Cool

A change that results in an organism being better suited to its environment

Adaptation

An organic molecule containing a carboxyl and an amino group

Amino acid

A membrane that contains the developing embryo of a mammal bird or reptile

Amnion

An order of even toed hoofed mammals

Artiodactyla

An animal that uses two legs for walking

Bipedal

A group of organisms believed to have evolved from the same common ancestor

Clade

A method of classification of species based on their morphological or molecular similarity

Cladistics

A branding diagram that shows the hypothesized relationship between organisms

Cladogram

The independent evolution of similar traits in more than one lineage

Convergent evolution

Change in the inherited traits of a population or organisms that occurs over many generations

Evolution

A specialized often colorful plant structure that contains the plants reproductive organs

Flower

The milk producing structures in female mammals

Mammary glands

Relating to molecules, a group of atoms bonded together that represent the smallest unit of a chemical compound

Molecular

Relating to the physical structures of organisms

Morphological

Having more than one cell

Multicellular

A principle that states that the simplest explanation that fits all evidence is most often true

Parsimony

The vascular tissue in plants that conducts sugar and other metabolites down from the leaves to the roots

Phloem

A bing ridge on the top of some mammal skulls to which jaw muscles are attached

Sagittal crest

Molars that have crescent shaped ridges on the grinding surface

Selenodont teeth

A single nucleotide polymorphism is a difference in a nucleotide in a specific location that varies among individuals

SNP

The vascular tissue of plants that transports water and nutrients up from the roots and to the rest of the plant

Xylem