Chapter 5 Life Science

How many more are there????

Evolution

The model that states that simpler organisms have slowly changed into new and more complex organisms over millions of years.

Fossil

The preserved remains of plants and animals.

Uniformitarianism

The concept that all of earth’s physical processes happen at the same rate in the present time as they did in the past.

Theory of natural selection

The theory that traits that allow individuals to reproduce better than other individuals without those traits will become more common in the population.

Mutation

Random changes in DNA.

Modern synthesis

The modern model of evolution that blends mutations and natural selection.

Dating

The process used to estimate the age of rocks.

Common ancestor

A species of organism whose descendants are believed to form two distinct organisms.

Homologus structures  

Features that are shared by distinct types of organisms.

Vestigial structure

A structure according to evolutionary theory no longer has a function.

Transitional form

A supposed organisms of the past with body parts that are intermediate between early ancestral forms and later fully developed forms; also called a missing link.

Genetic load

The accumulated random mutations within the DNA of a population of organisms.

kind

A distinct group of organisms that God created to reproduce.