Evolutionary History Vocab

A _______________ ______________ is an older population from which two or more newer species descended

• body structure

• evolutionary time

• common ancestor

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Evidence of life from the past, such as fossilized bones, footprints, or leaf prints is called a ______________.

• fossil

• extinct

• speciation

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

_______________ is the process by which one population evolved into two or more different species

• speciation

• evolution

• paleontologist

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

The very long time that spans the history of Earth, from the very first cellular life to the present is called ____________ ____________.

• speciation

• evolutionary time

• common ancestor

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

What best describes the hind leg bones seen in the whale?

• The bones are analogous structures to the fins of living fish.

• The bones are vestigial structures that had a function in an ancestor.

• The bones are homologous structures to the wings of butterflies.

• The bones are fossil structures from an extinct ancestor.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

This fossil turtle and this living hawk both have a structure in their neck called the atlas bone. What best explains why both species have an atlas bone?

• The turtle and hawk are different species, so they must not share an ancestor population. They inherited their atlas bone structure from separate ancestor populations

• The turtle and hawk both share the same ancestor population that had an atlas bone. They inherited this structure from the ancestor population.

• It is impossible to say. Fossils are very old; therefore, we cannot make observations of the turtle’s ancestors, and we cannot explain its body structures.

• All species have their own specific body structures, so it is a coincidence that this turtle and hawk each happen to have the atlas bone structure.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Vestigial structures

• structures that perform a similar function but are not similar in origin

• remnants of once-important structures that have slowly lost all or most of their function

• features found in different organisms that share structural similarities but may have very different functions

• preserved remains of an organism

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

What is the significance of the Cambrian Explosion in the fossil record?

• It marks the extinction of the dinosaurs.

• It represents a period of rapid evolutionary diversification.

• It indicates the first appearance of human ancestors.

• It shows the transition from aquatic to terrestrial life.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

____________ are a group of organisms of the same kind (in one or more populations) that do NOT reproduce with organisms from any other group

• fossil

• species

• extinct

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

A _____________ _____________ is a body structure in two or more species that features the same parts. Ex: the same bones

• shared structure

• common ancestor

• descendant species

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2