Biodiversity
-the variety of organisms in a specific environment, or an Earth as a whole. (page 124)
Fossils
- are the physical remains of organisms, or an imprint of physical remains.
Theory of Evolution
- describes the slow change in organisms that occurs over many generations.
Natural Selection
- as the process by which organisms change over time, as those best suited to their environment survive to pass their traits to the next generation.
Adaptation
- structure, behavior, or other trait in an organism that helps it to survive in its environment.
Genetic Variation
- differences in traits among organisms of the same species.
Mutations
- a range change in a gene.
Extinct
- condition in which there are no more living members of a species.
Fossils
- are the remains or other evidence of organisms that lived in the past.
Mass Extinctions
- are periods when many species of organisms died out at the same time.