Evolution+GeneticsVocabulary

ORGANISM

• A living thing made up of one or more cells.

OFFSPRING

• A human child or animal child

• Ex: you are the offspring of your parents

SPECIES

• Group of closely related organisms that are very similar to each other and are able to have offspring

• Examples of different species

• Humans

• Moose

• Cats

D.N.A

• The material that carries all the information about how a living thing will look and function. The instructions. The Blueprint.

• Every living thing has a unique set of DNA

GENES

• Units of DNA. Each gene is a set of instructions for building a specific protein (Protein make up our hair, finger nails, etc.)

The blue is all DNA. The colored sections are different genes

HEREDITY

• The passing of genes/ traits from parent to offspring

GENETICS

• The study of heredity (or how certain features pass from parents to their offspring)

INHERIT

• Traits, behaviors, or characteristics that is passed down from parents to offspring

• ex: “I inherited my moms freckles”

INHERITED TRAIT

• A trait that is genetically inherited or passed down from generation to generation (Passed from parents to offspring)

ACQUIRED TRAIT

• Trait that you develop during life (NOT born with it)• Can be things you learn (how to read, ride a bike)

• Can be things that happened to you (short hair, cut off a finger)

PHYSICAL TRAIT

• How someone looks. These are the first thing you notice when you look at someone- their hair, nose, eye color

NON-PHYSICAL TRAITS

• Any trait you have that cannot be seen

• Ex: Anger issues, diseases, athleticism, personality traits

RESEMBLE

• To look like or be similar to someone or something

INSTINCTUAL BEHAVIOR

• Something that you do not learn, it happens naturally without you even thinking about it

• Ex: Babies instinct to cry, birds instinct to build a nest, baby turtles hatching and then headed to the sea, hibernating

LEARNED BEHAVIOR

• The person/ animal has to learn it. Something we learn as we interact with the environment Allows an organism to adapt.

• Ex: Social Skills, trained dolphins

COMMUNITY

• A group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common

CULTURE

• A pattern of behavior shared by a group of people

• Ex: Food, language, clothing, music, arts, beliefs

POPULATION

• The number of people or animals living in a certain place

• Ex: the population of Concord, NC in 2016 was 89,891 people

• Ex:: the population of deer in the U.S is 30 million