HOL Exam 1
Monophyletic
A group of specimens that share a common ancestor and all of their descendants
Paraphyletic
A group of specimens that share a common ancestor and some of the descendants
Polyphyletic
A group of specimens that share a single common ancestor between all of them
Relative age
Age of a rock or specimen defined relative to the age of another rock/specimen
Absolute age
Age of a rock or specimen in years usually done by radiometric dating
cladogram
Branching diagram that portrays proximity of evolutionary relationships without explicit time dimensions
Evolutionary Tree
Branching diagram that shows ancestor-descendant relationships over actual time
Evolution "decent with modification"
Change in a lineage of populations between generations
theory
Collections of hypotheses linked together into a coherent explanation of the natural world that have received some empirical support
phylogeny
Evolutionary relationships among species
extremophile
Microorganism that lives in conditions of extreme temperature, acidity, alkalinity, or chemical concentration
autotroph
Organism that can manufacture its own food
heterotroph
Organism that cannot manufacture its own food
Hypothesis
Presupposed explanation of natural phenomena
Natural Selection
Process where better adapted organisms survive to reproduce more offspring
systematic
The study of the diversity of organisms and the relationship among them
Taxonomy
The theory and practice of classifying organisms
falsification
disproving a hypothesis
continental drift
hypothesis stating that continents gradually move across the earths surface over geological time
Fossil
naturally preserved remains or traces of animals or plants that lived in the geologic past.
Abiotic synthesis
production of organic molecules from non-organic materials
stratigraphy
study of layered sedimentary rocks
corroboration
supporting a hypothesis
Radiometric Dating
Dating rocks or specimens by determining relative proportions of particular radioactive parent and daughter elements in a sample
Scientific method
the procedure for studying the natural world consisting of formulating, testing, and modification of hypotheses
plate tectonics
theory explaining the structure of the earths crust aa resulting from the interaction of rigid plates that move slowly over the underlying mantel
