Unit 5 Vocab Flashcards
The small building blocks that make up proteins. Think of them like LEGO bricks that can be put together in different ways to build different structures in living things.
Amino acids
Looking at the body parts of different animals to see how they are similar and different. This can help us understand how they might be related through evolution. For example, the bones in a human hand and a bat wing are similar.
Comparative anatomy
The study of how organisms develop from a fertilized egg. Sometimes, different animals look very similar when they are in their early stages of development, which suggests they share ancestors.
Embryology
When genes move from one group of organisms to another. This usually happens when individuals move and reproduce with a new group.
Gene flow
The slow process of change in living things over many generations. This change can lead to new types of organisms.
Evolution
All the fossils that scientists have found. Fossils are the preserved remains of ancient organisms and can show us how life on Earth has changed over time.
Fossil record
The process where organisms with traits that help them survive and reproduce in their environment are more likely to pass on those traits to their offspring. Over time, this can lead to populations becoming better suited to their surroundings.
Natural selection
The basic units that make up DNA and RNA. Each nucleotide has three parts: a sugar, a phosphate, and a base. Think of them as single links in a long chain.
Nucleotides
Random changes in how common certain genes are in a small group of organisms over time. It’s like flipping a coin many times – you might get more heads or tails just by chance, especially if you don’t flip it very often.
Genetic drift
A change in the DNA of an organism. Mutations can introduce new traits, some helpful, some harmful, and some with no effect.
Mutation
Body parts in different organisms that have a similar function but evolved separately and do not share a recent common ancestor. For example, a bird’s wing and a butterfly’s wing both allow for flight but have different structures and evolutionary origins.
Analogous structures
Body parts in different organisms that have a similar structure because they come from a common ancestor, even if they have different functions. For example, a whale’s flipper and a human’s arm have similar bones.
Homologous structures
A diagram that shows how different groups of organisms are related to each other through evolution. It looks like a branching tree, with closer branches meaning a more recent shared ancestor.
Evolutionary tree/cladogram/phylogenetic tree
The idea that today’s living things are related to organisms that lived in the past, and they have changed over time. It’s like a family tree that shows how different branches are connected but have also become different.
Descent with modification
Layers of rock that are formed when mud, sand, and other materials settle down over time and get compressed. Older layers are usually found below younger layers, and fossils found in these layers can tell us about the history of life.
Sedimentary layers
A group of organisms that can naturally reproduce with each other and have offspring that can also reproduce. For example, all humans belong to the same species.
Species
