Natural Selection Terms - Accel Biology 9th Grade Mr. Null

Absolute age

The age of a rock given as the number of years since the rock formed.

adaptive radiation

An evolutionary pattern in which many species evolve from a single ancestral species

Coevolution

Process by which two species evolve in response to changes in each other

analogous

comparable

biogeography

Study of past and present distribution of organisms

convergent evolution

Process by which unrelated organisms independently evolve similarities when adapting to similar environments

divergent evolution

when two or more species sharing a common ancestor become more different over time

homologous

term used to refer to chromosomes that each have a corresponding chromosome from the opposite-sex parent

mass extinction

event in which many types of living things become extinct at the same time

relative age

The age of a rock compared to the ages of rock layers

vestigial

not developed

fossil

The preserved remains or traces of an organism that lived in the past

5 evidences of evolution

1. Fossil record

2. bio-geography

3. homologous body structures

4. embryology

5. biological molecules