Concepts of Biology

by Samantha Fowler (Senior Contributor), Rebecca Roush (Senior Contributor), James Wise (Senior Contributor)

This book is available for free at http://openstaxcollege.org/textbooks/...

Concepts of Biology is intended for the introductory biology course for non-science majors taught at most two- and four-year colleges. The scope, sequence, and level of the program are designed to match typical course syllabi. This text includes interesting features that make connections between scientific concepts and the everyday world of students. Concepts of Biology conveys the major themes of biology, such as a foundation in evolution, and features a rich and engaging art program.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biology, Science, Textbooks, School, Reference, College

624 pages, Hardcover

First published January 30, 2013

Reviews

[Will Clemmons · Rating 1 out of 5]

I get it’s a textbook so it’s going to be dry, but did it have to be this dry? Feel this was too much information in one textbook for a non-biology major. I didn’t want to take this class and now you’re going to give me at least a half-textbooks worth of information I’ll never need again and probably didn’t understand? I pity anyone who will be in my same place in the future. At least it’s free though. That was kind of them.

[Garth A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great general refresher

[youSsef✶⋆.˚ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eventually, I get out of this textbook. This book revived my long stagnation in studying biology, which had lasted for four years since mid-high school. It quickly helped me review the basic biological concepts, restructured biochemistry, and its related cases effectively. I liked how it figured out the common misconceptions about evolution. The new it privileged my knowledge was the basis of molecular biology and the DNA structure and the stages of its construction. I focused mainly on the biotechnology and ecology chapters as they were the reason for regaining the desire to study biology for my coming projects combined with cs. The illustrations help a lot. Moreover, I think the structure that the book draws for these chapters is considered as just a basic intro for this path, yet it is still good to build on, and I recommend MIT courses for it.
The light part for me was the diversity of plants and animals, which you can consider as some of Nat Geo magazines. I dropped two chapters from units 4 and 6 as I don't need them, yet I just scammed them, and all chapters were worthy to study.
I've never been a biology nerd because math remains the best of science to me, yet I added a lot from this textbook to consider biology besides. It wasn't the easiest to me, but it added a lot that has converted my interests in biology to a good level.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good textbook. Although it is dry in some places (by necessity, I think - there are some things that are just difficult to describe colorfully), it is on the whole a very good read, well explained, and easy to follow. I used this over two terms of biology, and will be keeping it as a useful reference as I move forward with my degree.

[Muhamad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of fact. Great.

[Edie Walls · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love openstax and that I didn't have to pay for this book. It's not its fault that I really hated the biology class this was for...

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

A typical college science textbook, with some interesting information, and some unproven information presented as fact.

[alexis from Paramore]

One class closer to finishing my AA....................................................

[Darren Kirby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a ~600 page textbook designed for introductory biology courses for non-science majors. The book is organized into 6 units which survey the major topics in biology in order: cell physiology, cell division and genetics, molecular biology, evolution and diversity, animal physiology, and ecology.

The book is clear and well-written, and contains many high quality photographs and diagrams to reinforce concepts introduced in the text. This is not a text for those intending to enter the field of science or biology at a college level, in fact, there is probably not much in here that won't be review for those who took high school biology. It is, however, a great resource for self-learners and for non-science majors who wish to broaden their knowledge of biological processes and the natural world.

I am a big fan of Openstax's free textbooks, and this is a great entry in their canon.

[Sarah Ragsdale · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE this book -- also love that it's free and accessible online. I was following a studytuber online and she was working through this book. Turns out, my instructor picked this one for our required textbook too. Everything is broken down into manageable (readable) sections and doesn't feel overwhelming at all. There's also more resources included in the book that are clickable links.

Highly recommend! Also -- I'm going over this book more over the next two weeks for finals. Feeling pretty good about though. =)

[Z]

Use for my bio 11 class. Not the best graphics but cant beat the price!