Amplify Evolutionary History

the process by which one population evolves into two or more different species

• speciation

• descandant

• fossil

• extinct

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

evidence of life from the past, such as fossilized bones, footprints, or leaf prints

• fossil

• extinct

• generation

• species

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

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

• species

• fossil

• trait

• limb

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

an organism’s arm, leg, or wing

• limb

• body structure

• mutation

• organisms

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

when something stays mostly the same over time

• stability

• change

• trait

• limb

everything (living and nonliving) that surrounds an organism

• environment

• evolution

• diagnose

• fossil

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

 This fossil bird and this living salamander both have tails. However, they have different tail structures. The bird has a very short tail made of just one bone that helps it have a light skeleton for flying. The salamander has a long tail with many bones that helps it balance while it runs. What most likely explains why both the bird and salamander have tails and why the tails are different?

• The salamander and bird both inherited tails from a shared ancestor population, but this population separated into different environments. In each environment, different types of tails evolved, which helped the populations survive.

• It is impossible to explain the body structures of different species. The way that structures change over time is very complex, and no one has ever observed these changes occurring.

• The bird and salamander are different species, so they do not share an ancestor population. These species had separate ancestor populations, and each evolved a tail that helps it survive in its environment.  

• All species have their own specific body structures, so it is a coincidence that the bird and salamander happen to have different types of tails.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

the process by which the distribution of traits in a population changes over many generations

• natural selection

• organisms

• evolutionary time

• speciation

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

sharing a common ancestor population

• related

• speciation

• mutation

• trait

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

NGSS.MS-LS4-3

the process by which species adapt to environmental changes over a very long time

• evolution

• related

• speciation

• inherit

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

NGSS.MS-LS4-4