1. Evolution the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth. 2. Species a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding 3.Fossil the remains or impression of a prehistoric organism preserved in petrified form or as a mold or cast in rock. 4. Catastrophism the theory that changes in the earth's crust during geological history have resulted chiefly from sudden violent and unusual events. 5 Gradualism the hypothesis that evolution proceeds chiefly by the accumulation of gradual changes. 6. Uniformitarianism the theory that changes in the earth's crust during geological history have resulted from the action of continuous and uniform processes. 7. Variation, in biology, any difference between cells, individual organisms, or groups of organisms of any species caused either by genetic differences 8. Adaptation, in biology, process by which an animal or plant species becomes fitted to its environment; it is the result of natural selection's acting upon heritable variation 9. Artificial selection definition. The breeding of plants and animals to produce desirable traits. Organisms with the desired traits, such as size or taste, are artificially mated or cross-pollinated with organisms with similar desired traits. 10. Heritability is the proportion of observed differences on a trait among individuals of a population that are due to genetic differences. Factors including genetics, environment and random chance can all contribute to the variation between individuals in their observable characteristics (in their "phenotypes"). 11. Natural Selection the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. The theory of its action was first fully expounded by Charles Darwin and is now believed to be the main process that brings about evolution.
