Chapter 6 Flashcards
Study of embryos and their development
Embryology
Any variation that makes an organism better suited to its environment
Adaptation
Change in inherited characteristics over time
Evolution
Model describing evolution as a slow process by which one species changes into a new species through a continuing series of mutations and variations over time
Gradualism
Humanlike primates that appeared about 4,000,00 to 6 million years ago ate both plants and meat
and walked up right on two legs
Hominid
Early humans that likely evolved from cromagnons
Homosapiens
Group of mammals including humans monkeys and apes that share characteristics such as opposable thumbs binocular vision flexible shoulders
Primate
Model describing the rapid evolution that occurs when mutation of a few Gene results in a species suddenly changing into a new species
Punctuated equilibrium
Element that gives off a steady amount of radiation as it slowly changes to a non-radioactive element
Radioactive element
A type of rock such as limestone that is most likely to contain fossils and is formed when layers of sand silt clay or mud are cemented and comepackted together on minerals are deposited from a solution
Sedimentary rock
Group of organisms that share similar characteristics and can reproduce among themselves producing fertile offspring
Species
Inherited trait that makes an individual different from other members of the same species and results from a mutation in the organisms gene
Variation
Structure such as the human appendix that doesn’t seem to have a function and may once have functioned in the body of an ancestor
Vestigial structure
Body parts that are similar in structure and origin and can be similar in fiction
Homologous
A process by which organisms with traits best suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce includes concepts of variation overproduction and competition
Natural selection
