natural selection vocab Flashcards
Adaptation
: a body part or feature or a behavior that helps a living thing survive and function better in its environment.
Species
the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction
Evolution
the change in the characteristics of a species over several generations and relies on the process of natural selection.
Fossil
the remains or impression of a prehistoric organism preserved in petrified form or as a mold or cast in rock.
Fossil Record
a group of fossils which has been analyzed and arranged chronologically and in taxonomic order.
Trait
a distinguishing quality or characteristic, typically one belonging to a person.
Selective Breeding
artificial selection, is a process used by humans to develop new organisms with desirable characteristics
Natural Selection
the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.
Generation time
the average interval between the birth of an individual and the birth of its offspring
Speciation
the formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution
Relative Dating
the process of determining if one rock or geologic event is older or younger than another, without knowing their specific ages—i.e., how many years ago the object was formed
Absolute Dating
the process of determining an age on a specified chronology in archaeology and geology.
Geologic Time Scale
a system of chronological dating that classifies geological strata (stratigraphy) in time.
Extinct
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(of a species, family, or other group of animals or plants) having no living members; no longer in existence.
Plate Tectonics
a theory explaining the structure of the earth’s crust and many associated phenomena as resulting from the interaction of rigid lithospheric plates which move slowly over the underlying mantle.
