Chapter 16

Question 1

common descent with modification

Answer 1

the process by which species of living things undergo modification in successive generations, with such modification sometimes resulting in the formation of new separate species

Question 2

homologous

Answer 2

in anatomy, having the same structure owing to inheritance from a common ancestor

Question 3

Examples of animals with homologous structures

Answer 3

whales, bats, cats, gorillas

Question 4

modern synthesis

Answer 4

the unified evolutionary theory that resulted from the convergence of several lines of biological research between 1937 and 1950

Question 5

morphology

Answer 5

the physical form of an organism

Question 6

natural selection

Answer 6

the process through which traits that confer a reproductive advantage to individual organisms grow more common in populations of organisms over successive generations

Question 7

radiometric dating

Answer 7

a technique for determining the age of objects by measuring the decay of the radioactive elements within them. The age of fossils can be determined with this technique

Question 8

vestigial character

Answer 8

a structure in an organism whose original function has been lost during the course of evaluation