Evolutionary History

2. everything (living and nonliving) that surrounds an organism
6. when something stays mostly the same over time
9. ______ species: a more recent species that evolved from an ancestor population
10. to classify based on scientific examination
12. living things, such as plants, animals, and bacteria
13. ______ trait: a trait that makes it more likely that an individual will survive in a specific environment
14. a random change to a gene that sometimes results in a new trait
17. the process by which the distribution of traits in a population changes over many generations
19. a graph that uses bars to show how characteristics or values are distributed within a group
20. the process by which species adapt to environmental changes over a very long time
21. a group of the same type of organism living in the same area
22. a related organism from a previous generation
23. an organism’s arm, leg, or wing

1. sharing a common ancestor population
3. the process by which one population evolves into two or more different species
4. ______ ______ population: an older population from which two or more newer species descended
5. a scientist who studies fossils in order to understand the ancient history of life on Earth
7. having died out completely and no longer alive anywhere on Earth
8. a group of organisms of the same kind (in one or more populations) that do not reproduce with organisms from any other group
11. a group of individuals born and living at about the same time
15. to receive genes from a parent
16. a specific characteristic of an individual organism
18. evidence of life from the ancient past, such as impressions of bones, footprints, or leaves found in rock