Vocabulary Chapters 7 & 8 Flashcards
(22 cards)
What is a group of organisms that are closely related and can mate to produce fertile offspring
Species
What is adaption
A characteristic that improves an individual’s ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment.
What is evolution
The process in which inherited characteristics within a population change over generations such as that the new species sometimes arise
What is the trace or remains of an organism that lived long ago, most commonly preserved in sedimentary rock
Fossil
What is a fossil record
A historical sequence of life indicated by fossils found in layers of the earths crust
What is a trait
A genetically determined characteristic
What is the human practice of breeding animals or plants that have certain desired traits
Selective breeding
What is natural selection
The process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more successfully than the less well adapted individuals do; a theory to explain the mechanism of evolution
What is the period between birth of one generation and the birth of the next generation
Generation time
What is speciation
The formation of new species as a result of evolution
What is any method of determining whether an event or object is older or younger than other events or objects
Relative dating
What is absolute dating
Any method of measuring the age of an object or event in years
What is geological time scale
The standard method used to divide the earths long natural history into manageable parts
What describes a species that has died out completely
Extinct
What are plate tectonics
The theory that explains how large pieces of the earth outermost layer called tectonic plates move and change shape
What is the period on the geological time scale from formation of earth to the beginning of the Paleozoic era
Precambrian time
What is the Paleozoic era
The geological era that followed the Precambrian time and that lasted from 542 million to 251 million years ago
What is the geological era that lasted from 251 million to 65.5 million years ago
The Mesozoic era
What is the Cenozoic era
The most recent geological era, beginning 65 million years ago
What is a type of mammal characterized by opposable thumbs and binocular vision
Primate
What is a humanoid
A type of primate characterized by bipedalism, relatively long lower limbs, and the lack of a tail
What is the species of humanoids that includes modern humans and their closest ancestors
Homo sapiens
