Evolution and Natural Selection

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What is Variation?

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Variation refers to the genetic differences between organisms of the same species, which can lead to differences in traits.

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What is Embryology?

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Embryology is the study of organisms at their earliest stage of life, focusing on the development of embryos.

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What is Mutation?

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Mutation is a change in the DNA sequence of an organism, which can lead to new traits, such as a chemical spill causing ladybugs to have blue dots instead of black.

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What is Fitness in the context of evolution?

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Fitness is the ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its specific environment.

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What is Gene Flow?

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Gene flow is the transfer of genetic material between populations, such as when a Swedish family moves to India and their offspring inherit traits from both parents.

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What is Natural Selection?

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Natural selection is the process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.

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What is Adaptation?

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Adaptation is a trait that enhances an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in its environment.

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What are Vestigial Structures?

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Vestigial structures are body parts that have lost their original function through evolution, such as the human appendix.

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What is the Fossil Record?

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The fossil record is the history of life on Earth as documented by fossils, providing evidence for evolution.

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What is Genetic Drift?

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Genetic drift is a mechanism of evolution that refers to random changes in the frequency of alleles in a population.