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the pattern of evolution over large time scales

A collection of abiotically produced molecules surrounded by a membrane or membrane-like structure

a method for determining the absolute ages of rocks and fossils, based on half-life of radioactive isotopes

the amount of time it takes for 50% of a sample of a radioactive isotope to decay

The division of Earth's history into time periods, grouped into 3 eons- Archaean, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic

layered rock that results from the activities of prokaryotes that bind thin films to sediment together

a model taht posits that mitochondria and plastids were formally small prokaryotes that began living within larger cells

a model that posits that mitochondria evolved before plastids through a sequence of endosymbiotic events

Burst of life, and diversity, hard bodied animals appear

the slow movement of the contenental plates across Earth's surface

The supercontinent that formed near the end of the paleozoic era, when plate movements brought all fo the landmasses of Earth together

When large numbers of species become extinct throuout earth

Periods of evoluionary change in which groups of organisms form many new species whose adaptations allow them to fill vacant ecological roles in their communities

Evolutionary change in the timing or rate of an organism's development

The retention in an adulgt organism of the juvenile features of its evolutionart ancestors

Any of the master regulatory genes that control placement and spatial organization of body parts in organisms by controlling the developmental fate of groups of cells