give the word
the ability for traits to be inherited from parent to offspring
heritability
The act of moving or passing down from one generation to the next
descent
species
a group of organisms so closely related that they can reproduce AND create fertile offspring
fossil
traces of organisms that existed in the past
When a human chooses a trait to pass to the next generation (think farmers and breeders)
Artificial selection
to change or alter
modify
when traits are selected to be passed to the next generation based on what is successful in the environment
natural selection
theory
a scientific explanation based on evidence that can be used to make successful predictions
making too much
overproduction
structures that serve the same function (for example, wings help animals fly) but have different structures and origins
analogous structures
changing slowly; bit by bit
gradual
differences (for example, in humans there are short people, tall people, and people in between)
variation
the way something is built/put together
structure
hybrid
a cross between to unlike objects
homologous structures
structures that are built the same but appear differnt in different organisms
a sudden and widespread disaster
catastrophe
the process of biological change over time
evolution
the action something is supposed to preform
function
population
all organisms of a single species in a given area
left-over structures that no longer serve any function (like our appendix)
vestigial structures
the principle that changes in Earth's landforms happened bit by bit over long periods of time (such as the creation of the Grand Canyon)
Gradualism
a favorable outcome or possibility
advantageous
adaptation
a feature that gives an organism a better chance of surviving in its environment
catastrophism
the theory that natural disasters shaped Earth's landscape
paleo-