Ch. 17 & 18 Vocabulary

Front

What is artificial selection?

Back

Artificial selection is the process by which humans select variations in organisms that they find useful, leading to changes in the traits of those organisms.

Front

What does the term 'fossil' refer to?

Back

In the context of Darwin's Theory of Evolution, a fossil refers to the preserved remains or traces of ancient organisms.

Front

What is the founder effect?

Back

The founder effect is a phenomenon where allele frequencies change as a result of the migration of a small subgroup of a population.

Front

What is speciation?

Back

Speciation is the formation of new species through evolutionary processes.

Front

What does adaptation mean?

Back

Adaptation refers to any heritable characteristic that increases an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce in its environment.

Front

What is natural selection?

Back

Natural selection is the process by which organisms with variations most suited to their environment survive and reproduce, leading to evolutionary change.

Front

What is a heritable characteristic?

Back

A heritable characteristic is a trait that can be passed from parents to offspring through genetic information.

Front

What is genetic equilibrium?

Back

Genetic equilibrium is a state in which allele frequencies in a population's gene pool remain constant over time, indicating that the population is not evolving.

Front

What is a mutation?

Back

A mutation is a change in the DNA sequence of an organism's genome, which can lead to new traits.

Front

What is a common ancestor?

Back

A common ancestor is an ancestral species from which two or more different species have evolved.