Chapters 7 & 8: The Evolution of Living things/ The History of Life on Earth/ GTS
EVOLUTION AND GTS VOCABULARY
1. Species – Group of organisms that can mate with each other to produce fertile offspring
2. Generation Time – Period between birth of one generation and birth of the next generation
3. Pangaea – Single landmass surrounded by gigantic ocean; means “all Earth”
4. Struggle to Survive – Part of natural selection theory: individuals within a population compete with each other for limited resources
5. Mesozoic Era – Period from 248 mya-65 mya; called “age of reptiles
6. Fossil Record – Historical sequence of life indicated by fossils found in layers of Earth’s crust
7. Extinct – Describes a species that has died out completely
8. Evolution – Process by which populations’ inherited characteristics change over time
9. Absolute Dating – Method of measuring the age of fossils or rocks in years
10. Inherited Variation – Part of natural selection theory; individuals within a population have slightly different traits
12. Relative Dating – Estimating the age of rocks and fossils
13.Darwin – Naturalist who is considered the “father of evolution” and wrote the theory of natural selection
14. Neanderthal – Hominid that hunted large animals, made fire, and wore clothing
15. Plate Tectonics – Theory that explains how large pieces of Earth’s crust move and change shape
16. Paleozoic Era – Period from 543 mya-248 mya; means “ancient life”
17. Fossil – Remains or imprint of a once living organism
18. Cenozoic Era – Period from 65 mya-present day; called “age of mammals”
Precambrian Time – Period from 4.6 mya-543 mya; no oxygen, volcanic eruptions, intense sun radiation
19. Adaptation – Characteristic that helps an organism survive and reproduce in its environment
20. Hominid- Type of primate that includes only humans and their human-like ancestors
21. Speciation – Formation of a new species as a result of evolution (separation, adaptation, division)
22. Natural Selection – Process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more successfully than less well adapted individuals; theory to explain evolution
23. Homo sapiens – Species of hominids that included modern humans and their closest ancestors
24. Overproduction – Part of natural selection theory; each species produces more offspring than will survive to reproduce
25. GTS (Geologic Time Scale) – Standard method used to divide Earth’s long natural history into manageable parts
26. Successful Reproduction – Part of natural selection theory; individuals that are better equipped to live in an environment are more likely to survive to reproduce
