Biology B: Unit 8 Biological Evolution Evidence

Question 1

amino acids

Answer 1

a group of 20 different molecules that serve as the building blocks of protein

Question 2

analogies

Answer 2

characters that are similar not because of common ancestry but that evolved as adaptation to similar environmental challenges

Question 3

character polarity

Answer 3

the explanation of how inherited traits evolved from ancestor organisms

Question 4

clade

Answer 4

a group of organisms that share a common ancestor

Question 5

cladogram

Answer 5

a specific type of phylogenetic tree in which all evolutionary relationships are linked back to a common ancestor shared by all species in the tree

Question 6

cladogram

Answer 6

a diagram that shows evolutionary relationships among organisms

Question 7

common ancestry

Answer 7

a real or theoretical species from which two or more recent species evolved

Question 8

comparative anatomy

Answer 8

a field of study that compares and contrasts the body structures of organisms to gain a better understanding of how life on Earth evolved

Question 9

comparative embryology

Answer 9

a field of study that compares the structures of embryos to find evolutionary relationships between organisms

Question 10

convergent evolution

Answer 10

a phenomenon in which two species that do not share a common ancestor evolve similar characteristics due to the environment in which they live being similar

Question 11

derived character

Answer 11

a trait that separates a group of organisms from its ancestor

Question 12

fossils

Answer 12

the remains, imprints, or traces of living things from a previous geological

Question 13

gene

Answer 13

a sequence of DNA that codes for a protein or nucleic acid, like RNA

Question 14

homologies

Answer 14

characters that are similar because they are inherited directly from a common ancestor.

Question 15

last universal common ancestor

Answer 15

a hypothesis presented by Charles Darwin that states that all life on Earth evolved from a single common ancestor billions of years ago

Question 16

morphological

Answer 16

related to the form and structure of the organism

Question 17

phylogenetic tree or chart

Answer 17

a tree-like diagram that shows evolutionary relationships of two or more species

Question 18

phylogeny

Answer 18

the study of evolutionary relationships between organisms

Question 19

phylogeny

Answer 19

the study of evolutionary lines of descent

Question 20

proteins

Answer 20

large molecules that are encoded by DNA and perform most of the functions for the cell

Question 21

radioactive decay

Answer 21

the release of energy and/or particles from atoms that are unstable and fall apart over time

Question 22

radiometric dating

Answer 22

the technique that uses radioactive decay to determine the age of objects, such as rocks and fossils

Question 23

sedimentary rock

Answer 23

rock made from layers of sediment

Question 24

taxonomy

Answer 24

the branch of biology that studies the relationship between organisms in order to classify them into related groups based on shared characteristics

Question 25

tetrapod

Answer 25

a four-legged animal

Question 26

vertebrate embryo

Answer 26

an unborn or unhatched animal with a backbone

Question 27

vestigial structure

Answer 27

a body part that has lost its original function over time through the process of evolution