History of Evolutionary Thought: Vocab- Part 1

Question 1

the numeric age of an object or event, often stated in years before the present, as established by an absolute-dating process, such as radiometric dating

Answer 1

Absolute age

Question 2

the process of becoming adopted to an environment; an anatomical, physiological, or behavioral trait that improves an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce

Answer 2

Adaptation

Question 3

an evolutionary pattern in which many species evolve from a single ancestral species

Answer 3

Adaptive radiation

Question 4

the proportion of gene copies in a population that are a given allele, expressed as a percentage

Answer 4

Allele frequency

Question 5

an anatomical structure in one species that is similar in function and appearance, but not in evolutionary origin, to another anatomical structure in another species

Answer 5

Analogous structures

Question 6

the selective breeding of organisms(by humans) for specific desirable characteristics

Answer 6

Artificial selection

Question 7

on a graph of the frequency of some variable, a curve that first rises and then falls and thus forms a symmetric bell-shaped curve

Answer 7

Bell curve

Question 8

the study of the geographical distribution of living organisms and fossils on earth

Answer 8

Biogeography

Question 9

the evolution of two or more species that is due to mutual influence, often in a way that makes the relationship more mutually beneficial

Answer 9

Coevolution

Question 10

the process by which unrelated species become more similar as they adapt to the same kind of environment

Answer 10

Convergent evolution

Question 11

a type of natural selection in which the most extreme form of a trait is favored and becomes more common

Answer 11

Directional selection

Question 12

a type of natural selection in which two extreme forms of a trait are selected

Answer 12

Disruptive selection

Question 13

the process by which two or more related but reproductively isolated populations become more and more dissimilar

Answer 13

Divergent evolution

Question 14

the movement of an individual or group out of an area

Answer 14

Emigration

Question 15

a heritable change in the characteristics within a population from one generation to the next; the development of new types of organisms from preexisting types of organisms over time

Answer 15

Evolution

Question 16

in evolutionary theory, a measure of an individual’s hereditary contribution to the next generation

Answer 16

fitness

Question 17

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

Answer 17

fossil

Question 18

random change in allele frequencies in a population

Answer 18

genetic drift

Question 19

the movement of genes into or out of a population due to interbreeding

Answer 19

gene flow

Question 20

all of the genes of the reproductively active members of a population

Answer 20

gene pool

Question 21

the physical separation of populations due to geographic barriers that prevent interbreeding

Answer 21

geographic isolation

Question 22

a model of evolution in which gradual change over a long period of time leads to biological diversity

Answer 22

gradualism

Question 23

anatomical structures in one species that, compared to other anatomical structures in another species, originated from a single anatomical structure in a common ancestor of the two species

Answer 23

homologous structures

Question 24

that principal that states that the frequency of alleles in a population doesn’t change over generations unless outside forces act on the population

Answer 24

Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium/principal

Question 25

the movement of an individual or group into an area

Answer 25

Immigration

Question 26

a change in the collective genetic material of a population

Answer 26

Microevolution

Question 27

the study of the structure and form of an organism

Answer 27

Morphology

Question 28

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

Answer 28

natural selection

Question 29

the ratio of individuals with a particular phenotype to the total number of individuals in a population

Answer 29

phenotype frequency

Question 30

The evolutionary history of a species or taxonomic group; the relationships by ancestry among species or taxonomic groups

Answer 30

Phylogeny

Question 31

the study of the frequency and interactions of alleles and genes in a population

Answer 31

population genetics

Question 32

a model of evolution in which short periods of drastic change in species, including max extinctions and rapid separation, are separated by long periods of little or no change

Answer 32

puncuated equilibrium

Question 33

the age of an object in relation to the ages of other objects

Answer 33

relative age

Question 34

the inability of members of a population to successfully interbreed with members of another population of the same or a related species

Answer 34

reproductive isolation

Question 35

An evolutionary mechanism by which traits that increase the ability of individuals to attract or acquire mates appear with increasing frequency in a population; selection in which a mate is chosen on the basis of a particular trait or traits

Answer 35

sexual selection

Question 36

the evolutionary adaptation of a cell, organ, organism, or population for a particular function or environment

Answer 36

Specilization

Question 37

a type of natural selection in which the average form of a trait is favored and becomes more common

Answer 37

stabalizing selection

Question 38

layers of rock

Answer 38

strata

Question 39

a principle that states that younger rocks lie above older rocks if the layers have not been disturbed

Answer 39

Superposition

Question 40

a structure in an organism that is reduced in size and function and that may have been complete and functional in the organism’s ancestors

Answer 40

vestigial structures