Ch. 17 - Evidence of Evolution

Question 1

evolution

Answer 1

• change over time; the process by which modern organisms descended from ancient organisms

Question 2

fossil

Answer 2

• preserved remains or traces of ancient organisms

Question 3

artificial selection

Answer 3

• selective breeding of plants and animals to promote the occurrence of desirable traits in offspring

Question 4

adaptation

Answer 4

• heritable characteristics the increase an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce in an environment

Question 5

fitness

Answer 5

• how well an organism can survive and reproduce in its environment

Question 6

natural selection

Answer 6

• process by which organisms that are most suited to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully; also called survival of the fittest

Question 7

biogeography

Answer 7

• the study of past and present distribution of organisms

Question 8

homologous structures

Answer 8

• structures that are similar in different species of common ancestry

Question 9

vestigial structure

Answer 9

• structure that is inherited from ancestors but has lost much or all of its original function

Question 10

analogous structure

Answer 10

• body parts that share a common function, but not structure