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Evolution

TermDefinition
Evolution Change over time
Selective Breeding the human practice of breeding animals or plants that have certain desired traits
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
Variation Hereditary (or nonhereditary) differences between different individuals of a population (tall, short, brown fur, grey fur....)
Mutation A change in the structure or amount of the genetic material of an organism
Adaptation An inherited trait that improves an individual's ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment
Extinction Death of every member of a species :(
Theory A hypothesis (idea) that has been tested with a significant amount of data
Species A group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring.
Fossil The preserved remains or traces of an organism that lived in the past
Fossil Record The history of life in the geologic past as indicated by the traces or remains of living things
Radiometric Dating Method used to determine the age of rocks using the rate of decay of radioactive isotopes (atoms)
Sediment Small, solid pieces of material that come from rocks or living things
Vestigial Structure Structure that is inherited from ancestors but has lost much or all of its original function
Homologous Structure Body part (structures) that are similar in structure on different organisms but performs different function (ex: bat arm, cat leg, human arm)
Index Fossil A fossil known to have lived in a particular geologic age that can be used to help date the rock layer in which it is found
Relative Dating Method of determining the age of a fossil by comparing its placement with that of fossils in other layers of rock (older fossils are deeper in the earth)
Absolute Dating A technique used to determine the actual age of a fossil in years
Speciation The formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution.
Generation Time The period between the birth of one generation and the birth of the next generation (Ex: much faster in insects than mammals because they can reproduce faster)
Plate Tectonics The theory that explains how large pieces of the lithosphere, called plates, move and change shape
Common Ancestry When multiple organisms are descended from a single ancestor
Prokaryotes Cells that do NOT have a nucleus (bacteria)
Eukaryotes A cell that contains a nucleus and membrane bound organelles
Geologic Time Scale A record of the geologic events and life forms in Earth's history.
VISTA - (I) Inheritance
VISTA - (V) Variation
VISTA - (S) Selection/Reproduction
VISTA - (T) Time
VISTA - (A) Adaptations
Survival of the Fittest Process by which individuals that are better suited to their environment survive and REPRODUCE MOST SUCCESSFULLY; also called natural selection
Mass Extinction Event in which many types of living things become extinct at the same time
Abiogenesis (spontaneous generation) The idea that long ago, very simple life forms spontaneously appeared through chemical reactions.
Law of Superposition The top rock layer and its fossils is the youngest and the bottom is the oldest.
Analogous Structures Structures that are similar in function but not in structure (ex: bird wing, bat wing, insect wing)
Sedimentary Rock A rock that has formed from compressed (or cemented) layers of sediment
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