Evolution
Evolution happens at the level of _____ not ______.
The ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment.
What is fitness?
This is preserved remains of ancient organisms.
What are fossils?
This is a scientist who studies fossils.
Paleontologist
Explains Why or How something happens
What is a scientific theory?
In a forest covered in black soot after a factory is built, light-colored moths and dark-colored moths live on the trees. Which organism is more likely to survive?
What is the dark-colored moth?
If you were to find the fossil of a marine animal in the desert, what would be the most likely explanation?
The desert used to be covered in water/ocean.
This is a collection of fossils organized to provide evidence about the history of life on Earth, including how organisms have changed over time.
What is the Fossil Record?
Charles Darwin developed this, which explains how modern organisms evolved over long periods of time.
What is the theory of evolution?
During a severe drought on an island, plants only produce large, thick-shelled seeds, leaving fine-beaked and large-beaked finches to feed. Which organism is more likely to survive?
What is the large-beaked finch?
This process explains how individuals that are better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce than other members of the same species.
What is a natural selection?
A population of rabbits lives in a snowy northern region. Some rabbits have thick white fur, while others have thin brown fur. Which organism is more likely to survive?
The white-furred rabbit with thicker fur.
List 3 different kinds of fossils
Options: Cast, Body, Trace, Petrified, Mold
This is when the age of fossils are determined by comparing its placement with that of fossils in other layers of rock.
What is relative dating / Law of Superposition?
When parts of an organism have different functions, but similar structures and developed from a common ancestor.
What is a homologous structure?
Green beetles and brown beetles live on the forest floor, where predatory birds hunt by sight. Which organism is more likely to survive?
What is the brown beetle?
A population of mice has moved to a new area where the rocks are very dark. Some mice are black and some are tan. According to natural selection, which are more likely to survive?
The black mice.
What are 2 things that fossils can tell us about the past?
1. Organisms that lived in the past 2. Past environments
This involves measuring the amounts of radioactive isotopes in a sample to determine a fossil's actual age.
What is radioactive/ absolute dating?