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18 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Evolution |
Change in a species over time; process of biological change by which descendants come to differ from their ancestors |
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Species |
Group of organisms so similar to one another that they can breed and produce fertile offspring |
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Fossil |
Trace of an organism from the past |
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Catastrophism |
Theory that natural disasters such as floods and volcanic eruptions shaped the Earth's landforms and caused the extinction of some species |
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Gradualism |
principle that states that the changes in landforms result from slow changes over a long period of time |
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Uniformitarianism |
theory that states that the geologic processes that shape Earth are uniform through time |
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Variation |
differences in physical traits of an individual from the group to which it belongs |
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Adaptation |
inherited trait that is selected for over time because it allows organisms to better survive in their environment |
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Artificial selection |
process by which humans modify a species by breeding it for certain traits |
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Heritability |
ability of a trait to be passed from one generation from the next |
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Natural selection |
mechanism by which individuals that have inherited beneficial adaptations produce more offspring on average than do other individuals |
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Population |
All of the individuals of a species that live in the same area |
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Fitness |
measure of an organism’s ability to survive and produce offspring relative to other members of a population |
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Biogeography |
study of the distribution of organisms around the world |
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Homologous Structure |
Body part that is similar in structure on different organisms but performs different functions |
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Analogous Structure |
body part that is similar in function on different organisms but is structurally different |
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Vestigial Structure |
remnants of an organ or structure that that functioned in an earlier ancestor |
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Paleontology |
study of fossils or extinct organisms |
