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Vocab for School > Evolutionary History > Flashcards

Evolutionary History Flashcards

1
Q

What is the definition of a body structure?

A

a part of an organism (for example, one or more bones)

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2
Q

What is the definition of a fossil?

A

naturally preserved evidence of life

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3
Q

What are ALL the observations paleontologists will use to identify a fossil in order?

A
  1. Pay careful attention to body structures, especially how bones are grouped together
    a. Observe the size (thickness and length) of bones within body structures
    b. Observe the position of body structures
    c. Observe the same fossil evidence several times to see what you’ve missed
  2. Count the number of bones
  3. Use observations of fossil evidence to make careful comparisons to other fossils and living species
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4
Q

What do paleontologists do with the observations they make?

A

Paleontologists use the observations to try to find common ancestor species and descendants; Make careful comparisons to other fossils and other species.

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5
Q

What is the definition of a limb?

A

an organism’s arm, leg, or wing

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6
Q

What is the definition of extinct?

A

having died out completely and no longer alive anywhere on Earth

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7
Q

What is the definition of a species?

A

a group of organisms of the same kind (in one or more populations) that do not reproduce with organisms from any other group

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8
Q

What is the definition of a paleontologist?

A

a scientist who studies fossils in order to understand the history of life on life on Earth

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9
Q

What is a generation?

A

a group of individuals born and living at about the same time

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10
Q

What is a common ancestor population?

A

an older population from which two or more newer species descended

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11
Q

What are body structures determined by?

A

A code of DNA passed down from generation to generation.

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12
Q

What is the definition of a shared structure?

A

a body structure in two or more species that features the same parts (for example, the same bones)

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13
Q

What is the definition of a descendent species?

A

a more recent species that evolved from an ancestor population

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14
Q

What is the definition of evolution?

A

the process by which species adapt to environmental changes over a very long time

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15
Q

What two main types of evidence do Paleontologists use to determine common ancestors?

A

Fossils and dna

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16
Q

What is the definition of related?

A

sharing a common ancestor population

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17
Q

What is the definition of inherit?

A

to receive genes from a parent

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18
Q

What’s the difference between a species and a population?

A

Species: group of organisms of the same kind (in one or more populations) that do not reproduce with organisms from any other group
Population: a group of the same type of organism living in the same area

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19
Q

Do shared structures always have the same purpose?

A

No

20
Q

What’s the definition of a trait?

A

a specific characteristic of an individual organism

21
Q

What did all living things evolve from?

A

All life evolved from a single celled-organism on Earth 4 billion years ago

22
Q

What is the definition of an ancestor species?

A

An older population from which newer species descended from

23
Q

What is the definition of an organism?

A

living things such as plants, animals, and bacteria

24
Q

How long ago did the first living organism (a single cell) from which every other organism evolved from life?

A

4 billion years ago

25
Q

How long ago did the first mammal, from which all other mammals including humans, evolved from live?

A

65 million years ago

26
Q

If an organism looks similar to another, does that mean they are related? Why or why not?

A

No, because they may not have had a common ancestor species or lived in the same environment or their structures were made differently

27
Q

What are body structures determined by?

A

Shared body structures are determined by a code of dna passed on from their parents

28
Q

____________ ______________ in two very different species can be evidence that both species evolved from a common ancestor.

A

Shared structures

29
Q

What are two things that all organisms would share (have in common) if they are related to each other?

A

Cell structure, dna

30
Q

What is a mutation?

A

a random change to a gene that sometimes results in a new trait

31
Q

What is speciation?

A

the process by which one population evolves into two or more different species

32
Q

What is the definition of stability? Give an example

A

when something stays mostly the same over time
Ex: when 10 organisms die in a population of 5000

33
Q

What is the definition of an environment?

A

everything (biotic and abiotic) that surrounds an organism

34
Q

What is natural selection?

A

the process by which the distribution of traits in a population naturally changes over many generations

35
Q

What is an adaptive trait?

A

a trait that makes it more likely that an individual will survive in a specific environment

36
Q

Evolution happens as a result of ____________ ___________ .

A

Natural selection

37
Q

What is the most common way that a population gets separated for speciation to occur?

A

The most common way that a population gets separated for speciation to occur are barriers.

38
Q

The process of speciation takes place _______________ as adaptive mutations build on one another over many __________________ .

A

slowly, generations

39
Q

What is the definition of evolutionary time?

A

the very long time that spans the history of Earth, from the very first cellular life to the present

40
Q

How long ago did evolutionary time start?

A

from the very first cellular life to the present (3.6 billion years)

41
Q

What is a diagnostic structure?

A

any structure that helps you identify an organism’s place on the evolutionary tree

42
Q

Why does a descendent species have different structures from its ancestor?

A

Because they got separated into different environments that had different adaptive traits.

43
Q

Give at least 3 examples of diagnostic structures that can help classify an organism.

A

Backbone pattern, distal bones size and shape, thickness of certain bones

44
Q

What is the definition of a physical adaptation? Give an example.

A

any part of an organism’s biology that helps them survive in their environment
Ex: thick blubber in a cold environment

45
Q
A

Vocab for School (23 decks)

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