| Term | Definition |
| microspheres | tiny vesicles filled with organic molecules |
| endosymbiotic theory | proposes that eukaryotes cells arose from living communities formed by prokaryotic organisms |
| macroevolution | large scale evolutionary patterns and processes that occur over long periods of time |
| extinction | death of alot of animals |
| adaptive radiation | single species evolve into many new forms |
| homologuos structures | structures that are physically built in same configuration |
| convergent evolution | unrelated organisms come to resemble one and another |
| analoguos structures | perform same action structurally different |
| coevolution | 2 organisms evolve in response to each other |
| punctuated equilibrium | short bursts of change are interrupted by long periods of change |
| gradualism | change occurs gradually |
| taxonomy | classify organisms and assign each organism a universally accepted name |
| binomial nomenclature | each species is assigned a two part name; genus + scientific name |
| taxon | taxonomic catagory |
| phylogeny | evolutionary relationships among organisms |
| evolutionary classification | grouping of organisms together based on their evolutionary history |
| derived characters | characteristics that appear in recent parts of a lineage but in its older members |
| cladogram | a diagram that shows evolutionary relationships among a group of organisms |
| molecular clock | uses DNA comparisons to estimate the length of time that two species have been evolving independently |