Evolution STAAR Review 2025

Front

What is the study of how and why plants and animals live where they do?

Back

Biogeography

Front

What type of structures are similar in bone structure but serve different functions, like a human arm and a whale fin?

Back

Homologous structures

Front

What do we call the dog-like creature from which whales and dolphins descended?

Back

A common ancestor

Front

What is the term for the process by which different species evolve from a common ancestor?

Back

Evolution

Front

What are structures that have lost their original function through evolution called?

Back

Vestigial structures

Front

What is the term for the diversification of a group of organisms into forms filling different ecological niches?

Back

Adaptive Radiation

Front

What is the evidence of evolution that includes fossils, anatomical similarities, and genetic information?

Back

Biological evidence

Front

What is the term for structures that serve similar functions but do not share a common evolutionary origin?

Back

Analogous structures

Front

What is the process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring?

Back

Natural Selection

Front

What is the term for the gradual change in species over time?

Back

Evolutionary change