Vocabulary List Flashcards
species that can live on land and in water
amphibians
to change or adapt to the environment
adaptation
the theory that 15 billion years ago all material in the universe was condensed into a small place and then exploded
Big Bang theory
an organelle in plants that perform photosynthesis
chloroplasts
the comparative study of the anatomy of different species
comparative anatomy
deoxyribonucleic acid, the molecule that contains hereditary material in the nucleus of the cell
DNA
an organism in the earliest stages of development in the uterus
embryo
cells containing their genetic material inside a nucleus. all multicellular organisms are made up of eukaryotic cells
eukaryotic cell
the elimination of a species
extinction
hardened remains of plant or animal life
fossils
hereditary information held in the DNA of cells
genes
the process of small incremental genetic changes in a species
genetic drift
the study of heredity
genetics
the first human like characters that appeared about five million years ago
hominids
the human species
Homo sapiens
from 210 to 130 million years ago
Jurassic period
a group of vertebrate animals whose young are sucked with milk from the mother
mammals
the process of sexual reproduction
meiosis
from 250 to 65 million years ago
Mesozoic era
an organelle in the eukaryotic cells of animals whose primary function is to convert glucose into ATP that can be used as energy
mitochondria
particles made up of two or more atoms
molecules
errors in the genetic replication of cells
mutations
theory proposed by Charles Darwin that species changed as the result of adaptation to their environment
natural selection
two hundred million years ago, all of the continents were formed together in in one super continent
Pangea continent
a process carried out by green plants in which carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight are converted into ATP and glucose and releasing oxygen as a by product
photosynthesis
group of animals including humans, apes, and monkeys
primates
single celled organisms such as bacteria
prokaryotic cells
one of the most fundamental building substances of living organisms
protein
a group of animals that are cold blooded vertebrates
reptiles
a distinct plant or animal that can only have offspring with other in the same species
species
the theory that all life evolved from earlier forms of life by adapting to their environment
theory of evolution
