Chapter 7 - Evolution Flashcards
What was Jean baptiste Lamarck’s theory called
The theory of the inheritance of acquired characteristics
What did Lamarck’s theory state
Characteristics which develop during an organisms lifetime can be passed on to the next generation
What was Darwin’s theory called
The theory of natural selection
What did darwin’s theory state
Small changes in organisms took place over a very long time. All organisms in a species vary and therefore some are more likely to survive (natural selection). Those that are best adapted breed and pass on their characteristics
Why was Darwin’s theory only gradually accepted
The theory of natural selection challenged the idea that God made all the animals and plants that live on Earth.
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Many scientists were not convinced because they still did not think there was sufficient evidence for the theory
What is a mutation
Where a gene accidentally changes and becomes a new form of the gene. If the mutated gene controls a characteristic which makes the organism better adapted to the environment then it will be passed on to the offspring
What is the natural classification system
The system used to study the similarities and differences between organisms in order to classify them
What are the main kingdoms
- The plant kingdom
- The animal kingdom
- The kingdoms which contain the microorganisms
What is the smallest group in the classification system
Species
What are evolutionary trees
Models that can be drawn to show the relationships between different groups of organisms
What does ecological relationships tell us
How species have evolved together in an environment
When is life estimated to have begun
3 billion years ago
