Table of Contents

Part 1 Some basic principles: how scientists work; studying biology; the characteristics of living things; cells, the bricks of the body; tissues, organs and systems; the chemistry of life. Part 2 Living things and the environment: identifying, naming and classifying; who's who in the world of living things; the wheel of life; the air around us; air pollution; feeding relationships; food chains and humans; decay; habitats and communities; the environment and survival; finding out where organisms live; populations; changing populations; soil; making the land fertile; controlling pests; management and conservation; food spoilage and safety; microbes and disease; controlling disease; a useful insect - the honey bee; three insect pests. Part 3 Maintaining life: food and diet; food and microbes; food, the fuel of life; how we get energy from food; respiring without oxygen; how we breathe; smoking and health; how fish breathe; how we digest our food; teeth; how other animals feed; the heart and circulation; blood, the living fluid; exercise and fitness; how plants feed; controlling photosynthesis; the leaf, organ of photosynthesis; to and from the leaf; adjustment and control; more about temperature control; how we get rid of unwanted substances. Part 4 Response and coordination: the nervous system; drugs and the brain; hormones; the eye; the ear and hearing; how we move; how other animals move. Part 5 Reproduction, growth and development: from egg and sperm to embryo; pregnancy and birth; sexual development; the menstrual cycle; controlling human reproduction; sexually transmitted infections; flowers, fruit and seeds; reproduction without sex; how living things grow; how growth is controlled. Part 6 Heredity, genes and evolution: introducing heredity; more about heredity; human heredity; chromosomes and cell division; the genetic code; selective breeding; genetic engineering; genetic engineering and society; variation; evolution and the history of life; the mechanism of evolution.