Evolution and Origin Concepts Vocabulary

A comprehensive vocabulary review of key terms, theories, and definitions covering biological evolution, genetics, geology, and related concepts based on lecture notes.

Descent with Modification

The idea that all living things came from a common ancestor and change a little with each passing generation to be more different than the ancestors.

Theory of Human Descent

We only have one common answer

Homologous Structures

That comes from a common ancestor.

Analogous Structures

body parts in different animals that do the same job, but are built differently on the inside and do not come from a shared ancestor

Vestigial Structures

Structure with no apparent function

Natural Selection

relies on the presence of genetic diversity and variety in a population. (Variation in rates of survival based on phenotypes)

Adaptation

A trait that improve the reproduction of an organism

Allela

An allele is a specific version or variation of a gene

Paleontology

the scientific study of ancient life on Earth using fossils

Index Fossils

the remains of an ancient organism used by scientists to figure out the age of rock layers

Radiometric Dating

show that the calculated ages are much younger than evolutionists think it should be.

Geologic Columns

a vertical timeline that matches the earths rocks layers with the fossil record

Geometric Time Scale

a timeline of Earth's life

Molecular Evolution

how the building blocks of life—like DNA and proteins—change and develop over generations

Chemical Evolution

the process where simple, non-living chemicals slowly changed into complex molecules that eventually created the very first form of life on Earth.

Molecular Clock

a scientific tool that acts like an evolutionary timer to figure out how long ago two living things split from a shared ancestor

Biogeography

the study of where plants and animals live on Earth and why they live there

Embryology

the scientific study of the prenatal development of gametes, fertilization, and the growth of embryos and fetuses

Baraminology

the science that studies how an unborn baby grows and develops before birth.

Uniformitarianism

the idea that the natural processes shaping the Earth today are the exact same processes that shaped it in the past

Hominids

a specific family of primates that includes humans and all the great apes.

Reproductive Barrier

biological mechanism that prevents different species from mating and producing fertile offspring.

Fossils

the naturally preserved remains or traces of a plant or animal that lived a very long time ago

Behavioral Ecology

the study of how an animal's actions help it survive and have babies in its natural home

Phylogenetic Tree

Anything that prevents two species from responding with each other

Fossil Record

the total collection of discovered fossils that documents the history of life on Earth

Cambrian Explosion

a rapid evolutionary event about $541$ million years ago when most major groups of animals first appeared in the fossil record

Social Darwinism

the flawed idea that the biological concept of "survival of the fittest" applies to human people, groups, and nations

Speciation

the evolutionary process where one original species splits into two or more distinct, new species that can no longer mate with each other

Genetic Drift

the change in the frequency of a gene variant (allele) in a population over time due to random chance rather than natural selection

Mutation Theory of Evolution

new species are created by sudden, large changes in DNA, rather than by slow, gradual adjustments over millions of years.

Species

A group of organisms that look the same and have the same structure.

Kind

a basic group of living things that share similar traits and can breed with each other

Biologic Evolution

Is a slow, gradual change in organisms from one kind of another

Macroevolution

large-scale evolutionary change that happens at or above the species level over long periods of geologic time

Microevolution

a small-scale change in gene frequencies within a single population over a short period of time