NATURAL SELECTION Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a fossil?

A

A fossil is the remains or physical evidence of an organism preserved by geological processes.

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2
Q

What is a fossil record?

A

A fossil record is a historical sequence of life indicated by fossils found in layers of the Earth’s crust.

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3
Q

What is a trait?

A

A trait is a genetically determined characteristic.

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4
Q

What is selective breeding?

A

Selective breeding is the human practice of breeding animals or plants that have certain desired characteristics.

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5
Q

What is generation time?

A

Generation time is the period between the birth of one generation and the birth of the next generation.

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6
Q

What does it mean to go extinct?

A

A species that has died out completely would be described as extinct.

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7
Q

What is the geologic time scale?

A

The geologic time scale is the standard method used to divide the Earth’s long natural history into manageable parts.

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8
Q

What is plate tectonics?

A

Plate tectonics is the theory that explains how large pieces of the Earth’s outermost layer, called tectonic plates, move and change shape.

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9
Q

What is evolution?

A

Evolution is the process in which inherited characteristics within a population change over generations such as that new species arise.

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10
Q

What is adaptation?

A

An adaptation is a characteristic that improves an individual’s ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment.

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11
Q

What is a species?

A

A species is a group of organisms that are closely related and can mate to produce fertile offspring.

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12
Q

What is relative dating?

A

Absolute dating is any method of determining whether an event or object is older or younger than other objects or events

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13
Q

What is absolute dating?

A

Absolute dating is any method of measuring the age of an object or event in years.

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14
Q

What is a primate?

A

A primate is a type of mammal characterized by opposable

thumbs and binocular vision.

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15
Q

What is a hominid?

A

A hominid is a type of primate characterized by bipedalism, relatively long lower limbs, and a lack of a tail.

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16
Q

What is a homo sapiens?

A

A homo sapiens is the species of hominids that includes modern humans and their closest ancestors and that first appeared 100,000 to 160,000 years ago.

17
Q

What is natural selection?

A

Natural selection is the process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment to survive and reproduce more successfully than less well adapted individuals do; a theory to explain the mechanism of evolution.

18
Q

What is speciation?

A

Speciation is the formation of new species as a result of evolution.