Chapter7-8

Question 1

What is a group of organisms that are closely related and can mate yo produce fertile offspring.

Answer 1

Species

Question 2

What is the process in which inherited characteristics within a population change over generations such that new species sometimes arise.

Answer 2

Evolution

Question 3

What is a trace or remains of an organism that lived long ago most commonly preserved in sedimentary rock

Answer 3

Fossil

Question 4

What is a sequence of life indicated by fossils found in layers of the earths crust.

Answer 4

Fossil record

Question 5

What is a genetically determined characteristic.

Answer 5

Trait

Question 6

What is the human practice of breeding animals or plants that have certain desired traits.

Answer 6

Selective breeding

Question 7

What is the process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more successfully than less well adapted individuals do.

Answer 7

Natural selection

Question 8

What is formation of new species as a result of evolution.

Answer 8

Speciation

Question 9

What is any method of determining whether an event or object is older or younger than other events or objects.

Answer 9

Relative dating

Question 10

What is any method of measuring the age of an object or event in years.

Answer 10

Absolute dating

Question 11

What is the standard method used to divide the earths long natural history into manageable parts

Answer 11

Geologic time scale

Question 12

What describes a species that had died out completely

Answer 12

Extinct

Question 13

What is the theory that explains how large pieces of the earths outermost layer ( tectonic plates ) move and change shape.

Answer 13

Plate tectonics

Question 14

What is the period in the geologic time scale from the formation of the earth to the beginning of the Paleozoic era from about 4.6 million to 542 million years ago

Answer 14

Precambrian time.

Question 15

What is the geologic era that followed Precambrian time and that lasted from 542 million to 251 million years ago.

Answer 15

Paleozoic era

Question 16

What is the geologic era that lasted from 251 million to 65.5 million years age. Also called the age of the reptiles

Answer 16

Mesozoic era

Question 17

What is the most recent geologic era beginning 65 million years ago.also called the age of mammals.

Answer 17

Cenozoic era

Question 18

What is a type of mammals characterized by opposable thumbs and binocular vision

Answer 18

Primate

Question 19

What is a type of primate characterized by bipedalism relatively long lower limbs and lack of a tail.

Answer 19

Hominid

Question 20

What is the species of hominids that included modern humans and their closest ancestors and that first appeared about 100,000 to 160,000 years ago

Answer 20

Homo sapiens

Question 21

What is a characteristic that improves an individual’s ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment.

Answer 21

Adaption