Darwin's Theory
A group of similar organisms that can mate with each other and produce fertile offspring.
What is a species?
The comparison of the structures of different organisms.
What is comparative anatomy?
The specific environment that provides the things the organism needs to live, grow, and reproduce.
What is a habitat?
The process of grouping things based on their similarities.
What is classification?
A diagram that shows how scientists think different groups of organisms are related.
What is a branching tree diagram?
The preserved remains or traces of an organism that lived in the past.
What is a fossil?
Similar structures that related species have inherited from a common ancestor.
What are homologous structures?
No members of that species are still alive.
What is extinct?
The scientific study of how living things are classified. Closely related to evolution.
What is taxonomy?
A homologous structure that is shared by all organisms in a group.
What are shared derived characteristics?
A trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce in its environment.
What is an adaptation?
A hallow area in sediment in the shape of a organism or part of an organism.
What is a mold?
Occurs in most species. Proposes that when there are too many offspring it limits food and water supplies and living space.
What is overproduction?
A system for naming organisms in which each organism is given a unique, two-part scientific name.
What is binomial nomenclature?
A branching tree diagram show this relationship by grouping organisms according to shared derived characteristics.
What is an evolutionary relationship?
The gradual change in a species over time.
What is evolution?
A solid copy of the shape of an organism. It is the opposite of its mold.
What is a cast?
When food and other resources are limited and species must compete with each other to survive.
What is competition?
The first word in an organism's scientific name.
What is a genus?
The group at the bottom of a branching tree diagram.
What is a Common Ancestor of Animals?
A well-tested concept that explains a wide range of observations.
What is a scientific theory?
A type of fossil that provides evidence of the activities of ancient organisms.
What are trace fossils?
One of the main ways new species form. This happens when some members of a species become cut off from the rest of the species.
What is geographic isolation?
Organisms whose cell lack a nucleus.
What are prokaryotes?
A process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce than others of the same species.
What is natural selection?
A scientist who study fossils.
What is a paleontologist?
Two factors that account for the diversity of species.
What are:
Different environments
Genetic Diversity
Organisms with cells that contain nuclei.
What are eukaryotes?
A difference between individuals of the same species.
What is a variation?
A hypothesis that proposes the evolution occurs slowly but steady.
What is gradualism?
This causes extinction.
What is a change in a species' environment?
This kingdom is not part of the domain Eukarya.
What is bacteria?
Darwin's observations showed that plants and animals on this island faced environmental factors that were different from those on the mainland.
What are the Galapagos Islands?
The hypothesis that proposes that species evolve quickly during relatively short periods. It might explain why there are gaps in fossil records.
What is punctuated equilibria?
The highest level of classification with the most amount of common characteristics.
What is a domain?
The four kingdoms of the eukaryote domain.
What are protists, fungi, plants and animals?
Three of the general observations Darwin made during his voyage on the Sea Beagle.
What are:
Overproduction Selection
Variations Environmental Factors
Competition Genes/Natural Selection
Fossil in which minerals replace all or part of an organism.
What is a petrified fossil?
The lowest level of classification with the least amount of common characteristics.
What is a species.
The Swedish naturalist who create the system of naming organisms that is still used today.
Who is Carolus Linnaeus?
Four types of evidence that support the theory of evolution.
What are:
Similar body structures
Patterns of early development
Molecular structure (DNA and Proteins)
Fossils
Five types of evidence that determines the evolutionary relationships between species.
What are:
DNA similarities and sequences
The order of amino acids in a protein
Fossils
Early development
Body structure
The eight levels of classification.
What are:
Domain, kingdoms, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species