Chapter 7 Flashcards
a distinguishing characteristic of an organism
trait
the passing of traits from generation to generation
inheritance
a section of DNA on a chromosome that has genetic information for one trait
gene
an organism’s complete set of genes
genotype
how a trait appears or is expressed
phenotype
a permanent change in the sequence of DNA, or the nucleotides, in a gene or a chromosome
mutation
a slight difference in an inherited trait among individual members of a species
variation
an inherited trait that increases an organism’s chance of surviving and reproducing in a particular enviroment
adaptation
the process by which organisms with variations that help them survive in their enviroment live longer, complete better, and reproduce more than those that do not have a variation
natural selection
the selection and breeding of organisms for desired traits
selective breeding
an adaptation that enables a species to blend in with it’s enviroment
camouflage
an adaptation in which one species looks like another species
mimicry
