natural selection vocab Flashcards
fossil
the remains or physical evidence of an organism preserved by geological processes
fossil record
a historical sequence of life indicated by fossil found in layers of the earths crust
trait
a genetically determined characteristic
selective breeding
the human practice of breeding animals or plants that have certain desired characteristics
natural selection
the process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more successfully then less well adapted individuals do
generation time
the period between the birth of one generation and the birth of the next generation
adaption
a characteristic that improves an individual ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment
species
a group of organisms that are closely related and mate to produce fertile off springs
evolution
the process in which inherited characteristics within population change over generation such as new species sometime else
specialtion
the formation of new species as a result of evolution
relative dating
any method of determining whether an event or object is older or younger than other events or objects
absolute dating
any method of measuring the age of an object or event in year
geogogic time scale
thestandered method to divide the earths longs nateural history into managable pant
extinct
describes a species that has died out completley
plate tectonic
the theory that explained how large pieces of the earths
