Trait
This is a characteristic like eye color, fur pattern, or beak shape passed from parents to offspring.
What is a trait?
Differences in inherited traits among individuals of the same species.
What is variation?
This is a trait that improves an organism’s chances of survival and reproduction.
What is an adaptation?
This process allows organisms to pass traits to the next generation.
What is reproduction?
This term describes an organism’s observable characteristics.
What is a phenotype?
These can be physical (like height) or behavioral (like migration patterns).
What are types of traits?
This allows some organisms to be better suited to their environment than others.
What is the importance of variation in natural selection?
Webbed feet, camouflage, and sharp claws are examples of this type of adaptation.
What are physical adaptations?
Organisms that fail to do this will not pass on their traits.
What happens when organisms don’t reproduce?
A round pea vs. a wrinkled pea is an example of this trait type.
What is a phenotype trait?
This kind of trait is controlled by genes and passed from parent to offspring.
What is an inherited trait?
Without this, all organisms in a population would be genetically identical.
What is genetic variation?
When an organism blends in with its environment, this type of adaptation is at work.
What is camouflage?
This type of reproduction creates offspring with genetic material from only one parent.
What is asexual reproduction?
This is the difference between phenotype and genotype.
What is phenotype = physical traits; genotype = genetic makeup?
These traits can be influenced by both genes and environment, like height or weight.
What are acquired or influenced traits?
Mutations in DNA are one way this can be introduced into a population.
How does variation arise?
Behavioral adaptations help organisms do this more effectively (e.g., migrate, hibernate).
What is survive?
The ultimate goal of adaptation and survival is to do this successfully.
What is reproduce?
Freckles, dimples, and widow’s peaks are examples of this.
What are visible phenotypic traits?
This type of trait is not seen but is carried in the DNA.
What is a recessive trait (or a genotype)?
This term refers to differences in gene frequency within a population.
What is genetic diversity?
This type of adaptation develops over generations, not within a single organism’s lifetime.
What is an evolutionary adaptation?
Genetic traits are passed on to offspring through this molecule.
What is DNA?
This determines a phenotype: the combination of genetics and this.
What is the environment?