Adaptation and Natural Selection Quiz

Natural selection is the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. It is the main process that brings about evolution by favoring the survival and reproduction of organisms with advantageous traits.

Adaptation is the evolutionary process whereby an organism becomes better able to live in its habitat or habitats. It contributes to an organism's survival by allowing it to thrive in its environment.

The fossil record shows the evolution of millions of types of organisms and the extinction of many others. Changes in the features of animals over time can be observed by examining fossils.

<p>Evolution is a gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form. Biologists define two types of evolution based on scale: Macroevolution, which refers to large-scale changes occurring over extended time periods, and Microevolution, which refers to small-scale changes affecting just one or a few genes over shorter timescales.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Fossil organisms possess unique characteristics adapted to a specific environment and are formed when an organism is covered by sediments that harden into sandstone, slate, mudstone, or flint, or when they are buried in volcanic ash or entombed in tar or tree sap.</p> Signup and view all the answers