Biological Anthropology Ch.1
About this set
Created by:
Tellergrim on January 5, 2012
Subjects:
Log in to favorite or report as inappropriate.
Order by
27 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Observation | The Gathering of scientific information by watching a phenomenon |
| Deduction | A conclusion that follows logically from a set of observations. |
| Hypothesis | A preliminary explanation of a phenomenon. Hypothesis formation is the first step of the scientific method. |
| Experimentation | The testing of a hypothesis. |
| Data | The scientific evidence produced by an experiment or by observation, from which scientific conclusions are made. |
| Scientific Method | Standard scientific research procedure in which a hypothesis is stated, data are collected to test it, and the hypothesis is either supported or refuted. |
| Falsifiable | Able to be shown to be false. |
| Paradigm | A conceptual framework useful for understanding a body of evidence. |
| Immutability (or Fixity) | Stasis, lack of change. |
| Polygenism | Ancient belief that people are derived from a single creation. |
| Monogenism | Ancient belief that all people are derived from a single creation. |
| Taxonomy | The science of biological classification, invented by Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus |
| Binomial nomenclature | Linnaen naming system for all organisms, consisting of a genus and species label. |
| Taxon | A group of organisms assigned to a particular category. |
| Catastrophism | Theory that there have been multiple creations interspersed by great natural disasters such as Noah's flood. |
| Theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics | Discredited theory of evolutionary change proposing that changes that occur during the lifetime of an individual, through use or disuse, can be passed on to the next generation, first put forward by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. |
| Lysenkoism | Soviet-era research program that tried to apply Lamarckian thinking to the agricultural production. |
| Uniformitarianism | Theory that the same gradual geological process we observe today was operating in the past. |
| Biogeography | The distribution of animals and plants on the Earth |
| Adaptive Radiation | The diversification of one founding species into multiple species and niches. |
| Natural Selection | Differential reproductive success over multiple generations. |
| Vestigial Organs | Body parts that seem to serve no modern purpose and have, therefore, atrophied. |
| Fitness | Reproductive success. |
| Population | An interbreeding group of organisms. |
| Mutation | An alteration in the DNA, which may or may not alter the function of a cell. If it occurs in a gamete, it may be passed from one generation to the next. |
| Creation Science | A creationist attempt to refute the evidence of evolution. |
| Intelligent Design | A creationist school of thought that proposes that natural selection cannot account for the diversity and complexity of form and function seen in nature. |
First Time Here?
Welcome to Quizlet, a fun, free place to study. Try these flashcards, find others to study, or make your own.