Evolutionary Vocab Quiz Flashcards
the process of biological change by which descendants come to differ from their ancestors
Evolution
a group of organisms that are closely related and can mate to reproduce fertile offspring
species
traces of organisms that existed in the past
fossils
states that natural disasters such as floods and volcanic eruptions have happened often during Earth’s long history
catastrophism
changes in land form resulted from slow changes over a long period of time
gradualism
states that the geologic processes that shape Earth are uniform through time
uniformitarianism
the difference in the physical traits of an individual from those of other individuals in the group to which it belongs
variation
a feature that allows an organism to better survive and reproduce in its environment
adaptation
the process by which humans change a species by breeding it for certain traits
artificial selection
the ability of a trait to be passed down from one generation to the next
heritability
a mechanism by which individuals that have inherited beneficial adaptations show differential reproductive success
natural selection
all the individuals of a species that live in an area
population
a measure of the ability to survive and produce more offspring relative to other members of the population in a given enviornment
fitness
a cloud of gas and dust in space
nebula
RNA molecules that can catalyze specific chemical reactions
Ribozymes
