Early Earth
Evidence for Evolution
Fossil Record
Speciation
Patterns and Processes
100

What gas was present in Earth's early atmosphere?

Oxygen (O2)

100

What type of evidence includes physical traits that are inherited from a common ancestor?

Homologous structures

100

What is the term for the preserved remains or traces of organisms from the past?

Fossils

100

What is speciation?

 process by which new species arise

100

What is the process called in which unrelated species develop similar structures due to selective pressures?

convergent evolution

200

What is believed to be the first type of life that appeared on Earth?

Prokaryotic Cells

200

This piece of evidence looks at early development of organisms?

Embryology

200

How do scientists use radiometric dating to determine the age of fossils?

 measuring the decay of isotopes

200

What type of speciation occurs when populations are separated by a physical barrier?

allopatric speciation

200

Identified as long periods of time with no change and then a short rapid change occurs. 

punctuated equilibrium 

300

Which nucleic acid was the first to form and store information? 

RNA

300

Which evidence type includes the study of DNA sequences to determine evolutionary relationships?

Molecular evidence (comparative biochemistry)

300

What can the fossil record tell us about extinct species?

provides information about their structure, behavior, and evolution

300

What is the term for speciation that occurs without physical barriers

sympatric speciation

300

When a large percentage of species on Earth disappear. 

Mass extinction

400

How did the oceans form?

Excessive rain (thousands of years) from steam released into the atmosphere.

400

What are vestigial structures?

remnants of organs or structures that had a function in an early ancestor

400

What type of rock provides the best chance to make/find fossils? 

sedimentary rocks

400

What are the different prezygogic barriers? (Hint: there are 4 that we learned about)

Temporal, ecological, mechanical, and behavioral
400

This occurs when a natural disaster occurs and the gene pool in a population is significantly reduced. 

Bottleneck effect 

500

What was the first mass pollution event on Earth?

The introduction of oxygen

500

A dolphin fin and shark fin represent which form of comparative anatomy? 

Analogous strutcures

500

Why is the fossil record considered incomplete?

not all organisms fossilize and many fossils have yet to be discovered

500

Which postzygotic barrier causes hybrid offspring to be sterile? 

hybrid infertility 

500

This structure is used to show ancestry throughout time and identify traits that organisms share. 

phylogenetic tree / cladogram