made up of all the fossils ever discovered on Earth

Question 1

Made up of all the fossils ever discovered on Earth

Answer 1

Fossil record

Question 2

represents only a small fraction of all the organisms that have ever lived on Earth

Answer 2

incomplete

Question 3

the remains or evidence of once-living organism

Answer 3

fossil

Question 4

an organism dies and is buried by sediments, then minerals in the water replace the organisms original material and harden into rock

Answer 4

Mineralization

Question 5

a fossil forms when a dead organism is compressed over time and pressure drives off the organism’s liquids and gases

Answer 5

carbonization

Question 6

the impression of an organism in a rock

Answer 6

mold

Question 7

a fossil copy of an organism in a rock

Answer 7

cast

Question 8

is the preserved evidence of the activity of an organism

Answer 8

trace fossil

Question 9

Determining the age of rock layers

Answer 9

Relative-age dating

Question 10

determine a rocks actual age

Answer 10

absolute-age dating

Question 11

Unstable isotopes in rocks change into stable isotopes over time

Answer 11

Radioactive decay

Question 12

the time required for a quantity to reduce to half of its initial value

Answer 12

half-life

Question 13

a chart that divides earth’s history into different time units

Answer 13

geologic time scale

Question 14

the longest time units on the geologic time scale

Answer 14

eons

Question 15

occurs when the last individual organism of a species dies

Answer 15

extinction

Question 16

occurs when many species become extinct within a few million years or more

Answer 16

mass extinction

Question 17

volcanic eruption, meteor impact, etc.

Answer 17

sudden changes

Question 18

tectonic plate movement, sea level change, etc.

Answer 18

gradual changes

Question 19

the change over time in populations of related species

Answer 19

biological evolution

Question 20

a person who studies plants and animals by observing them

Answer 20

naturalist

Question 21

a explanation of the natural world that is well supported by evidence

Answer 21

theory

Question 22

the most recent species from which the species are descended

Answer 22

common ancestor

Question 23

a slight difference in an inherited trait of indivisual members of species

Answer 23

variation

Question 24

the process by which populations of organisms with variations that help them survive in their environments live longer, complete better, and reproduce more than those that do not have the variations

Answer 24

natural selection

Question 25

an inherited trait that increases an organisms chance of surviving and reproducing in its environment

Answer 25

adaptation

Question 26

an adaptation that enables a species to blend in with its environment

Answer 26

camouflage

Question 27

the resemblance of one species to another

Answer 27

mimicry

Question 28

the study of chemical process in living things

Answer 28

Biochemistry

Question 29

the breeding of organisms for desired characteristics

Answer 29

selective breeding

Question 30

the study of similarities and differences among structures of living species

Answer 30

comparative anatomy

Question 31

body parts of organisms that are similar in structure and position but different in function

Answer 31

Homologous structures

Question 32

body parts that perform a similar function but different in structure

Answer 32

analogous structures

Question 33

body parts that have lost their original function through evolution

Answer 33

vestigial structures

Question 34

the science of the development of embryos from fertilization

Answer 34

embryology

Question 35

a pouch that all vertebrate embryos have at some point in their development

Answer 35

pharyngeal pouch

Question 36

the study of gene structure and function

Answer 36

molecular biology

Question 37

how a kind of plant or animal species is created

Answer 37

speciation