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Evolution
studying for the evolution test
32
Biology
10th Grade
02/13/2008

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Term
Law
Definition
A DESCRIPTIVE GENERALIZATION about how some aspect of the natural world behaves under stated circumstances
Term
Fact
Definition
An OBSERVATION that has been REPEATEDLY CONFIRMED
Term
Hypothesis
Definition
A TESTABLE STATEMENT about the natural world that can be used to build more complex inferences and explanations
Term
Theory
Definition
A WELL-SUBSTANTIATED EXPLANATION of some aspect of the natural world that can incorporate facts, laws, inferences, and tested hypothesis
Term
Biogenesis
Definition
The theory that all living things come from other living things

(one controversial, now generally accepted)
Term
Process of Evolution
Definition
mutation-- natural selection-- new trait either doesn't survive or is slowly incorporated into the population

(mutation-natural selection-time)
Term
Fossils
Definition
trace of a long-dead organism that usually develops from the hard body parts of an organism
Term
Mold
Definition
An IMPRINT in rock that is in the shape of an organism
Term
Cast
Definition
A mold that is filled with rock-light minerals to form a MODEL
Term
Relative Age
Definition
determining if a fossil is younger or older than another based on the LAYER OF ROCK IT IS FOUND IN
Term
Absolute Age
Definition
Estimating the age in years of a fossil based on the AMOUNT OF SEDIMENT DEPOSITED ABOVE IT
Term
Radioactive Carbon Dating
Definition
Determining the age of a fossil based on teh radioactive decay of C-14
Term
Lamarck
Definition
- proposed that similar species descended from a common ancestor
- hypothesized that acquired traits were passed on to offspring
- first to state that types of organisms change over time & new types of organisms are modified descendants of older types
Term
Evolution by Natural Selection
Definition
Proposed by both Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace, but Darwin is mostly credited.

- organisms best suited to their environment reproduce more successfully and so the "favorable" genes are passed on more often (not an active process!)
Term
Adapt
Definition
To change in response to the environment
Term
Fitness
Definition
An organism's genetic contribution to the next generation (number of fertile offspring produced)
Term
Fossil Record
Definition
organisms buried in sediments may become fossilized (scientists can trace evolution this way)
Term
Homologous Structures
Definition
structures found in different organisms suggest that they have a common ancestry
Term
Comparative Biochemistry (Macromolecules)
Definition
study of molecules that make up different living things (DNA, etc.)
Term
Embryonic Development
Definition
comparing embryos of different species to look for similarities
Term
Vestigial Structures
Definition
Features that apparently serve no function in an organism and are thought to have been useful in ancestral species
Term
Coevolution
Definition
the change of two or more species in response to each other
Term
Convergent Evolution
Definition
occurs when the environment "selects" similar phenotypes, even though their ancestors were quite different
Term
Analogous Structures
Definition
A trait that serves the same function in different species but evolved independently (rather than from a common ancestor)
Term
Divergent Evolution
Definition
occurs when 2 or more related populations or species become more and more dissimilar from each other (can lead to new species)
Term
Parallel Evolution
Definition
the development of similarities in species that are related but separated (geographically) due to similar biomes with similar other species surrounding them
Term
Population Genetics
Definition
study of evolution from a genetic point of view (since evolution is the gradual change in genetic material of a population)
Term
Gene Pool
Definition
the total genetic information available in a population (variation is good for survival!)
Term
Mutations
Definition
occur constantly at a low rate and under normal conditions and can produce totally new alleles for a trait. Many are HARMFUL and are slow to be eliminated by natural selection.
Term
Paleoanthropologists
Definition
scientists who study fossil evidence of HUMAN evolution
Term
Homonids
Definition
human being with their ancestors
Term
Homo Sapiens
Definition
means "wise humans" and is the point in the fossil record where the human species is identified
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