Evolution Unit 3 Flashcards: Lamarck and Darwin

Vocabulary flashcards covering the fundamental theories of evolution, Lamarck's hypothesis, and Charles Darwin's observations and principles.

Evolution

The process of biological change in organisms over time.

Jean Baptiste Lamarck

A biologist who proposed a mechanism for how life changes over time, remembered for the incorrect principles of Use and Disuse and Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics.

Use and Disuse

The idea that parts of the body used more often become larger and stronger while those not used deteriorate, such as a giraffe stretching its neck.

Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics

Lamarck's principle stating that an organism could pass modifications developed during its lifetime to its offspring.

Charles Darwin

A geologist and biologist who proposed natural selection as the mechanism for how life changes over time after a voyage to South America in 1831.

Galapagos Tortoises

Organisms observed by Darwin with different shell shapes, neck sizes, and leg movements depending on the vegetation and environment of their specific island.

Glyptodonts

Extinct giant armadillos whose fossils Darwin found to resemble present-day armadillos living in South America.

Adaptations

Characteristics of organisms that enhance their survival and reproduction in specific environments.

The Origin of Species

The book published by Darwin in 1858 discussing descent with modification and natural selection.

Descent with Modification

The concept that all organisms are descended from an ancestor that lived in the past, with accumulated adaptations leading to the diversity of life.

Natural Selection

A mechanism that brings about the match between organisms and their environment.

Tree of Evolution

A representation of the history of life where each fork represents a common ancestor and the tips of the branches represent the diversity of organisms in the present.