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| A group of individuals of the same species which live together in the same area at the same time is called a ________________________. |
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Definition
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| Define “population” and explain why all of the red oak trees living in one particular forest are an example of a population? |
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Definition
| Population: a group of individuals of the same species living in the same are; all of the red oaks in a particular forest are a population, because they are all the same species and live in the same area. |
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Term
| Individuals in a population that have traits or abilities that give them a competitive advantage over other population members are more likely to survive and reproduce. This principle is called __________________________ |
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Definition
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Term
| Natural selection occurs because there is _____________________ in a species and some individuals have traits which are more advantageous than others. |
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| When the environment changes a population must adapt or else the population will ______________. |
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| _______________________ is a key component of the process of natural selection because without it an adaptation would not be passed down from generation to generation. |
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| Individuals of the same species are similar but they still have some differences. What is this called? |
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| Populations with traits well suited to the environment will |
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Definition
| survive and reproduce more successfully than other populations |
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Term
| What are some examples of environmental challenges which lead to natural selection? |
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Definition
| climate change, new predator, asteroid impact |
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Term
| The opposable thumb allows humans to grasp objects firmly. Because this feature helped humans to survive over time, it is called a(n) _________________________. |
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| Structures and behaviors for finding food, protection, and for moving from place to place are an organism's __________________________ to its environment. |
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| Although dinosaurs lived for over 150 million years, they may have become extinct because a catastrophic event changed the environment more rapidly than the dinosaurs could _____________. |
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| "If a population has traits well suited to the environment, what will happen to that population?" |
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Definition
| it will survive and reproduce more successfully than other populations |
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Term
| The Stick Insects look like sticks on plants so that they can blend into their environment. Why is this an adaptation? |
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Definition
| it will make it more difficult for predators will find them |
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Term
| The arctic hare lives in an area which has snow in the winter. For part of the year they are white and part of the year they are brown. For which season would they be white? |
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| Populations of organisms are continually evolving which means... |
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| Giraffes have evolved long necks to reach food high in trees, describe how this happened? |
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Definition
| some of their ancestors had long necks and they survived to reproduce |
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Term
| Predict what will happen to a population in which a few individuals have a trait which helps them to survive. (hint there are two possibilities!) |
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Definition
| the individuals with the trait might reproduce and pass the trait on to their offspring, or the individuals without the trait might not reproduce and the population will die out. |
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Term
| If global warming continues and the temperature of the Earth continues to rise, what most likely will happen to the animals and plants which are adapted to living in the Arctic? |
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Definition
| some of the plants and animals will adapt to the new climate |
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Term
| There is a population of salamanders so poisonous it could kill you. Its main predator is a snake which has evolved tolerance for the salamanders' poison. Predict what will happen to the snake if the salamander evolves to be even more poisonous? |
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Definition
| the snakes with the highest tolerance might survive to reproduce |
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Term
| Natural selection is the process which explains |
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Definition
1) how evolution happens,
2) why some species become extinct, and
3) how speciation occurs |
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Term
| What are some environmental factors which can limit the survival of an organism? |
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Definition
| predator, availability of food, climate, competition, survival of prey, changes in weather patterns |
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Term
| If the Earth heats up and this changes the weather patterns on Earth, how will this affect the survival of organisms? |
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Definition
| some life will adapt and survive, and some life will die out" |
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Term
| A cactus, lives in the desert, stores water in its green stem and has leaves which are spines. Why do cacti have this adaptation? |
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Definition
| it stores water because it doesn’t rain often, no leaves because it gets plenty of sun, and spines to protect water supply |
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Term
| In the arctic it is freezing cold, windy, sunny only part of the year, and there is little water. What are some examples of characteristics which you would find on plants which live in this environment? |
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Definition
1)short height to protect from the strong winds,
2)grow only certain times of the year,
3)small hairs to maintain heat and water loss, and
4)large roots to anchor the plant and obtain the maximum amount of water and nutrients" |
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Term
| When a population moves to a new place where the habitat has slightly different characteristics what might happen to the population? |
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Definition
| become extinct, evolve into a new species, individuals with helpful variations will survive |
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| When populations within the same species become separated and can no longer reproduce with one another they can become new species, what is this called? |
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Definition
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| The diversity of living things is a result of what process? |
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| How does the process of natural selection affect biodiversity? |
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Definition
| biodiversity increases because variation between species increases |
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