| A | B |
|---|
| Trait | Characteristics of an organism |
| Mutation | Change in DNA; passed to offspring if in gamete |
| Inherited characteristics | Traits from your parents |
| Acquired characteristics | Traits obtained throughout your life |
| Charles Darwin | Scientist who developed the theory of natural selection; traveled to the Galapagos Islands |
| Organism | living things |
| Environmental pressure | Something in an organism's surroundings that can affect whether or not they survive |
| Survival | Ability to live in an environment |
| Variation | Differences among members of a species in a population |
| Population | A group of the same organisms in an area |
| Species | Group of organisms that can interbreed to produce fertile offspring |
| Speciation | The development of a new species |
| Adaptation | Characteristic of an organim that helps them to survive in their environment |
| Natural selection | Process in which organisms that are best suited to their environment as a result of favorable characteristics are able to survive and reproduce, passing those favorable characteristics to their offspring |
| Fitness | Ability to survive and reproduce |
| Survival of the Fittest | Another term used for natural selection; those that are better suited will reproduce more, causing their traits to be more |
| Evolution | Process in which the traits of a species' population changes over time (many, many generations) |
| Extinction | End of a species |
