Adaptation, Inheritance, Classification Flashcards
What are 4 things animals compete for
Food, water, space and mates
What do plants compete for
Light, water, minerals, space
What are characteristics that enable an organism to survive in their normal environment known as
Adaptations
What adaptations are common for animals that live in a desert
Do not sweat, hide underground or are more active at night, large surface area to volume ratio (big ears, long limbs, small animals), double eyelashes, fat in hump, wide feet
What adaptations are common for plants that live in a desert
A waxy layer covers the plant, stems can store water, widespread roots, spines instead of leaves to reduce surface area
Name an adaptation that some trees have to cope with winter and how it helps them survive
Lose their leaves - deciduous trees. Saves energy and water
How can animals cope with winter/cold weather
Hibernation, migration, grow thicker fur
State the key word that means difference in characteristics
Variation
What is it meant by species
Organisms that share similar characteristics and can breed together to produce fertile offspring
What are two causes of variation
Genes (inheritance) and environment
Give an example of a characteristic determined by the environment
Hair length, piercing, tattoo
Give an example of a characteristic determined by inheritance
Blood group, eye colour, lobed and lobeless ear
Give an example of a characteristic determined by both the environment and inheritance
Height, body mass
What is discontinuous variation
Characteristics that can only have a certain value or that are descriptive eg. Blood type, gender
What is continuous variation
Characteristics that can take any value in a range eg. Height, mass, arm span
How should a characteristic that show’s discontinuous variation be represented
Bar graph with space between bars
How should a characteristic that show’s continuous variation be represented
Histogram with bars touching
What is the chemical that chromosomes are made of
DNA
What is a gene
A section of a chromosome (made of DNA) that codes for a characteristic
What do we call a long strand of DNA
Chromosome
What do we call remains of organisms that provide evidence for evolution
Fossils
Evolution is the slow _____ of organisms over _____ of years
Change, millions
How do we describe an organism that no longer exists
Extinct
Give two reasons that organisms can become extinct
Environmental changes, habitat destruction, outbreak of new disease or the introduction of new predators and competitors
What term is given for the sorting of organisms into groups
Classification
What are the five kingdoms of life
Animal, plant, fungi, protist, prokaryotes
What characteristics do fungi have
Fungi can be unicellular or multicellular organisms. They get their food from living organisms or by decaying dead material. Cells have a nucleus and a cell wall made of chitin
What is the difference between a vertebrate and an invertebrate
Vertebrates are animals with backbones, invertebrates are animals without backbones
Give one way in which mammals are different from all other animals
Give birth to fertile young, feed offspring with milk from mother, covered in fur
Organisms evolve by the process of n____ s_____
Natural selection
