Natural Selection Flashcards
DNA
a molecule that is present in all living cells and that contains the info that determines the trait that a living thing inherits to live
Adaptions
a characteristic that improves an individuals ability to survive and reproduce in a particular envionment
Evolution
the process in which inherited characteristics within a population change over generations such that new species sometimes arise
Chargaff’s Rules
it states that DNA from any cell should have a 1:1 ratio of pyrimidine and purine bases and, more specifically, that the amount of guanine is equal to cytosine and the amount of adenine is equal to thymine.
Watson and Crick
The two twentieth-century biologists who discovered the double helix of DNA.
Nucleotide
a compound consisting of a nucleoside linked to a phosphate group. Nucleotides form the basic structural unit of nucleic acids such as DNA.
Rosalind Franklin
British x-ray crystallographer whose diffraction images, made by directing x-rays at DNA, provided crucial information that led to the discovery of its structure as a double helix by Francis Crick and James D. Watson
Mutations
the changing of the structure of a gene, resulting in a variant form that may be transmitted to subsequent generations, caused by the alteration of single base units in DNA, or the deletion, insertion, or rearrangement of larger sections of genes or chromosomes.
Species
a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding.
Evolution
the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth.
Fossils
the remains or impression of a prehistoric organism preserved in petrified form or as a mold or cast in rock.
Fossil Record
A term used by paleontologists to refer to the total number of fossils that have been discovered, as well as to the information derived from them.
Darwin
The theory of evolution by natural selection, first formulated in Darwin’s book “On the Origin of Species,” it is the process by which organisms change over time as a result of changes in heritable physical or behavioral traits.
Trait
a distinguishing quality or characteristic, typically one belonging to a person.
Selective Breeding
the process of choosing a breeding stock of an animal based on specific traits that a breeder wants to reproduce in the offspring.
Natural Selection
the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. The theory of its action was first fully expounded by Charles Darwin and is now believed to be the main process that brings about evolution.
Generation Time
In population biology and demography, the generation time is the average time between two consecutive generations in the lineages of a population.
Speciation
the formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution.
Primates
Any of various mammals of the order Primates, and is characterized by nails on the hands and feet a short snout, and a large brain.
Hominid
a primate of a family that includes humans and their fossil ancestors.
Homo Sapiens
the binomial nomenclature for the only extant human species.
