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adaptation
a characteristic that improves an individuals ability to survive
species
a group of organisms that are closely related and grouped together
evolution
the process in which inherited characteristics within a population
fossil
the remains or physical evidence of an organism preserved by geological process
fossil record
a historical sequence of life indicated by fossils found in layers of the earths crust
trait
a genetically determined characteristic
selective breeding
the human practice of breeding animals or plants that have certain desired characteristic
natural selection
the process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more successively
generation time
the period of time between birth of one generation and the birth of the next generation
speciation
the formation of new species as a result of evolution
relative dating
any method of determining whether an event or object is older or younger than other events or objects
absolute dating
any method of measuring the age of an object or event in years
geological time scale
the standard method used to divide earths long natural history
extinct
describes a species that has died out completely
plate tectonics
the theory that explains how large pieces of the earth’s outermost layer called tectonics plates,move and change shape
