1. Changes Over TimeChapter 5 Review

3. A group of similar organisms that can mate with each other and produce fertile offspring are called a ___________.

4. species

5. A trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce is called a(n)

6. adaptation

7. The change of a species over time is called __________.

8. evolution

9. A well tested concept that explains a wide range of observations is called a(n) ___________.

10. scientific theory

11. The process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce than other members of the same species is called __________.

12. Natural selection

13. The theory that was proposed by Jean Baptiste Lamarck in the early 1800’s that stated that traits developed during the lifetime of an organism could be passed on to its offspring is called _________.

14. The Theory of Acquired Characteristics

15. One way that a new species can evolve is when a land form separates a group of individuals from the rest of its species long enough to evolve different traits. This process is called _________.

16. geographic isolation

17. Any difference between individuals of the same species is called a(n) _________.

18. variation

19. The geographic isolation that occurred on a world wide scale hundreds of millions of years ago and led to the evolution of unique organisms like those found on the continent of Australia is called __________.

20. continental drift

21. The preserved remains or traces of an organism that lived in the past is called a(n) __________.

22. fossil

23. Most fossils form in ____________ rock.

24. sedimentary rock

25. Fossils that form when remains are buried in sediment and are changed to rock when minerals soak into the remains are called _______________.

26. petrified fossils

27. Using the Law of Superposition scientists determine whether one fossil is older than another by using _____________.

28. relative dating

29. The process of accurately dating a fossil by determining the ratio of a radioactive element to its more stable form is called ______.

30. absolute dating

31. The millions of fossils that scientists have collected that give important information about the Earth’s past are called the _________.

32. fossil record

33. The calendar of Earth’s history is called the ___________.

34. Geologic Time Scale

35. The largest span of time in the Geologic Time Scale is called ___________.

36. Precambrian Time

37. Humans evolved in what era of the Geologic Time Scale?

38. Cenozoic Era

39. What is the age of the Earth?

40. 4.6 billion years

41. A fossil made of hardened minerals in the shape of the original organism or one of its parts is called a(n) ___________.

42. cast

43. A diagram that shows how different groups of organisms are related is called a(n) _____________

44. branching tree

45. The __________ of a radioactive element is the amount of time it takes for half of the atoms in a sample to decay.

46. half-life

47. The author of Origin ofSpecies and the theory of natural selection is ________________.

48. Charles Darwin

49. A species is _________ if no members of that species are still alive.

50. extinct