Chapter 7/8; 22 Words Flashcards
(22 cards)
1
Q
Adaptation
A
- a characteristic that improves an individual’s ability to survive in a particular enviroment
2
Q
Species
A
- a group organisms that are closely related
3
Q
Evolution
A
- the process in which inherited characteristics within a population change over generations such that new species arise
4
Q
Fossil
A
- the trace or remains of an organism that lived long ago, most commonly preserved in sedimentary rock
5
Q
Fossil Record
A
- a historical sequence of life indicated by fossils found in layers of Earth’s crust
6
Q
Selective Breeding
A
- the human practice of breeding animals or plants that have certain desired traits
7
Q
Natural Selection
A
- the process by which individuals that are better adapted to their enviroment, survive and reproduce more successfully than the less well adapted individuals do; a theory to explain the mechanism of evolution
8
Q
Generation Time
A
- the period between the birth of one generation and the birth of the next generation
9
Q
Speciation
A
- the formation of new species as a result of evolution
10
Q
Relative Dating
A
- any method of determining whether an event of object is older or younger than others events or objects
11
Q
Absolute Dating
A
- any method of measuring the age of an object or event in years
12
Q
Geologic Time Scale
A
- the standard method used to divide the Earth’s long natural history into manageable parts
13
Q
Extinct
A
- describes a species that has died out completely
14
Q
Plate Tectonics
A
- the theory that explains how large pieces of Earth’s outermost layer, called Tectonic Plates move and change shape
15
Q
Precambrian Time
A
- the period in the geological time scale from the formation of the Earth to the beginning of the Palezoic era, from about 4.6 billion to 542 million years ago
16
Q
Palezoic Era
A
- the geologic era that followed Precambrian time and that lasted from 542million years ago to 251 million years ago
17
Q
Mesozoic Era
A
- the geologic era that lasted from 251 million to 65.5 million year ago; also called the Age of Reptiles
18
Q
Cenozoic Era
A
- the most recent geological era, beginning 65.5 million years ago; also called the Age of Mammals
19
Q
Primate
A
- a type of mammal characterized by opposable thumbs and binocular vision
20
Q
Hominid
A
- a type of primate characterized by bipedalism, relatively long lower limbs, and lack of a tail
21
Q
Homo Sapiens
A
- the species of hominids that includes modern humans and their closest ancestors and that first appeared about 100,000 to 160,000 years ago
22
Q
Trait
A
- a genetically determined characteristic
