click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
The Environment
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Fossil Record | Made up of all the fossils ever discovered on Earth |
| Mold | The impression of an organism in a rock |
| Cast | Fossil copy of an organism in a rock |
| Trace Fossil | Preserved evidence of the activity of an organism |
| Geological Time Scale | A chart that divides Earth's history into different time units |
| Extinction | Occurs when the last individual organism of a species dies |
| Biological Evolution | Change over time in populations of related organisms |
| Naturalist | Person who studies plants and animals by observing them |
| Variation | Slight difference in an inherited trait of individual members of a species |
| Natural Selection | Process by which populations of organisms with variations that help them survive in their environments live longer, compete better, and reproduce more than those that do not have variations. |
| Adaptation | Inherited trait that increases an organism's chance of surviving and reproducing in its environment |
| Camouflage | An adaptation that enables a species to blend in with its environment |
| Mimicry | The resemblance of one species to another species |
| Selective breeding | The breeding organisms for desired characteristics |
| Comparative anatomy | The study of similarities and differences among structures of living species |
| Homologous structures | Body parts of organisms that are similar in structure and position but different in function |
| Analogous Structure | Body parts that perform a similar function but differ in structure |
| Vestigial Structures | Body parts that have lost their original functions through evolution |
| Embryology | The science of the development of embryos from fertilization to birth |