Definitions
Special features or behaviours that help a living thing survive in its environment. These can be physical (like a polar bear’s thick fur) or behavioural (like birds migrating).
Adaptations
Name two types of fossils.
Bones, footprints (trace fossils), shells, or imprints.
Give an example of an animal adaptation.
Camouflage, sharp teeth, or thick fur.
Does evolution happen quickly or slowly?
Slowly, over many generations.
What happens to animals with helpful traits?
They are more likely to survive and reproduce.
The slow process of change in living things over a very long time. Over many generations, species can develop new traits.
Evolution
Where are most fossils found?
In rocks, especially sedimentary rock.
What are the two main types of adaptations?
Physical (body) and behavioural (actions).
What is a “generation”?
A group of living things born around the same time.
What happens to animals without helpful traits?
They are less likely to survive.
What is "Natural Selection"?
The process where living things with helpful traits are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing those traits on to their offspring.
How can scientists work out the age of a fossil?
Relative dating. Compare the fossil to a known fossil's age.
How does camouflage help animals?
It helps them hide from predators or sneak up on prey.
What causes changes in species over time?
Small differences in traits that are passed from parents to offspring.
What does “survival of the fittest” mean?
The organisms best suited to their environment survive.
What are "Fossils"?
The preserved remains or traces of plants and animals that lived long ago, often found in rocks.
How are fossils formed?
When plants or animals are buried by sediment and slowly turn into rock over time.
Is this a physical or behavioural adaptation? Birds flying south for the winter.
Behavioural adaptation.
Name a Scientist who provided theories of evolution.
Charles Darwin.
How does natural selection lead to evolution?
Helpful traits are passed on more often, causing species to change over time.
What does "Extinction" mean?
When a type of living thing no longer exists because all of its members have died out.
Why are fossils important to scientists?
They help us learn about past life, environments, and how living things have changed over time.
Why are adaptations important for survival?
They increase a living thing’s chance of surviving and reproducing in its environment.
How are evolution and adaptation connected?
Adaptations build up over time, leading to the evolution of species.
What is one activity we completed in class that was linked to natural selection?
Peppered Moth activity