Chapter 16 Flashcards
(14 cards)
Comparative morphology
Comparing body shapes and structures between different organisms.
Fossil
Preserved remains or traces of ancient life.
Biogeography
The study of where living things are found around the world.
Natural selection
When organisms better suited to their environment survive and reproduce more.
Fitness
How good an organism is at surviving and having offspring.
Evolution
Change in a species over time.
Radioisotope
A radioactive form of an element used to figure out the age of things.
Half-life
The time it takes for half of a radioactive substance to decay.
Gondwana
An ancient supercontinent that included South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, and India.
Pangea
A supercontinent that included almost all the land on Earth before it broke apart.
Morphology
The study of the shape and structure of organisms.
Homologous structures
Body parts that look alike because they come from a common ancestor (even if they have different functions).
Analogous structures
Body parts that do similar jobs but don’t come from a common ancestor.
Homeotic gene
A gene that controls where body parts grow during development
