Evolution/Natural Selection
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26 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Adaptation | A characteristic that improves an individual's ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment |
| Evolution | The process in which inherited characteristics within a population change over generations such that new species sometimes arise |
| Fossil | The remains or physical evidence of an organism preserved by geological processes |
| Species | A group of organisms that are closely related and can mate to produce fertile offspring |
| Geologic time scale | A "time line" used to divide the earth's long history into manageable parts |
| Extinct | when a species dies out completely |
| Population | Groups of individuals of the same species living in the same place |
| Sediments | particles of soil , carried by wind or water, that are deposited in layers - eventually my form sedimentary rock. |
| Fossil record | an historical sequence of life indicated by fossils found up in the layers of the earth's crust |
| Paleontologist | A person who studies fossils |
| Precambrian | early geologic time prior to the paleozoic era (white - very very old and boring). mostly single cell life |
| Paleozoic era | geologic era that followed the Precambrian- means "ancient life". (yellow - old and bizzare) |
| Mesozoic Era | geologic era that followed the Paleozoic; means "middle life" - also know as age of reptiles/dinosaurs (red - bloody dino) |
| Cenozoic Era | the latest geologic era;means "new life", also known as the Age of Mammals (blue - new and hairy) |
| vestigial organ | organ that serves no useful function in an organism, scientists believe it is a "leftover" from a primitive ancestor |
| homologous structures | Structures in different species that are similar because of common ancestry, but are adapted for different uses |
| generation time | the period between the birth of one generation and the birth of the next generation |
| natural selection | the process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more successfully than less well adapted individuals do |
| common ancestor | an ancestor that two or more descendants have in common |
| overproduction | When organisms have more offspring than can possibly survive to adulthood |
| variation | All of the offspring are different genetically |
| struggle to survive | There is a competition for the available resources |
| survival of the fittest | Organisms that were born with adaptations that are an advantage will "win" the competition and live |
| inheritance of traits | Those which live to adults can reproduce and pass their adaptations to their offspring |
| Biotic | the living factors which affect the system - for example predators or food supply |
| Abiotic | the non-living factors which affect the system - for example weather, natural disasters, drought .... |
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