Survival of the Fittest
The process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce.
Natural Selection
Any difference between individuals of the same species.
Variation
The preserved remains or traces of an organism that lived in the past.
Fossil
Body structures that are similar in different species because they were inherited from a common ancestor.
Homologous structures
The more similar these sequences are between two species, the more closely related they are.
DNA sequences
A trait or process that helps an organism change to survive in its specific environment.
Adaptation
The struggle between organisms to survive as they attempt to use the same limited resources.
Competition
By looking at fossils, scientists can see the physical structure of these types of organisms.
Ancient organisms
Scientists look at these "early-stage" organisms to find similar patterns of development.
Embryos
This term refers to the complete set of genetic material in an organism.
Genome
Giraffes developed this specific adaptation over time to reach food that was difficult to get.
A long neck
When a species produces more offspring than could possibly survive.
Overproduction
Fossils provide scientists with clues about when these "new" groups of organisms first appeared.
New species
Even if bones are different sizes, they are evidence of evolution if they are found in the same ________.
Position
When comparing DNA, scientists specifically focus on this type of "coding" unit.
Genes
Hot peppers adapted this "spicy" chemical to prevent certain animals from eating them.
Capsaicin
Food, water, and shelter are examples of these, which are often limited in an ecosystem.
Resources
This famous naturalist is responsible for the Theory of Evolution.
Charles Darwin
True or False: Similarities in early development often disappear as an organism grows into its final form.
True
Who would you have more DNA matches with: your cousin, sibling, or identical twin?
Identical twin
Beyond just surviving, an organism must also do this for natural selection to actually impact the next generation.
Reproduce
Darwin determined that these three factors (Competition, Overproduction, and Variation) directly influence this process.
Natural Selection
Darwin’s observations eventually led to this major scientific explanation for how life changes over time.
Theory of Evolution
The fact that different vertebrates share similar patterns of early development suggests they all shared this.
Common ancestor
Name the four types of evidence that support evolution.
Fossils, Early Development, Homologous Structures, and DNA similarities