What to Expect from Your College Biology Courses

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Every college major has a science requirement, and many students choose college biology classes to fulfill this requirement. Many students choose biology for their science electives because they are more likely to have taken a biology class in high school rather than chemistry or physics. The biology classes that biology majors take are far more detailed and specific than the general biology classes that non-biology majors take. Here's what to expect in your college biology courses

The Basics of the Scientific Process

The scientific process is important to the field of biology because it allows researchers to isolate and test the effects of a single, well-defined factor on biological phenomena. In other words, in your biology classes you will learn how to observe conditions, create a hypothesis, and test that hypothesis. The scientific process is critical to all the sciences and is also applied in the humanities and social sciences. A clear understanding of how the process works and how it helps further knowledge in specific scientific areas is taught as a part of most introductory biology classes.

Plant Biology

You will spend part of your time in biology classes learning about plants, including

Plant cells and tissues
Anatomy of plant growth
Plant adaptation to environments
Plant nutrition
How plants sense sunlight
How plants reproduce
Chances are, you will perform a few laboratory experiments involving plant tissues, such as separating and isolating different types of plant cells and examining them under microscopes. You will learn how plant biology differs from animal biology and how plant cells differ from cells in animals.

Animal Biology

Animal biology will also be covered in your college biology classes. You will most likely cover the following:

Animal adaptation to surroundings
Tissues, organs, and organ systems
Nutrition
Respiration
Animal sensory systems
Animal reproduction
The immune system in animals
You will also likely spend some time learning about genetics, and about natural selection in the animal kingdom. You may study one or more units on human biology.

Other Biological Organisms

The biological sciences cover more than just animals and plants. Bacteria, viruses, and fungi are other types of biological organisms you will likely study in your biology courses. You'll learn about DNA synthesis, gene mutations, and genetic repair mechanisms, as well as gene transcription in microscopic organisms such as bacteria. You will probably spend some time in the laboratory studying the various parts of the cell, and you will need to know how to label a cell diagram with the proper cell components.

Biological Processes

Biological processes include things like nutrition, sensory processes, respiration, cell reproduction, and organism reproduction. You'll learn how the environment affects biological processes in species ranging from bacteria to humans, and how animals and plants adapt to changes in their environment.

College level biology courses are not easy, but they're not terribly difficult for most students. By attending class regularly, taking notes, asking questions and keeping up with reading and assignments, you lay the foundation for success in your college level biology classes.