Earth History Vocabulary

The remains of a once living organism preserved in rock.

• fossil

• fossil record

• homologous structure

• analogous structure

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

The remains of a once living organism preserved in rock.A collection of fossils that documents the history of life on Earth.

• fossil

• fossil record

• homologous structure

• analogous structure

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

The body parts of different species that have similar structure due to a common ancestor.

• fossil

• fossil record

• homologous structure

• analogous structure

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

The body parts of different species that have the same purpose but different structure due to different ancestors.

• fossil

• fossil record

• homologous structure

• analogous structure

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

The body part of an organism that have lost their function over time.

• vestigial structure

• analogous structure

• natural selection

• evolution

A mechanism of evolution that occurs when organisms are better adapted to their environment.

• vestigial structure

• analogous structure

• natural selection

• evolution

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

The process by which different kinds of living organisms have developed over many generations.

• vestigial structure

• analogous structure

• natural selection

• evolution

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

A supercontinent that contained most of Earth’s land.

• Pangea

• America

• Continental Drift

• Plate Tectonics

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

The gradual movement of Earth’s continents across Earth’s surface.

• Pangea

• America

• Continental Drift

• Plate Tectonics

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

A theory that the Earth’s crust moves due to currents in the mantle.

• Pangea

• America

• Continental Drift

• Plate Tectonics

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-5

NGSS.HS-ESS2-1