Natural Selection & Adaptation Unit Vocab

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Across
  1. 2. The term used to refer to a group of related organisms that has died out & has no living members.
  2. 5. A type of rock that forms from the cooling of molten rock at or below the surface.
  3. 7. age The age of a rock given as the number of years since the rock formed.
  4. 10. The genetic material that carries info about an organism & is passed from parent to offspring.
  5. 15. The time it takes for half of the atoms of a radioactive element to decay.
  6. 16. Small, solid pieces of material that come from rocks or the remains of organisms.
  7. 17. An inherited behavior or physical characteristic that helps an organism survive & reproduce in its environment.
  8. 18. A type of rock that forms from an existing rock that is changed by heat, pressure, or chemical reactions.
  9. 19. Pattern of evolution characterized by the slow & steady accumulation of small genetic changes over long periods of time.
  10. 20. Any difference between individuals of the same species.
  11. 24. The preserved remains or traces of an organism that lived in the past.
  12. 25. A specific characteristic that an organism can pass to its offspring through its genes.
  13. 26. A gap in the geologic record that shows where rock layers have been lost due to erosion.
  14. 27. fossil Fossils of widely distributed organisms that lived during a geologically short period.
  15. 28. extinction When many types of living things become extinct at the same time.
Down
  1. 1. age The age of a rock compared to the ages of other rocks.
  2. 3. A type of rock that forms when particles from other rocks or the remains of plants & animals are pressed and cemented together.
  3. 4. tectonics The theory that pieces of Earth's lithosphere are in constant motion, driven by convection currents in the mantle.
  4. 6. Time Scale A record of the geologic events & life forms in Earth's history.
  5. 8. of Superposition The geologic principle that states that in horizontal layers of sedimentary rock, each layer is older than the layer above it and younger than the layer below it.
  6. 9. decay The process in which the nuclei of radioactive elements break down, releasing fast-moving particles and energy.
  7. 11. equilibrium Pattern of evolution in which long stable periods are interrupted by brief periods of more rapid change.
  8. 12. theory A well-tested explanation for a wide range of observations or experimental results.
  9. 13. A group of similar organisms that can mate with each other and produce offspring that can also mate and reproduce.
  10. 14. A scientist who studies fossils to learn about organisms that lived long ago.
  11. 21. selection The process by which organisms that are best adapted to their environment are most likely to survive & reproduce.
  12. 22. Structures that are similar in different species & that have been inherited from a common ancestor.
  13. 23. Change over time.