the environment and change over time

Question 1

fossil record

Answer 1

all the fossils ever discovered on Earth

Question 2

mold

Answer 2

the impression of an organism in a rock

Question 3

cast

Answer 3

a fossil copy of an organism in a rock

Question 4

trace fossil

Answer 4

the preserved evidence of the activity of an organism

Question 5

the geologic time scale

Answer 5

a chart that divides Earth’s history into different time units

Question 6

extinction

Answer 6

occurs when the last individual organism of a species dies

Question 7

Biological evolution

Answer 7

the change over time in populations of related organisms

Question 8

naturalist

Answer 8

a person who studies plants and animals by observing them

Question 9

variation

Answer 9

a slight difference in an inherited trait of individual members of a species

Question 10

Natural selection

Answer 10

the process by which populations of organisms with variations that help them survive in their environments live longer, compete better, and reproduce more than those that do not have the variations

Question 11

adaptation

Answer 11

an inherited trait that increases an organism’s chance of surviving and reproducing in the environment.

Question 12

camouflage

Answer 12

an adaptation that enables a species to blend in with its environment

Question 13

mimicry

Answer 13

the resemblance of one species to another species

Question 14

selective breeding

Answer 14

the breeding of organisms for desired characteristics