Evolution Flashcards
Evolution
The process in which significant changes in the inheritable traits (i.e. genes) of a species occur over time.
Variation
a different or distinct form or version of something.
Selection
mechanism that drives the evolution of a species
Recombination
New combinations of alleles as frequencies and favourability changes
Mutations
Genetic variations different than the norm
Gregor Mendel
Answered the questions of heredity left in Darwin’s work
Immutable
Unchangeable.
The age of the Earth
4.54 billion years old
Radiometric dating
Tool used to determine the age of the earth
Fossil records
fossils can be dated; show previous evolutionary forms of modern animals
Excess offspring
an organism produces more offspring to accomodate for the death rate
Spontaneous generation
Life comes from non-living things.
Creationism
Creator made things as we see now
Catastrophism
natural disasters killed off old species (explaining fossils)
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
The Theory of Acquired Characteristics; if an organism changes during its life, those changes are passed down (e.g. bodybuilder passes down muscles). Wrong but close
Charles Darwin
First to theorize evolution but could not explain heredity.
Darwin’s voyage
5 year voyage started in 1831; goal was to observe, collect and record specimens
Darwin’s finches
Different variations of the same species due to environmental factors