Natural Selection Basics
Adaptations
Evidence of Evolution
Vocabulary & Quick Facts
Riddles
100
Who is the scientist who first explained natural selection?
Charles Darwin
100
Study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species
Comparative Anatomy
100
Field of study that compares and contrasts embryos of different species
Comparative Embryology
100
Define “species.”
A group of organisms that can reproduce and produce fertile offspring
100
What get wetter the more it dries?
Towel
200
What do we call differences between individuals in a population?
Variation
200
Give an example of a structural adaptation in animals.
Camouflage, sharp teeth, thick fur (any correct example)
200
The early developmental stage of an animal
Embryo
200
Traits that are passed from parents to offspring are called what?
Inherited traits
200
What can fill a room but takes up no space?
Light
300
What happens when more offspring are produced than the environment can support?
Competition
300
Same structure, different function
Homologous Structures
300
Why do embryos of different organisms look similar?
Because they share a common ancestor
300
What are body parts that no longer serve a purpose (like the human appendix) called?
Vestigial structures
300
If a rooster laid a brown egg and a white egg, what kind of chicks would hatch?
Roosters don't lay eggs.
400
What phrase describes when organisms with helpful traits survive and reproduce?
Survival of the fittest
400
Different structure, same function
Analogous Structures
400
What are 2 physical traits that all embryos have?
Gills and tail
400
What is the term for helpful traits becoming more frequent in a population?
Change in trait frequency (or evolution by natural selection)
400
What has to be broken before it can be used?
A secret
500
Over many generations, what happens to traits that help survival?
They become more common in the population
500
Which type of adaptation is harder to see but just as important for survival—structural or behavioral?
Behavioral
500
Why do scientists use multiple kinds of evidence to support evolution?
Because no single type tells the whole story, together they give stronger proof
500
Which 2 structures suggest common ancestry?
Homologous and Vestigial
500
- What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
The letter "M"