The Environment and Changes Over Time Flashcards
what is The Fossil Record
a recording of all the fossils ever discovered on earth.
how many fossils are in The Fossil Record
millions, repeating thousands of species
does The Fossil Record represent all species that have been on earth or only a fraction of them
only a fraction of all the species that have been on earth
what does The Fossil Record provide evidence of
that species have changes over time
what are the 5 ways of fossil formation
mineralizations, carbonization, Mold & casts, trace fossils, and original materia
how does mineralizations occur in the wild
occurs when minerals in the environment replace parts of the remains of plants or animals that have been buried.
how is carbonization formed in fossil formation
carbon films formed by the pressing of a dead organism
what does carbonization release
liquids and gases
what can the soft parts of an organism become in carbonization
carbon films
what is a mold in fossil formation
the impression of an organism in a rock
what is a cast in fossil formation
the sediment that fills the mold in a rock
what are trace fossils
the preserved evidence of the activity of an organism: tracks, habitat, ect.
what is an example of using trace fossils
tracks can tell the speed or weight of an organism
what is original material in fossils
the actual organism can be trapped in a material and preserved
what are some examples of preserving material
tree sap (amber), tar, ice
what is the sentence for remembering types of Fossil formations.
My Cunty Mom Cunted Target From Other Molds
wha are some of the tactics used for determining a fossils age
relative-age dating and Absolute-age dating,
how is relative-age dating performed
using the information around the fossil, scientists compare the ages of samples to each other
what can using relative-age dating determine
an order of age based on position
what is a downside to using relative-age dating
cannot tell the actual age of the items
in an undisturbed rock formation, the deeper the item is, the _____ it also is
older
how is abasloute-age dating preformed
using radioactive decay of available samples to determine the actual age of a fossil
what is radioactive decay
unstable isotopes of a sample naturally change into a stable form of the isotope over time
is the rate of radioactive decay predictable or unpredicatable
predictable
comparing the ratio of the two isotopes in radioactive decay, tells the scientist what?
the age of the samples
what type of rock is used for radioactive dating
igneous rock
why can’t sedimentary rock be used for radioactive dating
because it is built from the remains of organisms
what are the oldest known fossils, and how old are they
are bacteria colonies, that are 3.7 billion years old
where are the oldest bacteria colonies found
in Canada and greenland
how old is the oldest fossil visible to the human eye
565 million years old.
what is the Geologic time scale
the chart that divides earth’s history into different time units
are time periods all the same length
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
what did scientists use to divide the time scale?
scientists used fossils and events
in rock layers, fossils would help to distinguish what?
time spans
could entire species disappear from one period to the next?
yes!!!!!!
what is the sudden disappearance of organisms caused by
extinction
what is extinction
when the last individual organism of a species dies.
what is mass extinction
is when several organisms all die off within a few years or less
how many mass extinctions have there been in this eon
5 mass extinctions
do scientists belive there will be a 6th mass extinction in this eon
yes, they belive that we are currently living in the 6th extinction
have other extinctions occured on a smaller scale
yes
is extinction thought to be a natural part of earth’s history
yes
what is environmental change
when the conditions in an area change the available food or shelter, certain organisms may not be able to survive the change and die off.
what can cause sudden change
volcanic eruptions or meteor strikes can cause enviormelntal change by putting ash or dirt into he atmosphere
why is it bad when dirt or ash is put into the atmosphere
it blocks the sun
the shifting of what, can slowly change the location or topography of an area
earth’s plates
what can species of animals be isolated by
the building of mountain ranges or the spread if oceans
can sea level changes also cause problems
yes
has fossil evidence that related species have changed overtime
yes
what is biological evolution
the change overtime in populations of related organisms
who was charles darwin
an english natruralist
what did charles darwin study
plants and animals by obervation
what did charles dawin develope through his studies
a theory of eveloution
what type of ship was it that charles dawin sailed on to do an english survey
the HMS Beagle
what was Charles Darwin particularly interested in
the Galapagos Islands
where are the galapagos islands
an island chain of the west coast of south america
what was special about the galapagos islands
each island had its own envirment type and similar species of animals but with different traits
what was special about the tortoises on the galapaos islands
the tortoises from each island had different types of shells, corresponding to its environment
what was uniqe about the mockingbirds and finches on the galapagos isalnds
finches had beaks that were helpful for obtaining the food on that island
what was Darwins theory
believed that the different species devoloped due to the food source on the island
what was Darwins common ancestry theory using tortoises
believed that all the touroise on the galapagos islands originated from a common ancestor on the mainland
how did the tortoise get to the galagos islands from the mainland
a storm blew a small population to an island, and they disappeared to other islands
why did variations in the tourtises neck and shell occur
due to the food supply
what are variations
a variation is a difference in an inherited trait among members of a species
what can variations in to in a species
changes in the phenotype due to sexual reproduction
what is phenotype
the physical characteristics
what is natural selection
the process by which organisms with variations more suited to their envoirment live longer, survive better, and reproduce more
what does natural selection explain
how populations change as the environment changes
what are adaptations
an inherited trait that increases an organisms change for survival and reprodution
what are the three types of adaptations
structural adaptations, behavioral adaptations, and functional adaptations
what do structural adaptations change
the color, shape or physical characteristics of an organism
what is an example of structural adaptations
the different beak shape of the finches on the Galapagos islands
how do behavioral adaptations change
change in the way an organism acts or behaves in different situations
what is an example of behavioral adaptations
hunting by night vs. hunting by day and moving in heards
what do functional adaptations change
the international workings of the organism
what do functional adaptations affect
the organisms biochemistry
what does biochemistry mean
the study of the chemical process in a living organism
what is an example of functional adaptions
a drop in a body temperature during hibernation
what are environmental interactions
adaptations that allow organisms to better survive in their environment
what are 2 examples of environmental interactions
camouflage and mimicry
what is camoflage
an adaption that permits an organism to blend into their environment
what is mimicry
reselling another species, often a more threating species, to avoid being eaten
what are the types of things that animals need to adapt to
temperature, water, climate
what is artificial selection
the human intervention into selection of traits
what is selective breeding
the breeding of organisms for desired characteristics
what is an example of selective breeding
farmers choosing seeds from plants that are drought resistant grow large numbers of produce
does evolution occur in more of a straight line or is it more complex
more complex
several different related species are alive at the same time
yup yup yup
species that are closely related share what?
a common ancestor
what is dependent upon how closely related species are to their common ancestor
dependent upon how long ago they split, or diverged, form that ancestor
what is comparative anatomy
the study of similarities and differences among structures of living species
what are homologous structures
body parts of organisms that are similar in structure and position, but different in funtion
what is an example of homologous strucres
arm structure (like the picture shown in class)
what do similarities of parts of different organisms suggest
suggest those species are related
the more alike structures are in different organisms, the more likely that they evolved from a ____ ____ _____
recent common ancestor
what are analogous structures
body parts that perform a similar function, but have a different structure
what do analogous structures on different organisms indicate
it would indicate that the species are not closely related
what are vestigial structures
body parts that have lost their original function through evolution
what is an example of vestigial structures
whales have pelvic bones, implies that they had legs to walk on land (fossil evidence supports this)
what is embryology
the science of the development of embryos from fertilization to birth
embryos of different species often resemble what?
each other at different stages developed
what is a pharyngeal pouch
a part of all vertebrate embryos
what do pharyngeal pouches develop into?
devolope into differnet organisms
where are the location and function of pharyngeal pouches
are similar in different organisms
what is molecular biology
the study of gene structure and funtion
what has molecular biology confirmed, extended, and supproted
the theory of evelution
do some stretches of DNA mutate at regular, predictable rates
yes yes ye s yes yes girly girl
what is divergence used to estimate
when related species diverged from a common ancestor
what does a branching tree show
when species separated
what are the three types of comparative anatomy
Homologous structures, analogous structures, and vestigial structures.
what is comparative anatomy
the study of similarities and differences among structures of living species
what are homologs structures
are body parts of an organism that are similar in structure and position but different in function
what are analogous structures
Body parts that perform a similar function but differ in structure
what are vesgigal structures
body parts that have lost their original function through evolution
what is the cornerstone of modern biology
the therory of evolution by natural selection
what has provided evidence of evolution from living to extinct species
the study of fossils, anatomy, embryology, and molecular biology
what are the 2 ideas regarding the rate of evolution
gradualism and punctuated equilibrium
what is gradualism
evolution occurs slowly but steadily, tiny changes over a long period of time
what is punctuated equilibrium
periods of rapid, sudden change in an organism (periods of rapid change followed by periods of no change)
