4.  Evolution – when a species of plants or animals adapts to their environment in order to survive over a long period of time  Key points!  Species  Plants or Animals  Adaptations  In order to survive  Long period of time

5.  Species – a group of organisms that can mate and produce fertile offspring  Evolution does NOT occur to individuals (you) it occurs to the whole species (human beings)  Speciation Event – When one species evolves into two new species

6.  Plants and Animals  All organisms go through evolution including plants, animals and even bacteria!

7.  Adaptation – a trait that is advantageous (good) in the species current environment that is evolved through the process of natural selection  Becomes more common because they survive better  Natural Selection – changing the physical appearance of a species based on survival rate

9.  In order to Survive  Organisms do not adapt and evolve because they feel like it, they evolve because something in their environment is pushing them toward that trait  Animals who don’t have the trait pass away  What Types of Things  Predator  Competition  Food Source  Climate Change (good or bad)  Sexual Selection

10.  Long Periods of Time  Always remember we are dealing with huge lengths of time with Earth Science and Evolution  “Fast” could still mean thousands of years  “Slow” could mean millions!

11.  Evolutionary Trees  An evolutionary tree shows the history of a species through long periods of time  Similar to a family tree  Shows which species have gone extinct along the way

13.  Evolutionary Trees  An evolutionary tree shows the history of a species through long periods of time  Similar to a family tree  Shows which species have gone extinct along the way  Evolutionary Line  The direct line on the tree that leads to a specific species  These trees have different branches, each branch is related but NOT directly  Kind of like your Uncle and you

15.  Evolutionary Trees  An evolutionary tree shows the history of a species through long periods of time  Similar to a family tree  Shows which species have gone extinct along the way  Evolutionary Line  Speciation Event  When one species splits and evolves into two or more species  Symbolized by a fork in the Evolutionary Tree

17.  Extinction  The process of reducing a species population to 0  Along the way (as it decreases) they are called Endangered  Fossil Record Connection  The fossil record allows us to do two VERY important things 1. It allows us to trace and follow the evolution of a species through time in order to build and understand Evolutionary Trees 2. It also allows us to determine when a species goes extinct