Evolution Vocabulary Review

Match the following terms to their definition.

• Evolution

• the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. The theory of its action was first fully expounded by Charles Darwin and is now believed to be the main process that brings about evolution.

• Gene

• the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth.

• Mutation

• the changing of the structure of a gene, resulting in a variant form that may be transmitted to subsequent generations, caused by the alteration of single base units in DNA, or the deletion, insertion, or rearrangement of larger sections of genes or chromosomes.

• Natural Selection

• a unit of heredity which is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of the offspring.

• Genetic Drift

• variation in the relative frequency of different genotypes in a small population, owing to the chance disappearance of particular genes as individuals die or do not reproduce.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

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Match the following terms to their definition.

• Extinction

• an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environ

• Fitness

• a change or the process of change by which an organism or species becomes better suited to its environment.

• Artificial Selection

• the identification by humans of desirable traits in plants and animals, and the steps taken to enhance and perpetuate those traits

• Speciation

• the formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution.

• Adaptation

• the fact or process of a species, family, or other group of animals or plants becoming extinct.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

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What is evolution?

• the formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution.

• the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth.

• an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment.

• the fact or process of a species, family, or other group of animals or plants becoming extinct.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

What is fitness?

• the formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution.

• the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth.

• an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment.

• the fact or process of a species, family, or other group of animals or plants becoming extinct.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

What is extinction?

• the formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution.

• the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth.

• an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment.

• the fact or process of a species, family, or other group of animals or plants becoming extinct.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

What is speciation?

• the formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution.

• the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth.

• an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment.

• the fact or process of a species, family, or other group of animals or plants becoming extinct.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

What is a gene?

• a unit of heredity which is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of the offspring.

• the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. The theory of its action was first fully expounded by Charles Darwin and is now believed to be the main process that brings about evolution.

• an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment.

• the fact or process of a species, family, or other group of animals or plants becoming extinct.

What is natural selection?

• the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. The theory of its action was first fully expounded by Charles Darwin and is now believed to be the main process that brings about evolution.

• the formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution.

• an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment.

• the fact or process of a species, family, or other group of animals or plants becoming extinct.

What is adaptation?

• an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment.

• the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth.

• the formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution.

• the fact or process of a species, family, or other group of animals or plants becoming extinct.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

What is a species?

• a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding.

• the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth.

• an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment.

• the fact or process of a species, family, or other group of animals or plants becoming extinct.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-2