Evolutionary Biology - Natural Selection - Middle School

It's survival of the fittest out there, so be sure to practice this list of terms related to natural selection. Your vocabulary will evolve as you learn all about genes, variation, adaptation, and extinction.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. adaptation
    the process of adjusting or conforming to new conditions
  2. advantage
    the quality of having a superior or more favorable position
  3. anatomical
    of or relating to the branch of morphology that studies the structure of organisms
  4. behavioral
    of or relating to behavior
  5. camouflage
    exploit the natural surroundings to disguise something
  6. competition
    the act of contending with others for rewards or resources
  7. divergence
    moving away in different direction from a common point
  8. domesticated
    converted or adapted to use in the home
  9. environment
    the area in which something exists or lives
  10. evolution
    sequence of events involved in the development of a species
  11. extinction
    the state of being no longer in existence
  12. gene
    part of DNA controlling physical characteristics and growth
  13. generation
    group of genetically related organisms in a line of descent
  14. genetic
    relating to the study of heredity and variation in organisms
  15. genotype
    the particular alleles present in an organism
  16. heritable
    capable of being inherited
  17. inherit
    receive by genetic transmission
  18. mimicry
    the resemblance of an animal species to another species
  19. morphology
    the study of the structure of animals and plants
  20. mutation
    any event that changes genetic structure
  21. natural selection
    a process in which organisms evolve to adapt to environment
  22. offspring
    any immature animal
  23. organism
    a living thing that can act or function independently
  24. phenotype
    observable characteristics produced by genes and environment
  25. physiology
    processes and functions of an organism
  26. population
    a group of organisms of the same species inhabiting an area
  27. predator
    any animal that lives by preying on other animals
  28. probability
    a measure of how likely it is that some event will occur
  29. recombination
    the rearrangement of genes (by crossing over) in offspring
  30. reproduction
    the process of generating offspring
  31. resource
    a new or reserve supply that can be drawn upon when needed
  32. speciation
    the evolution of a biological species
  33. species
    taxonomic group whose members can interbreed
  34. survival
    the state of remaining alive
  35. trait
    a distinguishing feature of your personal nature
  36. variation
    the process of being or becoming different
  37. variety
    noticeable heterogeneity
Created on Mon Feb 06 16:31:02 EST 2017 (updated Tue Apr 04 11:12:12 EDT 2017)

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