Seven Studies of Life: The Process of Science

For more than thirty years, The Process of Science: Seven Studies of Life has provided tens of thousands of biology majors and non-majors with a one-semester, inquiry-based laboratory course covering seven core topics in biology. Each study is introduced from a historical perspective and contains simple, yet elegant experiments that foster student collaboration and discovery but require individual accountability. The use of several live organisms in multiple contexts make this manual very costeffective. Rather than memorizing facts, students learn to formulate hypotheses, collect and analyze data, and draw conclusions. 

Each study helps students to view the process of science as a practical approach to problem solving as they build a specific knowledge base. The authors have given special attention to the clear presentation of difficult concepts, while minimizing the use of technical language. 

Each study spans one to five laboratory periods. Thirteen, two-hour and forty-minute laboratory periods are required to complete all of the studies in the manual, but instructors can select specific exercises within each study to accommodate shorter periods. The five-week study on inheritance is designed to run concurrently with other studies. (A simple, time-efficient procedure provides virgin fruit flies. Flies are anesthetized with carbon dioxide and ice.)

A separate Instructor's Guide provides full support. The Instructor’s Guide includes instructional notes for each exercise and preparation notes detailing methods, materials sources, and formulae. An Answer Key for the manual is also included. (Available to adopting institutions only, upon request.)