The illustration provides a comparison of three different organisms during their embryological development.
At this stage, it can be concluded that the pig and human are more closely related to each other than they are to the fish by the presence of which of the following features?

• spine and tail
• gill slits and spine
• ears and limbs
• eyes and ears

Below is the illustration of the bones of the forelimbs (wing or arm) of three animals. While only birds and bats have wings, the underlying skeletal structure is more similar in bats and humans.
What is the most reasonable conclusion one can draw from a comparison of these structures?

• Birds and bats are closely related to each other, while humans are unrelated to both.
• The common ancestor of birds and bats must have had wings and flown.
• Humans live in habitats very different from the habitats of both birds and bats.
• Humans and bats share a closer evolutionary history with each other than with birds.

The diagram below represents a population of organisms and the variation in that population. Individuals vary in how well they can resist a certain disease and survive to reproduce. For several generations, this disease has killed off many individuals in the population.
Which of the following best shows what a sample of the population would look like after many years?

• A
• B
• C
• D

A population of a certain kind of fish is introduced into a new habitat. These fish have variations in color from light to dark. Because of the lighting conditions and predators in this new habitat, light-colored fish survive better near the surface, and dark-colored fish survive better near the bottom.
Natural selection would most likely produce which change after many generations of these fish living in this environment?

• All the fish would become more similar in color—something exactly between light-colored and dark-colored.
• None of the fish would be able to survive because the new habitat is not suited to any of them.
• There would be two populations of fish: light-colored fish near the surface and dark-colored fish near the bottom.
• The fish would become smaller over time so that they can more easily defend themselves from predators.

Below is a table showing examples of organisms from different groups.
According to this information, the house cat is most closely related to which animal?

• Wolf
• Mockingbird
• Butterfly
• Lynx

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

An illustration of two insects is below.
Which of the paired statements could be used to distinguish the insects, using a dichotomous key?

• six legs, eight legs
• large hind legs, small hind legs
• two pairs of spots on wing cover, three pairs of spots on wing cover
• antennae absent, antennae present

A dichotomous key for insects is shown below. To what order does an insect with two pairs of scaly wings belong?

• Coleoptera
• Diptera
• Heteroptera
• Lepidoptera

The diagram provided shows a breakdown of the genomes of humans, mice, chickens, and zebra fish. The numbers in overlapping regions indicate homologous sequences, similar genes that indicate shared ancestry. The data in the diagram best supports which of the following conclusions?

• There are no gene sequences that are common to all these animals.
• The common ancestor of the mouse and the chicken lived very recently.
• The mouse and the zebrafish share the closest relationship of all animals shown.
• Humans are more closely related to zebrafish than to chickens.

An analysis of DNA and RNA sequences can be used to classify organisms. A dendrogram/evolutionary tree, such as the one shown below, is based on molecular data. It can be used to represent evolutionary relationships within a group of organisms that are hypothesized to have descended from a common ancestor.
Which statement is best supported by the information in this dendrogram/evolutionary tree? 

• Lesser pandas are more genetically similar to giant pandas than they are to raccoons.
• Brown bears are more genetically similar to giant pandas than they are to sun bears.
• Lesser pandas are more genetically similar to raccoons than they are to giant pandas.
• The bear species are all more genetically similar to dogs than they are to giant pandas.

Three species of lizards of the genus Gallotia are found on the Canary Islands, a chain of seven volcanic islands off the west coast of Africa. The easternmost island, Lanzarote, is the oldest, while the westernmost island, El Hierro, is the youngest. The distribution of lizard species is shown on the map below.
Which statement about the ancestry of the lizards from the genus Gallotia is best supported by this information? 

• The common ancestor of the lizards first colonized the island of El Hierro.
• The ancestors of each species came from different continents at different times.
• The common ancestor of the lizards probably came from Africa.
• The ancestors of each species evolved in Spain and were brought to the islands at the same time.

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-1