ASTRO 115 Midterm: ASTRO study guide
22 Mar 2017
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Chapter 5: the nature of life on earth. The general properties of life: order, reproduction, growth & development, energy utilization, response to environment, evolutionary adaptation. The idea that life might evolve through time goes back more than 2500 years. : life originated in water, evolved from simpler to more complex forms. : species are fixed, independent of one another, do not evolve. Jean baptiste lemarck (french) early 1800s: based on fossil record, proposes that lifeforms evolve by gradually adapting to perform successfully in their environments. Idea of evolution by adaption = first clear attempt to explain observed facts of evolution: however, unable to come up with theory about how evolution occurs. Charles darwin (english) the origin of species 1859: natural selection: key biological definitions. Species a group of organisms that share some set of common characteristics and are capable of interbreeding with one another to produce fertile offspring.
