Discoveries
He is known as the “Father of Evolution” for developing the theory of natural selection
Charles Darwin
Remains or traces of an organism that lived long ago and are preserved in rock are called a ____________________.
Fossil
In DNA, the base A always pairs with ____________________, and C always pairs with ____________________.
T, G
The process by which populations of organisms gradually change over long periods of time is called
Evolution
The molecule that carries the genetic instructions for all living things is called ____________________.
DNA
The scientist who discovered natural selection studied animals and plants on this island chain.
Galapagos Islands
5. The term ________________ means a species no longer exists anywhere on Earth
Extinct
The building blocks of DNA are called ____________________.
nucleotides
The system scientists use to classify and organize living things into groups based on shared characteristics is called ____________________.
Taxanomy
A close relationship between two different species that benefits at least one of them is called ____________________.
Symbiosis
The scientist who discovered natural selection used observations of beak shapes in ____________________ to explain adaptation.
Finches
Fossils that show evidence of an organism’s activity, like footprints, burrows, or nests, are called ____________________.
Trace Fossils
A random change in DNA that can lead to a new trait is known as a ____________________.
Mutation
Fossils of the same ancient species, such as Glossopteris plants and Mesosaurus reptiles, have been found on continents now separated by oceans. This evidence supports the theory of _______________________________.
Continental Drift
A gene is part of DNA, and DNA coils up to form structures called ____________________ inside the cell’s nucleus.
chromosomes
Species change gradually over time because of this natural process.
natural selection
Fossils that show the preserved remains of an organism’s actual body parts, such as bones, shells, or teeth, are called ____________________.
Body Fossils
The letters A, T, G, and C in DNA stand for which nitrogen bases?
adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine
trait or behavior that helps an organism survive and reproduce in its environment is called an ____________________.
Adaptation
A ____________________ is an educated guess or prediction that can be tested through experiments, while a ____________________ is a well-tested explanation that describes how or why something happens in nature based on evidence.
Hypothesis, theory
Small differences among individuals of the same species, such as beak size or color, are called
The fossil record provides evidence that organisms have ____________________ over time.
changed/evolved
DNA contains instructions for making ____________________.
Proteins
The complete order of classification from broadest to most specific is:
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species
Random changes in allele frequency within a population due to chance events—such as a natural disaster or random survival—are called _________________
genetic drift