natural selection

Question 1

adaptation

Answer 1

a characteristic that improves an individual ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment

Question 2

species

Answer 2

a group of organism that are closely related and can mate to produce fertile offspring

Question 3

evolution

Answer 3

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

Question 4

fossil

Answer 4

the remains or physical evidence of an organism preserved by geological processes

Question 5

fossil record

Answer 5

a historical sequence of life indicated by fossils found in layers of the earth’s crust

Question 6

trait

Answer 6

a genetically determined characteristics

Question 7

selective breeding

Answer 7

the human practice of breeding animals or plants that have certain desired characteristics

Question 8

natural selection

Answer 8

the process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more successfully than less well-adapted individuals do; a theory to explain the mechanism of evolution

Question 9

generation time

Answer 9

the period between the birth of one generation and the birth of the next generation

Question 10

speciation

Answer 10

the formation of new species as a result of evolution

Question 11

geologic time scale

Answer 11

the standard method used to divide the earth’s long natural history into manageable parts

Question 12

extinct

Answer 12

describes a species that has died out completely

Question 13

plate tectonics

Answer 13

the theory that explains how large pieces of the earth’s outermost layer called tectonic plates move and change shape

Question 14

Precambrian time

Answer 14

the period in the geological time scale from the formation of the earth to the beginning of the Paleozoic era from about 4.6 billion to 543 million years ago

Question 15

Paleozoic era

Answer 15

the geological era that followed Precambrian time and that lasted 543 million to 248 million years ago

Question 16

Mesozoic era

Answer 16

the geologic era that lasted from 248 million to 65 million years ago; also called the age of reptiles

Question 17

Cenozoic era

Answer 17

the most recent geologic era beginning 65 million years ago; also called the age of the mammals

Question 18

primate

Answer 18

a type of animal characterized by opposable thumbs and binocular vision

Question 19

hominid

Answer 19

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

Question 20

homo sapiens

Answer 20

the species of hominids that includes modern humans and their closest ancestors and that first disappeared about 100,000 to 160,000 years ago