BIO flash cards

Question 1

Amino acid sequence

Answer 1

The arrangement of amino acids in a protein

Question 2

Analogous structure

Answer 2

Features of different species that are similar in function but not in structure and do not share a common ancestor

Question 3

Anatomy

Answer 3

The identification and description of the structures of living things

Question 4

Biochemical evidence

Answer 4

Certain enzymes and chemical processes are found in the cells of nearly everything on earth

Question 5

Biogeography

Answer 5

The study of the geographical distribution of organisms

Question 6

Common ancestry

Answer 6

Being the ancestor of two or more species later in time

Question 7

Cladogram

Answer 7

A diagram that shows relationships between species

Question 8

Descent with modification

Answer 8

Species change over time, that give rise to new species, and they share a common ancestor

Question 9

DNA sequencing

Answer 9

Technique used for determining the exact sequence of nucleotides, or bases, in a DNA molecule

Question 10

Electrophoresis

Answer 10

A technique used to separate DNA fragments according to their size

Question 11

Embryo

Answer 11

An unborn human or animal that is in the very early stages of development

Question 12

Embryology

Answer 12

A branch of biology dealing with embryos and their development

Question 13

Evolutionary tree

Answer 13

A diagram that depicts the lines of evolutionary descent of different species, or organisms that share a common ancestor

Question 14

Fossil record

Answer 14

A collection of fossils documenting the history of life on earth

Question 15

Homologous structure

Answer 15

An organ, system, or body part that shares a common ancestry in multiple organisms

Question 16

Homology

Answer 16

Development for different species of organisms based upon their descent from a common evolutionary ancestor

Question 17

Paleontology

Answer 17

The study of the history of life on Earth based on fossils

Question 18

Phenotypic similarity

Answer 18

A measure of functional redundancy within homologous gene families

Question 19

Phylogeny

Answer 19

The representation of the evolutionary history and relationships between groups of organisms

Question 20

Vestigial structure

Answer 20

Non-functional features fully developed and functioning in earlier species but serve little or no present purpose for an organism

Question 21

Sedimentary layers

Answer 21

Are formed from pre-existing rocks or pieces of once-living organisms

Question 22

Adaptation

Answer 22

The evolutionary processes whereby an organism becomes better able to live in its habitat or habitats

Question 23

Behavior

Answer 23

The change in activity of an organism in response to stimulus

Question 24

Competition

Answer 24

A set of interactions between organisms and species to get a limited resource

Question 25

Fitness

Answer 25

An organisms ability to pass it's genetic material to its offspring

Question 26

Gene pool

Answer 26

The combination of all the genes and alleles present in a reproducing population or species

Question 27

Genetic variation

Answer 27

The presence of differences in sequences of gene between individual organisms of a species

Question 28

Geographic

Answer 28

The study of the patterns of geographic distribution of organisms and the factors that determining those patterns

Question 29

Isolation

Answer 29

A process by which two species that could otherwise produce hybrid offspring are prevented from doing so

Question 30

Morphology

Answer 30

A branch of biology that studies the external and internal structures of living things

Question 31

Natural selection

Answer 31

The process through which populations of living organisms adapt and change

Question 32

Phenotypic

Answer 32

The observable physical properties of an organism

Question 33

Gene expression

Answer 33

The process by which the information encoded in a gene is turned into a function

Question 34

Physiology

Answer 34

A branch of biology that deals with the functions and activities of life or of living matter and the physical and chemical phenomena involved

Question 35

Population

Answer 35

All the organisms of the same group or species that live in a specific area and are capable of breeding among themselves

Question 36

Reproductive Isolation

Answer 36

The inability of a species to breed successfully with related species due to geographical, behavioral, physiological, or genetic barriers or differences

Question 37

Sexual selection

Answer 37

Any selection that arises from fitness differences accosted with nonrandom success in the competition for access to gametes for fertilization

Question 38

Speciation

Answer 38

The process of how a new plant or animal species is created

Question 39

Species

Answer 39

A group for organisms that can reproduce with one another in nature and produce fertile offspring

Question 40

Trait

Answer 40

A specific characteristic of an individual

Question 41

Advantageous

Answer 41

Some traits make an organism more likely to survey and reproduce in its environment

Question 42

Coevolution

Answer 42

Reciprocal evolutionary changes brought about by interactions between species

Question 43

Convergent evolution

Answer 43

The process whereby distantly related organisms independently evolve similar traits to adapt to similar necessities

Question 44

Distribution

Answer 44

The specific location of arrangement of continuing or successive objects or events in a space or time

Question 45

Divergence

Answer 45

The act of moving away in different direction from a common point

Question 46

Ecosystem

Answer 46

A community of organisms and their physical environment interacting together

Question 47

Gene

Answer 47

The basic unit of heredity passed from parent to child

Question 48

Gene frequency

Answer 48

The ration of the number of a specified allele in a population to the total of all alleles at it's genetic locus

Question 49

Phenotypic variation

Answer 49

Differences among organisms in these observable traits

Question 50

Survival Rate

Answer 50

By tracking large numbers of individuals through time to estimate the likelihood of different classes of individual staying alive from one year to year

Question 51

Variation

Answer 51

Any difference between the individuals in a species or groups of organisms of any species