10 memorised definitions

Question 1

clade

Answer 1

a group of organisms that consists of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants

Question 2

ecological niche

Answer 2

the role and space that an organism fills in an ecosystem, including all its interactions with the biotic and abiotic factors of its environment

Question 3

keystone species

Answer 3

a plant or animal that plays a unique and crucial role in the way an ecosystem functions

Question 4

carrying capacity

Answer 4

the size of the population that can be supported indefinitely on the available resources and services of that ecosystem

Question 5

genome

Answer 5

all the genetic material in the chromosomes of an organism, including its genes and DNA sequences

Question 6

gene

Answer 6

region/s of DNA that are made up of nucleotides; the molecular unit of heredity

Question 7

polygenic inheritance

Answer 7

when one characteristic is controlled by two or more genes

Question 8

evolution

Answer 8

change in the genetic composition of a population during successive generations, which may result in the development of new species

Question 9

microevolution

Answer 9

small-scale variation of the allele frequencies within a species or population, in which the descendant is of the same taxonomic group as the ancestor

Question 10

macroevolution

Answer 10

the variation of allele frequencies at or above the level of species over geological time, resulting in the divergence of taxonomic groups, in which descendant is in a different taxonomic group to the ancestor