| Word |
Definition |
| Adaptation | a character or structure that helps an organism live and reproduce successfully in its environment |
| habitat | The area or place where an organism naturally lives in an ecosystem |
| diversity | the variety of life |
| species | the basic unit of classification, the division of a genus, made of very similar organiisms that are able to mate and reproduce offspring of the same type |
| variation | a difference within the species |
| sexual reproduction | Reproduction through the union of a male and a female gamete, each contributing genetic material to the offspring |
| zygote | A cell formed by the union of two sets of genes when a male and a female unite; a fertilizied egg |
| asexual reproduction | Reproduction in which a single individual copies its genetic material |
| Evolution | The concept originated by Charles Darwin, explaining that organisms are the products of historical change and that new species gradually developed from previous ones |
| natural selection | The process by which organisms that are adapted to their environment survive and reproduce, passing there traits on to their offspring |
| population | A group of individuals of the same species living in a particular area |
| fossil | Remains or traces of an organism that lived in the past |
| extinct | Referring to forms of life that have died out |
| fossil record | Record of life on earth provided by fossils |
| mold | A fossil impression left in rock by the hard parts of an organism |
| cast | A fossil formed by minerals in water that build up in a mold |
HHS Shrek
