Patterns in Nature Flashcards
Modern Synthesis
combination of mutations and natural selection
Theory of Acquired Characteristics
idea that organisms can gain new traits and pass on those traits to their offspring
Fixity of the Species
the idea that species do NOT change over time
Fossils
preserved remains of plants and animals
Dating
how scientist attempt to find the age of rocks
Natural Selection
individuals in a species need to compete for things needed for survival. Some individuals have traits that make them better able to compete. With each new generation, the traits that better allow survival become more common.
Homologous structures
creationists v evolutionist
similar features found in organisms
common designer v common ancestor
Vestigial Structures
structures that don’t appear to have a use and therefore “must” be leftovers from earlier evolutionary stages
Embryology
creationist view v evolutionary view
stages of early development in certain organisms show similarities.
DNA is different from birth v common ancestor
Mass Extinction Event
Creation v evolution
some major event that wiped out the majority of animals on the planet
flood v comet
Mutations
creation v evolution
random changes in DNA
should show increasing disorder v a lot of time is needed to allow for the millions of mutations necessary for evolution
Kinds
different groups of organisms that God created to be distinct from each other. Not a species
Transitional Forms
intermediate organisms with partially developed body parts. Missing from the fossil record
Common Ancestor
an organism that had the ability for all life to develop from it
Survival of the fittest
organisms with the best traits will survive
Uniformitarianism
the idea that the Earth’s physical processes operate at the same rate in the present as they did in the past
How old evolutionists say the earth is
millions-billions of years old
living things are the result of:
creation?
evolution?
creation: God creating them
evolution: millions of chance mutations
mineralized fossil
petrified wood
carbonized fossil
plants
cast/mold
trilobite
trace
footprints, bite marks, egg shells
original
mosquito in amber
what does the fossil record show us
Fossils record is layers of rocks with fossils in the layers. The lower layers equal older rocks in the evolutionary worldview. The fossil layer contains plants and animals that once existed but are no longer alive today. It shows that some kinds of organisms are now less common than in the past.
Relative dating
rock layers compared to the layers near them
Absolute dating
looks at the known rates of radioactive decay in igneous rocks
Carbon-14 dating
Uses Carbon-14 to calculate fossil’s age. Only works in fossils less than 100,000 years old
problems with the dating methods
- Common for absolute dating methods to yield ages that are known to be incorrect
- Carbon-14 has been found in fossils considered to be millions of years old, showing that the fossils are actually much younger.
Darwin’s book
On the Origin of the Species and Natural Selection
Two theories that influenced Darwin
Uniformitarianism & Theory of Acquired Characteristics
problem with transitional forms
there should be many in the fossil record but there are not
can evolution and the Biblical account work together
- doesn’t take the Bible as literal and therefore why trust it in other spots
- death came at the fall not before it
- Jesus quoted Genesis as though it was real history
