Evolution

Question 1

uses the decay of radioactive isotopes to measure the age of a rock

Answer 1

radiometric dating

Question 2

method used to determine the age of rocks by comparing them with those in other layers

Answer 2

relative dating

Question 3

amount of time it takes for half of the original isotope to decay

Answer 3

half life

Question 4

smallest unit of geological time lasting several million years

Answer 4

epoch

Question 5

unit of geological time consisting of two or more periods that lasts hundreds of millions of years

Answer 5

era

Question 6

divisions of geological time lasting tens of millions of years

Answer 6

period

Question 7

directed breeding to produce offspring with desired traits

Answer 7

artificial selection

Question 8

less equipped will die

Answer 8

natural selection

Question 9

cumulative changes in groups of organisms through time

Answer 9

evolution

Question 10

life arises from nonlife

Answer 10

spontaneous generation

Question 11

anatomically similar structures inherited from a common ancestor

Answer 11

homologous structure

Question 12

reduced forms of functional structures in other organisms

Answer 12

vestigial structure

Question 13

used for same purpose and similar in construction but not inherited from common ancestor

Answer 13

analogous structure

Question 14

measure of the relative contribution an individual trait makes to the next generation

Answer 14

fitness

Question 15

at the heart of Darwin’s theory, trait showed by natural selection

Answer 15

adaptation

Question 16

characteristic that makes a person

Answer 16

trait

Question 17

branching diagram that represents the proposed phylogeny history of a species

Answer 17

cladogram/phylogenetic tree