Natural Selection & Evidence for Evolution

Which of the following is a fossil?

• a plant that has recently died
• a group of organisms that can reproduce
• a structure or organ that no longer functions
• a trace of an organisms that existed in the past

a bird that can easily outcompete other birds for food and that can produce many eggs has a high

• sexuality
• mutation rate
• fitness
• adaptability

What is suggested by the similarity of early embryos of different species of vertebrates?

• no evolutionary relationships between the groups
• recent common ancestry
• similar environments in the past
• evolution from a distant common ancestor

Some organisms that share a common ancestor have features that have different functions, but similar structures.  These are known as

• vestigial structures
• analogous structures
• homologous structures
• fossil structures

Two organisms that are closely related would have

• very similar DNA sequence
• exactly the same DNA sequences
• no proteins in common
• completely different DNA sequence

How would you describe this evolution?

• Homologous structure
• Analogous structure
• Structural adaption
• Functional adaption

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Study of embryos of various organisms to show a common ancestor because of similarities in development

• natural selection
• embryology
• speciation
• evolution

Structures with the same parts have different functions; suggests that organisms share a common ancestry

• vestigial structures
• homologous structures
• adaptive radiation
• fossil

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-1

How do fossils provide evidence that evolution has happened on Earth?

• Fossils show how the sizes of certain animals has changed drastically over millions of years
• Fossils show that some species have gone extinct
• Fossils show how life forms present today are different than those from the past
• Different sedimentary rock layers provide evidence for how the environment has changed over time

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

The forelimbs of vertebrates, like the ones pictured here, are similar in terms of number of bones and the orientation of bones. Which best describes how comparing homologous structures provides evidence of evolution?

• The genes for the body plan and forelimb layout were present in a common ancestral species vertebrates share, thus passed onto all vertebrates.
• Similar anatomical structures show how animals adapt to changing environments
• Homologous structures show that different species evolve at different rates
• Homologous structures don’t actually provide evidence for evolution

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-1