Unit 9: Change Over Time

Adaptation

 an inherited trait that increases an organism’s chance of surviving and reproducing in its environment

Behavior

 the observable actions and reactions of animals, including their interactions with each other and their environment

Characteristic

a distinguishing feature or quality of an organism or group of organisms

Camouflage

an adaptation that enables a species to blend in with its environment

biodiversity

the variety of living things on Earth, including the variety of inherited traits, species, and ecosystems

Empirical Evidence

information that researchers find and collect through observation or experimentation that is used to solve a problem or prove/disprove a hypothesis; evidence that you can see or experience with your five senses 

environment

the place where organisms live

evolution

the process by which living things change over time

Extinction

occurs when the last of an individual organism of a species dies

Fossil

the preserved remains or evidence of a past living organism

Natural Selection

the process by which populations of organisms with variations that help then survive in their environments live longer, compete better, and reproduce more than those that do not have the variations

Observations

the process of using your senses to gather information about a living thing or event in nature

organism

a complete living thing; can be single-celled or multicellular

reproduction

process in which living things create new offspring that are similar to themselves, ensuring the continuation of a species through generations

species

a group of organisms capable of breeding with each other naturally to produce offspring

theory

 a well-supported explanation of how or why an event occurs in nature

law

a statement that describes what scientists expect to happen every time under a particular set of conditions

variation

a slight difference in an inherited trait of individual members of a species

Inherited Trait

a characteristic that is passed down from one generation to the next

 Mimicry

the resemblance of one species to another

Overproduction

occurs when there are too many organisms, and not enough resources for all to survive

Competition

 when food, mates and other resources are limited, the members of a species must compete with one another to survive