Campbell Biology in Focus, 4th edition

Published by Pearson (May 6, 2024) © 2025

  • Lisa A. Urry Mills College at Northeastern University
  • Michael L. Cain New Mexico State University
  • Peter V. Minorsky Mercy College
  • Kerry L Hull Bishop's University, Quebec, Canada
  • Rebecca B. Orr Collin College
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Built unit-by-unit, Campbell Biology in Focus achieves a balance between breadth and depth of concepts to move you away from memorization. Streamlined content prioritizes essential biology concepts and scientific skills that you need to build a solid foundation for future courses.

The 4th Edition presents relevant, current content updates and engaging resources. New Visual Overviews present fundamental biological questions, and Study Tips share effective learning strategies to encourage you to learn actively through proven strategies. The new downloadable Active Reading Guide further supports you with self-assessment activities to complete as you read.

  1. Introduction: Evolution and the Foundations of Biology

UNIT 1: CHEMISTRY AND CELLS

  1. The Chemical Context of Life
  2. Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life
  3. A Tour of the Cell
  4. Membrane Transport and Cell Signaling
  5. An Introduction to Metabolism
  6. Cellular Respiration and Fermentation
  7. Photosynthesis
  8. The Cell Cycle

UNIT 2: GENETICS

  1. Meiosis and Sexual Life Cycles
  2. Mendel and the Gene Idea
  3. The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance
  4. The Molecular Basis of Inheritance
  5. Gene Expression: From Gene to Protein
  6. Regulation of Gene Expression
  7. Development, Stem Cells, and Cancer
  8. Viruses
  9. Genomes and Their Evolution

UNIT 3: EVOLUTION

  1. Descent with Modification
  2. Phylogeny
  3. The Evolution of Populations
  4. The Origin of Species
  5. Broad Patterns of Evolution

UNIT 4: THE EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF LIFE

  1. Early Life and the Diversification of Prokaryotes
  2. The Origin and Diversification of Eukaryotes
  3. The Colonization of Land
  4. The Rise of Animal Diversity

UNIT 5: PLANT FORM AND FUNCTION

  1. Vascular Plant Structure and Growth
  2. Resource Acquisition, Nutrition, and Transport in Vascular Plants
  3. Reproduction and Domestication of Flowering Plants
  4. Plant Responses to Internal and External Signals

UNIT 6: ANIMAL FORM AND FUNCTION

  1. The Internal Environment of Animals: Organization and Regulation
  2. Animal Nutrition
  3. Circulation and Gas Exchange
  4. The Immune System
  5. Reproduction and Development
  6. Neurons, Synapses, and Signaling
  7. Nervous and Sensory Systems
  8. Motor Mechanisms and Behavior

UNIT 7: ECOLOGY

  1. Population Ecology and the Distribution of Organisms
  2. Ecological Communities
  3. Ecosystems and Energy
  4. Conservation Biology and Global Change

APPENDICES

  • A. Answers
  • B. Periodic Table of the Elements
  • C. The Metric System
  • D. A Comparison of the Light Microscope and the Electron Microscope
  • E. Classification of Life
  • F. Scientific Skills Review
  • G. Word Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes for Learning Vocabulary

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