Natural Selections

MS Science

adaptive trait

a trait that makes it more likely that an individual will survive in a specific environment

ancestor

a related organism from a previous generation

camouflage

a way of hiding by looking the same as the background

cause

an event or process that leads to a result or change

chromosome

a long piece of DNA that contains many genes

distribution

the number of individuals with each trait in a population

DNA

a type of molecule that genes and chromosomes are made of

effect

a result or change that happens because of an event or process

environment

everything (living and nonliving) that surrounds an organism

feature

a characteristic that all members of a species have

gene

an instruction for making a protein molecule

gene version

a specific form of a gene that provides instructions for making a particular protein molecule

generation

a group of individuals born and living at about the same time

histogram

a graph that uses bars to show how characteristics or values are distributed within a group

inherit

to receive genes from a parent

mutation

a random change to a gene that sometimes results in a new trait

natural selection

the process by which the distribution of traits in a population changes over many generations

non-adaptive trait

a trait that makes it less likely that an individual will survive in a specific environment

nymph

a young insect that looks somewhat different from the adult

offspring

an organism produced as a result of reproduction

organisms

living things, such as plants, animals, and bacteria

population

a group of the same type of organism living in the same area

predator

an animal that hunts and kills other animals for food

prediction

an idea about what might happen that is based on what you already know

prey

an animal that is hunted or killed by another animal for food

protein molecule

a type of large molecule that performs important functions inside organisms

selection pressure

something in the environment that affects an individual’s chances of surviving

sexual reproduction

the process in which two parents pass on their genes to create offspring

species

a group of orgnaisms of the same kind (in one or more populations) that do not reproduce with organisms from any other group

survive

to stay alive

trait

a specific characteristic of an individual organism

variation

any difference in traits between individual organisms