Natural Selection Flashcards
Adaptation
a characteristic that improves an individuals ability in a particular environment
Species
a group of organisms that are closely related and can mate to produce fertile offspring
Evolution
the process in which inherited characteristics within a population change over generations such that new species sometimes arise
Fossil
the remains or physical evidence of an organism preserved by geological processes
Fossil Record
a historical sequence of life indicated by fossils found in layers of the earths crust
Trait
a genetically determined characteristic
Selective Breeding
the human practice of breeding animals orplants that have certain desired characteristics
Natural Selection
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
Generation time
the period between the birth of one generation and the birth of the next generation
Speciation
the formation of new species as a result of evolution
Relative Dating
any method of determining whether an event or objects is older or younger than other events or objects
Absolute Dating
any method of measuring the age of an object or event in years
Geologic Time Scale
the standard method used to divide the earths long natural history into manageable parts
Extinct
describes a species that died out completely
Plate Tectonics
the theory that explains how large pieces of the earths outermost layer, called tectonic plates, move and change shape
