Chapter 7/8 Flashcards
Adaption
A charaitic that improves an individual’s ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment
Species
A group of organisms that are closely related and can mate to produce offspring
Evolution
The process in which inherited charaitics within a population change over generations such that new species sometimes arise
Fossil
The trace or remains of an organisms that lived long ago, most commonly preserved in seminary rock
Fossil record
A historical sequence of life indicated by fossils found in layers of the earths crust
Trait
A genetically determined charaitics
Selective breeding
The human practice of breeding animals or plants that have certain desired traits
Natural selection
The process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more successfully than less well adapted individuals do; a theory to explain the mechanism of evolution
Generation time
The period. Between the birth of one generation and the birth of the next generation
Speciation
The formation of new species as a result of evolution
Relative dating
Any method of determining whether an event of object is old or younger than other events or objects.
Absolute dating
Any method of measuring the age of an object or event in years
Geologic time scale
The standard method used to divide the earths long natural history into manageable parts
Extinct
Describes a species that has died or completely
Plate tectonics
The theory to explain how large pieces of the earths outermost layer move