Vocabulary 1
a trait that makes it more likely that an individual will survive in a specific environment
adaptive trait
the very long time that spans the history of Earth, from the very first cellular life to the present
evolutionary time
the process by which the distribution of traits in a population changes over many generations
natural selection
when something stays mostly the same over time
stability
Species _______ their body structures from their ancestor populations
inherit
What were the pictures on the rocks called?
Petroglyphs
a related organism from a previous generation
ancestor
having died out completely and no longer alive anywhere on Earth
extinct
living things, such as plants, animals, and bacteria
organisms
a specific characteristic of an individual organism
trait
Body structures that are shared between two species are _____ that these two species inherited the shared structures from a common ancestor population.
evidence
Name 3 prehistoric animals that were found around Celebration Park.
Giant Sloth, Wooly Mammoth, Saber Tooth Cat
a part of an organism (for example, one or more bones)
body structure
evidence of life from the past, such as fossilized bones, footprints, or leaf prints
fossil
a scientist who studies fossils in order to understand the ancient history of life on Earth
paleontologist
a group of organisms of the same kind (in one or more populations) that do not reproduce with organisms from any other group
species
In populations separated into different environments, natural selection causes different changes to happen to each population. This causes _____ _____ to end up with differences in their shared structures
descendant species
What is the ancient spear thrower called?
Atlatl
an older population from which two or more newer species descended
common ancestor population
a group of individuals born and living at about the same time
generation
a group of the same type of organism living in the same area
population
a random change to a gene that sometimes results in a new trait
mutation
When the environment is mostly the same over time, body structures stay _____. When the environment changes over time, body structures may change due to natural selection
stable
What animal does Jake's favorite petroglyph depict?
Sheep
a more recent species that evolved from an ancestor population
descendant species
a graph that uses bars to show how characteristics or values are distributed within a group
histogram
sharing a common ancestor population
related
the process by which species adapt to environmental changes over a very long time
evolution
Over many _______ and very long periods of time, many small changes can build up to large differences in body structures
generations
What kind of invasive plant did our guide say had taken over the area?
Cheat Grass
to classify based on scientific examination
diagnose
to receive genes from a parent
inherit
a body structure in two or more species that features the same parts (for example, the same bones)
shared structure
Among any three species, the two species that separated most _____ are the most closely related to each other
recently
What king of rocks were the petroglyphs on? How did they get there?
Volcanic, volcano and flood
everything (living and nonliving) that surrounds an organism
environment
an organism’s arm, leg, or wing
limb
the process by which one population evolves into two or more different species
speciation
When two species share a structure that is not shared with a third species, this can be _____ that the first two species are more closely related to each other than to the third species
evidence