Scientific Method, Evolution, and Human Origins Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering statistical testing, scientific terms, evolutionary biology, primate adaptations, human origin timelines, and the hierarchy of human complexity.

Statistical testing

Statistical procedures used to provide a statement of probability that a treatment was effective.

Peer review

Critical evaluation of scientific work by other experts in the field prior to funding or publication, conducted using verification and repeatability of results to ensure honesty, objectivity, and quality in science.

Scientific fact

Information that can be independently verified.

Law of nature

A generalization about the way matter and energy behave, resulting from inductive reasoning and repeated observations, written as a verbal statement or mathematical formula.

Theory

An explanatory statement or set of statements derived from facts, laws, and confirmed hypotheses that summarizes what we know and suggests directions for further study.

Theory of natural selection

An explanation of how species originate and change through time, helping us understand the human body.

Charles Darwin

Influential biologist who presented the first well-supported theory of how evolution works and authored On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859) and The Descent of Man (1871).

On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859)

The book written by Charles Darwin presenting the first well-supported theory of evolution, referred to as 'the book that shook the world'.

The Descent of Man (1871)

A book written by Charles Darwin focusing on human evolution and humanity's relationship to other animals.

Evolution

Change in the genetic composition of a population of organisms over time, such as the development of bacterial resistance to antibiotics.

Natural selection

The mechanism of how evolution works, characterized by the differential success of some individuals over others.

Selection pressures

Forces, such as predators, that promote the reproductive success of some individuals more than others.

Adaptations

Inherited features of anatomy and physiology that evolved in response to selection pressures and enable an organism to succeed.

Arboreal

Tree-dwelling; describes ancestral primates whose tree-dwelling lifestyle led to features like mobile shoulders, opposable thumbs, stereoscopic vision, and color vision.

Stereoscopic vision

Vision produced by forward-facing eyes that provides depth perception.

Australopithecus

A bipedal primate genus that lived more than 3 million years ago, adapted to standing and walking on two legs on the savanna as Africa became hotter and drier.

Homo genus

A genus of primates that appeared 2.5 million years ago, characterized by being taller, having a larger brain volume, and tool-making.

Homo erectus

A species that appeared 1.8 million years ago and migrated from Africa to parts of Asia.

Homo sapiens

The species of modern humans that originated in Africa 200,000 years ago.

Evolutionary medicine

A field that traces some modern human diseases to differences between modern and prehistoric environments.

Hierarchy of complexity

The organizational framework of the human body based on successive levels: organism, organ systems, organs, tissues, cells, organelles, molecules, and atoms.

Organism

A single, complete individual.

Organ system

A group of organs with a unique collective function, such as circulation, respiration, or digestion.