Modern Evolutionary Classification

Open Ended

Why is understanding evolutionary classification important for studying the diversity of life on Earth?

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes the goal of evolutionary classification?

• To group organisms based on their physical similarities only

• To classify organisms according to their evolutionary relationships

• To organize species by their habitat

• To sort organisms by their size

Multiple Choice

What is the main goal of evolutionary classification?

• To group species based on evolutionary descent

• To group species by physical similarities only

• To classify organisms by habitat

• To organize species alphabetically

Multiple Choice

How does a cladogram help scientists understand evolutionary relationships among organisms?

• By showing current hypotheses about how evolutionary lines branched from common ancestors

• By listing all species alphabetically

• By grouping organisms by size

• By showing only extinct species

Multiple Choice

Why are systematists cautious about using the absence of a trait as a character in analyses?

• Because the absence of a trait may be due to loss over time and not original ancestry

• Because all traits are always present in all organisms

• Because traits never change

• Because absence of traits is more important than presence

Multiple Select

Which of the following are true about clades?

• Clades must be monophyletic

• Clades include only one ancestral species and all its descendants

• Clades can include unrelated species

• Clades can be formed by excluding some descendants

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements best explains how DNA is used in classification of organisms?

• DNA similarities help determine evolutionary relationships between species.

• DNA is only used to identify physical characteristics of organisms.

• DNA cannot be used to classify organisms at all.

• DNA is only important for identifying extinct species.

Multiple Select

Which of the following are domains of life shown in the Tree of All Life?

• Bacteria

• Archaea

• Eukarya

• Plantae

Fill in the Blanks

Cells in the domain Bacteria have thick cell walls containing

that surrounds a cell membrane.

Multiple Choice

How does the revised tree of life shown in the images differ in its representation of the diversity and scale of life compared to traditional views?

• It shows only mammals as the most diverse group.

• It includes a time frame for each branch.

• It emphasizes the large numbers of species in Eubacteria, Archaea, and single-celled eukaryotes.

• It shows the actual amounts of types of organisms for each branch.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes the main goal of evolutionary classification?

• To group organisms based on their evolutionary relationships

• To classify organisms by their physical appearance only

• To organize species by their habitat

• To sort organisms by their size

Open Ended

Reflecting on what you learned about evolutionary classification, what is one question you still have or something you would like to know more about?