How to Find Answers to Biology Questions

Whether you're studying for the AP Bio exam or taking a college course in biology, here are some useful resources for finding answers to biology questions.

How to Find Answers to Biology Questions
Avel Chuklanov

A simple internet search can lead students to a lot of different potential resources that will provide answers for biology questions. Some obvious sites that students might turn to first include Wikipedia or Britannica (which has adapted from its old massive, physical, book-bound format to the internet quite successfully in recent years). However, there are also more reputable, specific sites dedicated to biology questions and answers, tailored to providing help and learning that will give different solutions for students who need them. 

Biology is a fun subject, but it can also be difficult. It’s also an extremely popular field of study in college, especially when it comes to marine biology colleges. It's important for you to take the time to explore the resources that are out there so that you know that you're in the right place from the beginning. So, here are some useful tips and resources for addressing biology questions and answers, whether you’re still in high school or an undergraduate in college.

Reputation and Authority Matters

There are a lot of results that come up in a search engine when you type in a query on a subject like biology, or chemistry, for that matter. The issue is that they're not all going to be reputable and give you the resources that you need. It's going to be up to you to take the time to explore all of the different websites and consider what they truly have to offer. Sites that are designed specifically for homework help, tutoring, and education are obviously going to be the best option, but you can't be sure that every one of these is reputable either. 

You have to look at the site, check out its history, and see what other people have to say about it. Typically, the best-known sites will have familiar names to make it easier for you to find the assistance that you need. That's why you must check out companies to ensure that they are legitimate, reputable, and that they have a business or interest in the industry that has been around for a reasonable amount of time. That way, you can be confident in the biology questions and answers that you are getting. Nothing is worse than walking into class with the wrong answers when those answers came from somewhere else. This is even more essential if you're choosing a major in biology.

Here are some examples of highly reputable and highly authoritative sites for biology questions and answers:

National Human Genome Research Institute

URL: www.genome.gov

When you have biology questions and you find a site with a “.gov” address pop up after your search, then there’s a good chance you hit an authoritative, reputable source for answers. The National Human Genome Research Institute website covers far more than just genomics. It has pages and answers to biology questions that run the gamut from the basic — for example, DNA — to more complex topics — such as, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), which is a type of laboratory technique used to identify and locate a specific DNA sequence on a chromosome. 

What’s great about the National Human Genome Research Institute website is that it includes a glossary page, covering roughly 250 biology terms and explained in an easy-to-comprehend style. Another big benefit of this website when it comes to biology questions and answers is that it has a dedicated Educational Resources center. This includes useful resources like factsheets, infographics, teaching tools, and much more. The National Human Genome Research Institute website is a must for students looking for answers to biology questions.

National Library of Medicine – National Center for Biotechnology Information

URL: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

This is another “.gov” website and a very reputable and authoritative source for answers to your biology questions. This website covers a lot of ground when it comes to biology, including the most basic AP biology questions to topics to complex genetics subjects. What’s convenient about the National Library of Medicine site is that you can search a term, for instance “mitochondria,” and it will return results stretching across multiple databases (in this specific example, 31 databases). One of the more useful databases for finding answers to biology questions is “Literature”, especially “Bookshelf.” When you search a biology term and click on “Bookshelf”, you’ll find not only books that address your biology questions or topics, but also be provided with webpages that specifically answer your queries. In our example of searching “mitochondria”, you can select “Bookshelf”, then the book entitled The Cell: A Molecular Approach. 2nd edition, and the resulting page has a full-length synopsis about everything related to mitochondria.

Scitable by Nature Education

URL: www.nature.com/scitable/

Scitable by Nature Education is an extremely useful resource for biology questions and answers. This website can be utilized by both students and teachers. Educators can use the site to stimulate undergraduate and high school AP biology students with resources on genetics and cell biology from Nature Publishing Group, home of Nature, the most cited scientific journal in the world. What’s more, using the Scitable platform, teachers and students can customize their own eBooks, create online classrooms, contribute and share content, and connect with networks of colleagues. 

On the homepage of the site, the most useful category to find answers to biology questions is the “Library”. This leads to a page filled with the following resources:

  • Topic Rooms: These are hubs for in-depth exploration of a wide range of topics, from life sciences to scientific communication and even career planning. Within Topic Rooms, you can find introductory summaries of key concepts, evidence-based readings on advanced topics, genetics, cell biology, and much more.
  • Nature Education eBooks: These eBooks are available in a broad range of topics and learning levels. They are useful for biology students, scientists in training, and science enthusiasts of all ages.
  • Spotlights: These are concentrated explorations of crucial topics in biology and the sciences in general, including current issues in the news, emerging lab techniques, thought leader perspectives, governmental policy, and a range of other subjects.
  • Blogs & Forums: This is the Scitable discussion sphere, and it comprises an array of perspectives devoted to presenting the world of science in a clear and readily understandable way. Writers of Scitable’s Blogs & Forums include experienced researchers, science policymakers, journalists, and undergraduate students.
  • Multimedia: This section includes a video and audio archive of interviews and animations that can make answering your biology questions easy and entertaining.
  • Glossary/Index: Scitable’s Glossay/Index page contains a massive trove of key biology terms, topics, and subjects. When you select “Glossary”, it organizes the biology terms and topics in alphabetical order like an encyclopedia. When you select “Index”, it organizes these biology terms and topics under broader subjects. Both forms of organization are very useful for students looking to find answers to biology questions.

Study.com

URL: www.study.com/learn/biology.html

Study.com is definitely a useful site for biology questions and answers. It provides entire course outlines, lessons, quick encyclopedic entries, quizzes, and more. This site is aimed at both students and teachers. The only catch is that you do need to create an account to unlock all the content, and it does cost money to do this. Hence why it is last on our list of places to go for answers to your biology questions.

The Bottom Line on Finding Answers to Biology Questions

Imagine you are sitting in biology class, waiting for the teacher to arrive. You're double-checking your homework with a friend because you know they're also hard-working and smart. You always compare answers and help each other out. You wouldn't turn to the kid who never does his homework and ask him for answers or assistance. You know that he's not going to be able to help, even if he says he can, and that you need to trust someone better. It works the same way with online homework help sites. 

You have to find reputable, authoritative sites that know what they are doing when it comes to homework assistance in the area of biology. They should have a reputation and be known in the industry for what they do. Otherwise, they're not going to be the website that will give you the confidence that you deserve. Make sure that you don't settle for just anything when you’re using web sources for answers to biology questions. Just because information exists doesn't make it accurate, after all. Biology answers for questions out of your textbook or homework assignments can be found online with ease. You simply have to take the time to find the right resources. A little careful planning can go a long way, and now that you know more it should be easy. The internet is a great tool if it is used correctly, so be sure to put it to work when you need it.

Andrew DePietro

Author: Andrew DePietro

Senior Researcher, and Content Strategist

Andrew DePietro is a finance writer covering topics such as entrepreneurship, investing, real estate and college for BrokeScholar, Forbes, CreditKarma, and more.