Explorations in Basic Biology, 12th edition

Explorations in Basic Biology is a self-contained laboratory manual designed for one- or two-semester introductory biology courses for non-biology and mixed biology majors. The exercises are appropriate for three-hour laboratory sessions, but are also adaptable to a two-hour laboratory format.

Ideal for students with little hands-on science laboratory experience, this student-friendly text provides clear background information and directions for conducting laboratory activities. Students not only learn basic biological information but also gain experience practicing laboratory techniques.

The Twelfth Edition has been updated with new content, including several new or modified figures and procedures that have been clarified where necessary to facilitate student learning, a new Appendix, and guidelines for writing a scientific paper. Several exercises also feature significant improvements.

• Each assignment is self-directing and allows students to work independently with minimal guidance from the instructor.
• Each of the 41 exercises is self-contained so that the instructor may arrange the sequence of exercises, or the assignments within an exercise, to suit his or her preferences. Portions of an exercise may also be easily deleted without negatively affecting the continuity of the exercise.
• Over 250 figures enhance student learning and understanding through visualization.
• Experiments emphasize the scientific method and enable students to put the scientific method into action while conducting experiments.
• Convenient tear-out laboratory reports guide and reinforce students’ understanding of the concepts and provide instructors with a time-saving means for grading students’ recorded data and conclusions.
• Pre-lab assignments require students to demonstrate their understanding of background information by labeling illustrations and completing a portion of the laboratory report before delving into an actual laboratory technique.
• A comprehensive Instructor’s Manual contains a list of resources for materials, provides operational suggestions, and includes answer keys for quickly grading the lab reports.

• Updated content includes several new or modified figures.
• Procedures have been clarified wherever necessary to facilitate student learning.
• Laboratory reports include more graphing of experimental results, and several exercises provide the option for instructors to have students write up experiments in the format of a scientific paper.
• A new Appendix E provides guidelines for writing a scientific paper including how to use graphs in presenting results.
• Exercise 40 provides an opportunity for students to research human population data via the Internet.
• Exercises with significant improvements include:
• Exercise 19: Blood and Circulation
• Exercise 23: Neural Control
• Exercise 35: Molecular and Chromsomal Genetics
• Exercise 40: Population Growth
• Exercise 41: Animal Behavior