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19 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Evolution |
A heritable change in the characteristics within a population from one generation to the next; the development of new types of organisms from preexisting types of organisms over time |
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Strata |
Layers of rock |
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Natural Selection |
The process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more successfully than less well adapted individuals do; a theory to explain the mechanism of evolution |
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Adaptation |
The process of becoming adapted to an environment; an anatomical, physiological, or behavioral trait that improves an organism's ability to survive and reproduce |
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Fitness |
In evolutionary theory, a measure of an individual's hereditary contribution to the next generation |
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Fossil |
The trace r remains of an organism that lived long ago, most commonly preserved in sedimentary rock |
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Superposition |
A principle that states that younger rocks lie above older rocks if the layers have not been disturbed |
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Relative Age |
The age of an object in relation to the ages of other objects |
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Absolute Age |
The numeric age of an object or event, often stated in years before the present, as established by an absolute-dating process, such as radiometric dating |
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Biogeography |
The study of the geographical distribution of living organisms and fossils on Earth |
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Homologous Structure |
Anatomical structures in one species that, compared to other anatomical structure in another species, originated from a single anatomical structure in a common ancestor of the species |
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Analogous Structure |
An anatomical structure in one species that is similar in function and appearance, but not in evolutionary origin, to another anatomical structure in another species |
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Vestigial Structure |
A structure in an organism that is reduced in size and function and that may have been complete and functional in the organism's ancestors |
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Phylogeny |
The evolutionary history of a species or taxonomic group; the relationships by ancestry among species or taxonomic groups |
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Convergent Evolution |
The process by which unrelated species become more similar as they adapt to the same kind of environment |
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Divergent Evolution |
The process by which two or more related but reproductively isolated populations become more and more dissimilar |
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Adaptive Radiation |
An evolutionary pattern in which many species evolve from a single ancestral species |
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Artificial Selection |
The selective breeding of organisms (by humans) for specific desireble characteristics |
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Coevolution |
The evolution of two or more species that is due to mutual influence, often in a way that makes the relationship more mutually beneficial |
