TOPIC 5 - EVOLUTION (REGENTS)

Evolution

The process by which organisms have changed over time from simple, single-celled: complex-single-celled: complex, multicellular to complex organisms

Natural selection

Nature selects those individuals who are best fit for the environment

Overproduction

More offspring are produced than can survive

Competition

The fight for limited resources

Variation

Differences among organisms in a species (Sexually reproducing organisms have more variation than asexually reproducing organisms)

Adaptive value

Any trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce under a given set of environmental conditions

Extinction

The disappearance of an entire species caused by a failure to adapt to a changing environment

Ancestry

Cladograms or family trees that show common ancestry