KEY: Review for Evolution Vocab Test

  1. Evolution:
  2. slow gradual change of a population over time.
  3. Charles Darwin is known as the Father of Evolution.
  1. Analogous Structures:
  2. Structures with similar functions (ex: wings to fly)
  3. Structures have a different form. (ex: bird wings have bones and insect wings to do not have bones)
  4. Do not come from a common ancestor.
  1. Homologous Structures:
  2. Anatomically similar structures.
  3. Forelimbs of humans, cats and bats are similar.
  4. Have common ancestry (common evolutionary origin).
  1. Vestigial Structures:
  2. Body structure no longer serving a purpose.
  3. Example – pelvic bone in whale and snake.
  1. Molecular Biology / Molecular Homologies:
  2. Scientists analyze the amino acid to determine common ancestry.
  3. The fewer differences in amino acid (cytochrome C) the more closely related the organisms will be indicating common ancestry.
  1. Camouflage:
  2. Adaptation that allows a species to blend in with the environment.
  1. Mimicry:
  2. Adaptation where one species resembles another species.
  1. Natural Selection:
  2. Explains how traits of a population can change over time.
  3. The organism best FIT will survive and reproduce offspring.
  4. Example: Moths that adapted to blend in with their environment will not be eaten, which will allow them to survive and reproduce offspring.
  1. Common Ancestor:
  2. An organism descended from a common ancestor.
  1. Biological Fitness:
  2. The better an organism is adapted to its environment, the greater its chances of survival and reproductive success.
  1. Adaptation:
  2. A trait shaped by natural selection that increases an organism’s reproductive success.
  3. Is a mutation or genetic change that helps an organism survive in its environment.
  4. Can be structural or behavioral.
  1. Mutation:
  2. A deletion, insertion, or substitution in a nitrogen base.
  3. Introduces new variation (change in allele frequencies) in a population.
  4. Mutations can be beneficial, harmful or neutral.
  1. Fossil Record:
  2. Teach us about the structure of organisms from the past.
  3. Show the evolutionary relationships between species.
  1. Embryology (Embryonic Stages):
  2. Earliest stage of growth and development of a plant or animal.
  3. Difficult to distinguish between the species during this stage.