Unit 3 Flashcard 1

Front

What is the reason that humans, birds, whales, and lizards have similar arm bones?

Back

They have a common ancestor.

Front

What is a trait?

Back

The quality or characteristic of an organism.

Front

What does it indicate if the stages of embryonic development are similar among organisms?

Back

It suggests that organisms share a common ancestor.

Front

What does the graph comparing the size of body parts between infant and adult monkeys illustrate?

Back

It compares relative size of body parts between infant and adult monkeys.

Front

What are analogous structures?

Back

Structures that have similar functions but different evolutionary origins, like shark fins and dolphin fins.

Front

What is the definition of evolution?

Back

The change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations.

Front

What is natural selection?

Back

The process where organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.

Front

What is a common ancestor?

Back

An ancestral species from which multiple species have evolved.

Front

What is embryology?

Back

The branch of biology that studies the formation and early development of living organisms.

Front

What are homologous structures?

Back

Structures that are similar in different species due to shared ancestry, like the forelimbs of mammals.