The process of determining
a specific date/age of a
fossil using radioactive
materials
Inherited characteristic that
increases an organism’s
survival
Parts of animals that have
the same function, but
different structure, ex. the
wings of a bee and
hummingbird
Relative from which you
descended
When a human selects
which organisms breed in
order to develop desired
traits, ex. improved milk
production in cows or
disease resistant strains of
plants
Process by which two species
evolve in response to
changes in each other and
evolve to fit together better
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Developed the theory of
natural selection which says
that the most fit organisms
are more likely to survive
and reproduce
When distantly related
organisms live in similar
environments and
independently start to
develop similar (analogous)
structures, ex. the dolphin
and shark, have similar fins
Organism that is made up of
cells that contains a nuclei
Organism in its early stages
of development, similar
embryos indicate a common
ancestor
Family or phylogenetic tree
which represents organisms
who share a common
ancestor and shows
evolutionary relationships
Genetic changes in a species
over time; slow process of
change from one form to
another
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Biology Reteaching Resource
Preserved remains or
evidence of an ancient
organism
Disappearance of a species
Combined genetic
information of all members
of a particular population
Where Darwin studied bird
populations and developed
his theory of natural
selection
Length of time required for
half of the radioactive atoms
in a sample to decay, how
scientists absolutely measure
the age of a fossil
The process by which a
strand of DNA is broken
and then joined to a
different DNA molecule
(crossing over)
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Biology Reteaching Resource
Way to organize all living
things using the following
taxonomic categories in
order: Kingdom, Phylum,
Class, Order, Family,
Genus, Species
Limbs that function
differently and look
differently on the outside yet
have similar internal bone
structure, indicates a
common ancestor
Said that organisms evolve
in one generation by “will”
and these changes are
passed on to offspring, ex.
giraffes stretched their necks
to reach food and then their
babies were born with long
necks
Process by which individuals
better suited to their
environment survive and
reproduce most successfully;
also called survival of the
fittest
A mammal of the order
Primates and includes
humans, monkeys, apes,
lemurs
Unicellular organism lacking
a nucleus
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Biology Reteaching Resource
Technique in which
scientists calculate the age
of a sample based on the
amount of remaining
radioactive material it
contains
Method of determining the
age of a fossil by comparing
its placement with that of
fossils in other layers of rock
In-between species that link
old versions of a species to
new, indicates a common
ancestor
Differences that exist
between individuals of the
same species
Structures in an organism
that are no longer used;
evidence of a common
ancestor; ex- human
appendix, whale pelvis
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Biology Reteaching Resource
2009
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Biology Reteaching Resource