Science Unit 4 (evolution)

Question 1

anything that causes a reaction or change in an organism any part of an organism

Answer 1

stimulus

Question 2

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

Answer 2

natural selection

Question 3

the history of life in the geologic past as indicated by the traces or remains of living things

Answer 3

fossil records

Question 4

a domain made up of prokaryotes that usually have a cell wall and that usually reproduce by cell division

Answer 4

bacteria

Question 5

a kingdom made up of nongreen, eukaryotic organisms that have no means of movement , reproduce by using spores , and get foods by breaking down substances in their surroundings and absorbing the nutrients

Answer 5

fungi

Question 6

the standard method used to divide Earth’s long natural history into managable parts

Answer 6

geologic time scale

Question 7

the most recent species from which two different species have evolved

Answer 7

common ancestor

Question 8

very different animals have bones that appear very similar in form or function and seem to be related

Answer 8

homologous structure

Question 9

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

Answer 9

evolution

Question 10

a characteristic that improves an individuals ability to survive and reproduce in a particular enviroment

Answer 10

adaptation

Question 11

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

Answer 11

species

Question 12

a domain made up of prokaryotes, most of which are known to live in extreme enviroments, that are distiguished from other prokaryotes by differences in their genetics and in the makeup of their cell wall

Answer 12

archaea

Question 13

a kingdom made up of complex, multicellular organisms that are usually green, have cells walls made of cellulose, cannot move around, and use the sun’s energy to make sugar by phtosynthesis

Answer 13

plantae

Question 14

began about 542 million years ago and ended about 251 million years ago/the first vertebrate animals colonized land

Answer 14

paleozoic era

Question 15

the study of development

Answer 15

embryology

Question 16

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

Answer 16

artificial selection

Question 17

the death of every member of a species

Answer 17

extinction

Question 18

the level of classification that comes after family and that contains similar species

Answer 18

genus

Question 19

a domain of organisms having cells each with a distinct nucleus within which the genetic material is contained

Answer 19

eukarya domain

Question 20

a kingdom made up of complex, multicellular organisms that lack cell walls, can usually move around, and quickly respond to their environment

Answer 20

animalia

Question 21

lasted about 185.5 million years/characterized by the development of flying reptiles, birds, and flowering plants and by the appearance and extinction of dinosaurs

Answer 21

mesozoic era

Question 22

a tool that allows the user to determine the identity of items in the natural world, such as trees, wildflowers, mammals, reptiles, rocks, and fish

Answer 22

dichotomous key

Question 23

the system of nomenclature in which two terms are used to denote a species of living organism, the first one indicating the genus and the second the specific epithet

Answer 23

binomial nomenclature

Question 24

the occurence of hereditary or nonhereditary differences between different individuals of a population

Answer 24

variation

Question 25

the trace or remains of an organism that lived long ago, most commonly preserved in sedimentary rock

Answer 25

fossil

Question 26

in a taxonomic system, one of the three broad groups that all living things fall into

Answer 26

domain

Question 27

a kingdom of mostly one-celled eukaryotic organisms that are different form plants, animals, archaea, bacteria, and fungi

Answer 27

protista

Question 28

relating to or denoting the earliest eon of the earth’s history, preceding the Cambrian period and the Phanerozoic eon

Answer 28

precambrian

Question 29

began about 65 million years ago and continues today/fossils are closer to Earth’s surface and easier to find

Answer 29

cenozoic era