Download Name: Date: Chapter 5 Vocabulary — The Evolution of Living

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Chapter 5 Vocabulary — The Evolution of Living Things
1. Adaptation - a characteristic that helps an organism survive and reproduce in its environment
2. Species - a group of organisms that can mate with one another to produce fertile offspring
3. Evolution- the process by which populations accumulate inherited changes over time
4. Fossils-
solidified remains or imprints of once living organisms; found in rock layers; can be
complete organisms, parts of organisms, or just a set of footprints
5. Fossil Record- a historical sequence of life; supplies evidence about the order in which evolutionary
changes have occurred
6. Mammals- animals that breathe with lungs, have hair, and produce milk for their young
7. Vestigial Structures-
the remnants of once useful structures such as leg bones in the whale
8. Vertebrates- animals with bones
9. The Beagle-
the British ship on which Darwin sailed in 1831. They went to the Galapagos Islands
where Darwin studied animals and plants.
10. Traits-
specific characteristics that can be passed from parent to offspring through genes
11. Selective Breeding- the process in which humans select which plants or animals to reproduce based
on certain desired traits. Farmers and breeders were doing selective breeding long before Darwin
studied natural selection
12. Principles of Geology by Lyell stated- Earth formed by natural processes over a long period of
time; showed Darwin that Earth was much older than anyone had imagined
13. Essay on the Principle of Population stated- Humans have the potential to reproduce rapidly and
food supplies coult not support unlimited population growth. However, human populations are limited
by choices that humans make or by problems such as starvation and disease. Darwin learned that any
species can produce many offspring but not all survive. Therefore, there is something special about
the survivors.
14. The Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection stated- Evolution happens through a
process called natural selection which has 4 parts: 1. Overproduction, 2. Inherited Variation, 3.
Struggle to Survive, 4. Successful Reproduction
15. Mutations-
an error in DNA or changes in a gene
16. Generation Time- the period between the birth of one generation and the birth of the next
generation
17. Speciation- The process of forming a new species through natural selection. There are 3 steps in the
process: 1. Separation, 2. Adaptation, and 3. Division