The Evolution of Life​: Vocabulary

Word Definition Image

Trait a characteristic of an
organism

Adaptation an inherited trait

evolved through natural
selection that makes a
population well suited to
living and reproducing
in its environment

Evolution the inherited changes

that occur in a
population over time

natural selection the process through

which individuals in a
population with certain
inherited traits are more
likely to survive and
reproduce than
individuals with less
favorable traits in a
specific environment
population a group of individuals of
the same species that
live and reproduce in
the same place

Genetic variation differences in the

inherited traits of
different individuals

adapt to evolve a trait, through

natural selection, that
makes a population well
suited to surviving and
reproducing in its
environment

probability the fraction of the whole

coevolution the evolution of two
species in response to
each other, resulting in
reciprocal or “matching”
adaptations

protein a type of molecule that

makes up much of an
organism’s structure
and helps it function

DNA a type of molecule that

carries the inherited
information passed from
parents to offspring

chromosome a cell structure that

contains an organism’s
DNA
allele a specific version or
form of a gene

mutation a random change to an

organism’s DNA

Iterative testing repeated testing of an

object, tool, or process
with changes or
improvements between
the rounds of testing