Evolution
The change in organisms changes over time
Artificial selection
Nature provides variation in traits and humans breed the traits that are useful
Plate tectonics
Theory of earth’s crust being comprised of several continuously moving plates
Natural selection
Changes in the inherited traits of a population overtime to improve fitness within their environment
Direct fossil
A geologic specimen that had been formed in a cast made by a living organism
Uniformitarianism
The earth has changed overtime by the same forces we observe it changing today
Adaptation
An inheritance trait that represents a change in an organism, improving its chances of survival and reproduction
Fossil record
Comparing fossils from older layer of rock as evidence of evolution of life
Indirect Fossil
A preserved specimen made by an organism (ex. Nest, footprint, scat)
Acquired trait
The characteristic developed in an individual as a result of environmental influence (can’t be inherited)
Gradualism
The modern earth has formed by a series of small gradual changes over a long period of time and continues to change
Varition
The differences in the traits expressed by members of a population
Embryonic similarities
In early developmental stages many species resemble their ancestors
Analogous structure
Organisms that use different structures as an adaptation to similar habitats
Vestigial organs
Organs that are reduced or no longer needed but are evidence of their existence in ancestors
Homologous structures
Ancestral structures that have evolved differently as a imals adapt to different animals