Natural Selection and Adaptations
Preserved remains or traces of past organisms are called this.
What are fossils?
A bat wing, whale flipper and human arm having similar bone patterns suggests this.
What is a common ancestor.
This era had the earliest, simple life forms.
What is the Precambrian Era?
Changes in the number of individuals in a species over time is called this.
What is population size.
The three conditions needed for natural selection other than reproduction.
1. Variation of traits in a population
2. Difference in fitness in those traits.
3. Inheritability
This law states that deeper rock layers are older than layers above them.
What is the Law of Superposition?
Studying body parts to compare species is called this.
What is comparative anatomy?
This era is known as the Age of Fish and early land plants/animals.
What is the Paleozoic Era?
What is increase?
What is a favorable trait?
A fossil found in the lowest rock layer compare to a fossil above it is this.
What is older?
Body parts with similar structures but different jobs are called this.
What are homologous structures?
Dinosaurs dominated during this era.
What is the Mesozoic Era?
The variety of traits in a population is called this.
What is variation?
Different beak sizes in finches are an example of this.
These fossils are used to identify the age of rock layers.
What are index fossils?
If dog and bird embryos look alike in early development, they may share this.
What is a common ancestor?
Mammals became dominant in this era.
What is the Cenozoic Era?
The history of life shown through fossils and rock layers is called this.
What is the fossil record?
How adaptations help organisms survive.
What is improving survival or reproduction in a specific environment?
If shark teeth fossils are found inland, the area may once have been this environment.
What is an ocean or sea?
Put these in order from youngest to oldest: embryo, adult, juvenile
What is embryo, juvenile, adult
Put the four major eras in order from oldest to most recent.
What is Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic?
The timeline that divides Earth's history into eras and periods is this.
What is the Geologic Time Scale?