1) Phylogeny ­ the historical relationships among populations or species.
2) Cladogram or Phylogram ­ A diagram of the phylogenetic relationships among groups.

a. Branch or lineage ­ evolution from ancestor to descendent
b. Node ­ point where groups diverge or differentiate.

3) Evolution ­ heritable changes in a character over time.
4) Homology ­ characters that are related by decent by being derived from the same underlying structures.

5) Analogy ­ characters that are similar (e.g., functionally) but not homologous
6) Parsimony ­ Ockham's razor: simplest explanations are preferable over complex ones, and that the explanation of a new phenomenon should be based on what is already known.
7) Vestigial structures ­ functionless or rudimentary character homologous to a functional one in a closely related organism.
8) Plate tectonics ­ the movement of the earth's crust (i.e., plates) over time.