This term describes the gradual change in species over time.
Evolution
A mutation involves a change in this structure within a cell.
DNA
These instructions are made up of DNA and tell your cells how to make proteins, which determine traits.
Genes
Natural selection is part of this broader theory about how life changes over time.
Theory of Evolution
True or False: Natural selection occurs rapidly, and changes to a species occur in a lab.
FALSE
This scientist is famous for his theory of evolution by natural selection
Charles Darwin
DNA
If we share similar genetics, traits, and structures, it is likely we _______________.
Share common ancestors
Ancestors were related at some point
When people select plants or animals to breed for a desirable trait instead of allowing this to happen naturally.
Selective Breeding
What type of trait "wins" over another?
Dominant Trait- RR or Rr
NOT rr
These structures, inherited from a common ancestor, have different functions but similar structures.
Homologous structures
Mutations are not always harmful. They can be ______________ or _____________.
The study of how living organisms develop from a single cell into a complex baby before birth.
Embryology
What animals did Darwin observe and helped him establish his theory of evolution by natural selection?
Finches-specifically the Galapagos finches
This type of adaptation involves physical changes in an organism's body structure.
These structures have similar functions but differ in structure. They do not share a common ancestor.
Analogous Structure
These characteristics increase an organism's ability to survive and reproduce.
Adaptations
What shape is a DNA molecule called?
double helix
Fitness or Survival of the Fittest
An appendix is an example of this.
Vestigial Structure
A bird, a whale, and a cat share common ancestry because their structures are _____________.
Homologous Structures
Behavioral adaptations are actions that animals, such as birds and bears, take to survive. Give an example of a behavioral adaptation of a bird or bear.
hibernation or migration
In genetics, hair color, height, and skin tone are examples of this.
traits
These scientists uncover fossils.
For example, they have found fossils of four-legged land mammals with similar structures that spent more time in the water than on land.
Paleontologists
True or False: All embryos look exactly like the organism's adult form. State evidence that supports your answer.
False
Many embryos look similar but look nothing alike as adults. An example would be a human and a salamander or a tortoise and a chicken. These animals share similar structures as embryos.