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8U3
History of Life
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Trait | specific characteristic of an individual |
| heredity | the passing of traits from parent to offspring |
| gene | segments of DNA strands that code for a specific trait |
| Alleles | different versions of a gene |
| dominant allele | An allele whose trait always shows up in the organism when the allele is present. |
| recessive allele | An allele that is masked when a dominant allele is present |
| genotype | genetic makeup of an organism |
| Phenotype | physical characteristics of an organism |
| Homozygous | an organism that has two identical alleles for a trait |
| Heterozygous | an organism that has two different alleles for a trait |
| Gregor Mendel | father of modern genetics |
| generation | a set of members that are born at the same time |
| Punnett square | a tool used to predict the possible genotypes in offspring of a cross |
| Probability | likelihood that a particular event will occur |
| incomplete dominance | cases in which one allele is not completely dominant over another |
| Co-dominant trait | both alleles of a gene contribute independently to the phenotype |
| capital letter | dominant alleles are represented by a |
| lower case letter | recessive alleles are represented by a |
| Reginald Punnett | developed the Punnett square |
| evolution | The gradual change and development of a species over the course of many generations |
| Jean-Baptiste Lamarck | developed the first cohesive theory of evolution after his studies of biology |
| Charles Darwin | a scientist who developed a theory of evolution by natural selection |
| survival of the fittest | a natural process resulting in the evolution of organisms best adapted to the environment. |
| extinction | all members of a species die |
| variation | genetic differences between individuals within a species |
| adaptation | inherited variations that make an organism better suited to its environment |
| common ancestry | a group of organisms that share a biological ancestor |
| fossils | the preserved remains or traces of organisms that once lived on Earth |
| embryology | study of embryos and their development |
| homologous structures | similar body structures on different species |
| vestigial structures | a structure that is present in an organism but no longer serves its original purpose |
| primates | a group of mammals that includes humans, apes, monkeys, and lemurs |
| Hominid | humanlike primates that walked on two legs |
| Lucy | a 3.2 million-year old fossil skeleton of a human ancestor |
| Homo habilis | hominid found with tools; handy man |
| Homo sapiens | wise human being |
| Homo sapiens sapiens | modern humans; wise wise human beings |
| Neanderthals | first to hunt in groups; care for the sick; have ritual burials |
| Cro-Magnon | made new tools, planned hunts, migrated; known for cave paintings |
| fossil | The preserved remains or traces of an organism that lived in the past |
| mineral replacement fossil | after the organism dies, the spaces get filled in with minerals from groundwater that then harden |
| carbon films | the fossilized carbon outline of an organism or part of an organism |
| Molds and Casts | Impressions of an organism can be filled with minerals |
| original/whole remains | a type of fossil in which all or part of the original organism has been preserved |
| trace fossil | a fossil of a footprint, trail, burrow, or other traces of an animal rather than of the animal itself. |
| geologist | a scientist who studies the earth |
| paleontologist | scientists who study fossils |
| relative dating | Method of determining the age of a fossil by comparing its placement with that of fossils in other layers of rock |
| absolute dating | A technique used to determine the actual age of a rock |
| radioactive decay | the breaking down of an element |
| Principal of superposition | Rock layers on the bottom are older and decrease in age as you move up |
| Unconformities | gaps in rock layers |
| index fossils | distinctive fossil used to compare the relative ages of fossils |
| coal | A fossil fuel that forms underground from partially decomposed plant material |
| geologic time scale | A record of the geologic events and life forms in Earth's history. |
| eon | the largest division of time |
| era | a broad span of geological time based on the general type of life existing during that time |
| period | a span of time within an era |
| epoch | a subdivision of a geological period |
| Pangea | term for the super continent which contained all the plates together |
Created by:
Ms. Greenup
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