Chapter 7 & 8

Question 0

Species

Answer 0

A group of organisms that are closely related and can mate and produce fertile offspring.

Question 1

Adaptation

Answer 1

A characteristic that improves an individual’s ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment

Question 2

Evolution

Answer 2

The process in which inherited characteristics within a population change over generations such that new species sometimes arise.

Question 3

Fossil

Answer 3

The trace or remains of an organism that lived long ago, most commonly preserved in sedimentary rock

Question 4

Fossil Record

Answer 4

A historical sequence of life indicated by fossils found in layers of Earth’s crust

Question 5

Trait

Answer 5

A genetically determined characteristic

Question 6

Selective Breeding

Answer 6

The human practice of breeding animals or plants that have certain desired traits

Question 7

Natural Selection

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

Generation Time

Answer 8

The period between the birth of one generation and the birth of the next generation

Question 9

Speciation

Answer 9

The formation of new species as a result of evolution

Question 10

Relative Dating

Answer 10

Any method of determining whether an event or object is older or younger than other events or objects.

Question 11

Absolute Dating

Answer 11

Any method of measuring the age of an object or event in years.

Question 12

Geologic Time Scale

Answer 12

The standard method used to divide the Earth’s long natural history into manageable parts

Question 13

Extinct

Answer 13

Describes a species that has died out completely

Question 14

Plate Tectonics

Answer 14

The theory that explains how large pieces of the Earth’s outermost layer, called tectonic plates, move and change shape

Question 15

Precambrian Time

Answer 15

The period in the geologic time scale from the formation of the Earth to beginning of the Paleozoic era, from about 4.6 billion to 542 million years ago.

Question 16

Paleozoic Era

Answer 16

The geologic era that followed Precambrian time and that lasted from 542 million to 251 million years ago.

Question 17

Mesozoic Era

Answer 17

The geologic era that lasted from 251 million to 65.5 million years ago; also called Age of Reptiles

Question 18

Cenozoic Era

Answer 18

The most recent geologic era; beginning 65 million years ago; also called Age of Mammels

Question 19

Primate

Answer 19

A type of mammal characterized by opposable thumbs and binocular vision

Question 20

Hominid

Answer 20

A type of primate characterized by bipedalism, relatively long lower limbs, and lack of tail