Unit 10: Evolution and Ecology

Question 1

evolution

Answer 1

the change of organisms over time

Question 2

common ancestor

Answer 2

an ancestor that two organisms can both trace their inheritance back to

Question 3

homologous structure

Answer 3

similar structures inherited from a common ancestor but with different functions

Question 4

analogous structure

Answer 4

different structures but the same function as a result of adaptation

Question 5

vestigial structure

Answer 5

structures inherited from ancestors but that no longer have a function

Question 6

embryology

Answer 6

the study of organisms early development, is evidence for evolution

Question 7

fossil

Answer 7

preserved remains or prints from a dead organism in rock, fossil record is evidence for evolution

Question 8

natural selection

Answer 8

“survival of the fittest,” the organisms that are best fit to an environment are the ones that survive and reproduce

Question 9

fitness

Answer 9

how well an organism can survive and reproduce in its environment

Question 10

adaptation

Answer 10

an inheritable characteristic that increases an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce in its environment

Question 11

gene pool

Answer 11

all genes in a population

Question 12

allelic frequency

Answer 12

how common certain alleles are within a population/gene pool

Question 13

reproductive isolation

Answer 13

when species are too different/far apart to mate with one another

Question 14

speciation

Answer 14

the point at which organisms are classified as different species: when they are no longer able or willing to mate with each other

Question 15

phylogeny

Answer 15

the evolutionary history of how organisms are related to each other and common ancestors

Question 16

population

Answer 16

a group of organisms of the same species

Question 17

community

Answer 17

the interactions between populations of different species in an area

Question 18

ecosystem

Answer 18

the environment in which different organisms live and interact with each other and the environment

Question 19

biome

Answer 19

an area classified according to the species that live there and its environment

Question 20

biosphere

Answer 20

the regions of the planet (land, water, and air) that are inhabited by various organisms

Question 21

abiotic

Answer 21

non-living things that can cause a change in a population

Question 22

biotic

Question 23

producer

Answer 23

autotroph, makes its own food/energy

Question 24

consumer

Answer 24

heterotroph, eats other organisms for food/energy

Question 25

food chain

Answer 25

who eats who

Question 25

food web

Answer 25

a diagram of the food chain

Question 26

trophic level

Answer 26

producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, etc; where a species sits in a pyramid

Question 27

ecological pyramids

Answer 27

representation of how energy moves through an ecosystem (could be mass, populations)

Question 28

habitat

Answer 28

where organisms live

Question 29

limiting factors

Answer 29

something that prevents the population of a species from growing (or in excess could help it to grow)

Question 30

carrying capacity

Answer 30

the population number that an ecosystem can realistically sustain

Question 31

predation

Answer 31

predator/prey relationship

Question 32

parasitism

Answer 32

relationship in which one organism benefits, other is harmed

Question 33

commensalism

Answer 33

relationship in which one organism benefits, the other is not effected

Question 34

mutualism

Answer 34

relationship in which both organisms benefit

Question 35

competitive exclusion principle

Answer 35

two species competing for the same resources in the same habitat cannot both survive