Introduction to Evolution

Flashcards summarizing key terms and definitions related to the introduction of evolution.

Abiogenesis

The theory that life originated from the synthesis of organic molecules from inorganic ones that eventually formed the first cell-like units.

Panspermia

The hypothesis that life arrived on Earth through extraterrestrial means, such as asteroids or comets.

Creationism

The belief that all organisms were created as they are today and that the Earth is relatively young, contradicting scientific evidence.

Endosymbiosis

The theory that certain organelles, like mitochondria and chloroplasts, originated from free-living prokaryotes that were engulfed by ancestral eukaryotic cells.

Natural Selection

The process through which populations evolve as individuals with favorable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce.

Microevolution

Evolutionary changes that occur within a specific population, typically observed over short periods of time, leading to changes in allele frequencies.

Lamarckism

The discredited theory proposing that traits developed during an organism's life can be inherited by offspring, contradicted by modern genetics.

Darwin's Observations

1. Species produce more offspring than can survive. 2. There is genetic variation within species. 3. Some variations can be inherited. 4. Populations tend to be stable in size.

Stabilizing Selection

A type of natural selection that favors the average trait, reducing variation within a population.

Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium

A principle stating that allele and genotype frequencies in a population will remain constant from generation to generation under certain conditions.