Chapter 6 Vocabulary
Terms
undefined, object
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endangered species -
one whose numbers are so low that they are in danger of becoming extinct -
sedimentary rock -
rock type formede by mud,sand,or other finr particles that settle out of liquid -
primates -
a group of mammles in which monkeys, apes. and humans belong to -
natural selection - Darwin's theory that organisms best adapted with traits for an enviroment will survive to pass on those traits to their offspring
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relative dating -
method of dating fossils that can only estimate the age of fossils -
hominids -
humanlike primates that eat both meat and vegetables and walk upright on two feet -
population -
a group of organisms of one species that live in an area -
vestigal structures -
body part that is reduced in size and doesn't seem to have function -
embryology -
study of the development of embroyos -
radioactive elements -
elements whose atoms give off radiation, a form of atomic energy -
gradualism -
the model that describes evolution as a slow change of one species to another new species -
species -
a group of organisms whose members look alike and successfully reproduce among themselves -
fossils -
any remains of life from an earlier time -
extintion -
dying out of a species -
evolution -
change in the hereditary features of a species over time -
variation - an apperance of an inherited trait that makes an individual different from other members of the same species
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Homo sapien -
a hominid primate mammal our own species or "wise human" -
homologous -
body parts that are similar in origin and structure -
punctuated equilibrium -
a model that shows rapid evolution of species comes about by the mutation of a few genes