Chapter 16 Flashcards
Vestigial structures
Structures that are inherited from ancestors but have lost much or all of their original function
Fitness
How well an organism can survive and reproduce in its environment
Homologous structures
Similar structures shared by different species
Analogous structures
Body parts that share a common function, but have different structures
Allele frequency
The number of times that an allele occurs in a gene pool compared with the number of alleles in that pool for the same gene
Adaption
Inherited characteristics that can increase an organisms survival
Genetic drift
Random change in allele frequency caused by a series of chance occurrences that cause an allele to become more or less common in a population
Evolution
Change over time
Fossil
Preserved remains of ancient organisms
Extinct
When an entire species is wiped out
Mass extinction
An event in which many species become extinct in a short period of time
Natural selection
Process by which organism most suited for their environment survive and reproduce most successfully
(Survival of the fittest)
Artificial selection
Selective breeding of plants and animals to promote desirable traits in offspring
Geological time scale
Time line of Earths geological history
What was Darwin’s contribution to science?
Created theory of evolution
