connections among figures.
• Expanded BioEthics questions are provided within relevant essay boxes, figure captions, and end-of-chapter “Applying the Concepts” sections, challenging students to carefully consider both sides of a bioethical issue.
• Fill-in-the-Blank questions have been added to the end of each chapter (an answer key is provided at the back of the book).
• Chapters in key sections have been reorganized, to improve the pacing and flow of topics:
  • The chapters in Unit 2, Inheritance, now begin with Cellular Reproduction (Chapter 9), followed by Patterns of Inheritance (Chapter 10), DNA (Chapter 11), Gene Expression and Regulation (Chapter 12), and conclude—as before—with Biotechnology (Chapter 13).
  • Separate chapters discuss The Nervous System (Chapter 38) and The Senses (Chapter 39), to make the amount of content in each chapter more manageable for the student.
• MasteringBiology is an online assessment and tutorial system designed to help instructors teach more efficiently, and pedagogically proven to help students learn. It helps instructors maximize class time with customizable, easy-to-assign, and automatically graded assessments that motivate students to learn outside of class and arrive prepared for lecture. The powerful gradebook provides unique insight into student and class performance even before the first test. As a result, instructors can spend class time where students need it most. The Mastering system empowers students to take charge of their learning through activities aimed at different learning styles, and engages them in learning science through practice and step-by-step guidance—at their convenience, 24/7. Go to www.masteringbiology.com.