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chapter 10
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Evolution | Change in species over time |
| Species | Group of organisms so similar to one another that they can breed and produce fertile off springs |
| Fossils | Trace of an organism from the past |
| Catastrophism | Theory that states that natural disasters such as floods and volcanic eruptions shaped earths landforms and caused extinction of some species |
| Gradualism | Principle that states that the change a in landforms result from slow changes over a long period of time |
| Uniformitarianism | Theory that states that the geologic processes that shape earth are uniform through time |
| Variation | Differences in physical traits of an individual from the group to which it belongs |
| Darwin | The theory of evolution in natural selection |
| Cuvier | Catastrophism |
| Lamarck | Inheritance of acquired traits |
| Linnaeus | Binomial nomenclature |
| Hutton | Gradualism |
| Lyell | Uniformitarianism |
| Adaptation | Inherited trait that is selected for over time because it allows organisms to better survive in their environment |
| Artificial selection | Process by which humans modify a species by breeding it for certain traits |
| Heritability | Ability of a trait to be passed from one generation to the next |
| Natural selection | Mechanism by which individuals that have inherited beneficial adaptions produce more offspring on average than do other individuals |
| Fitness | Ability to survive and reproduce |
| Population | All of the individuals of a species that live in the same area |
| Overproduction | Substance formed by a chemical reaction |
| Biogeography | Study of the distribution of organisms around the world |
| Homologous structure | Body part that is similar in structure on different organisms but performs different functions |
| Analogous structure | Body part that is similar in function as a body part of another organism but is structurally different |
| Vestigial structure | Remnants of an organ or structure that functioned in an earlier ancestor |
| Paleontology | Study of fossils or extinct organisms |
| Buffon | Organisms shared ancestors |
| Erasmus Darwin | Darwin's grandfather |