STAAR Review Evolution and Classification

Common baboons live on the savanna in breeding groups called troops. While females tend to stay with the troop, younger or less dominant males may leave to join a neighboring troop.

Which of these is a likely outcome of movement by young males?

• Gene flow occurs between populations

• Allele frequencies suddenly change

• Relative genotypic frequencies reach a constant state

• Intermediate phenotypes increase in the species

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NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Students were given a list of seven elements and asked to identify the four elements that are most abundant in biomolecules. Which table correctly identifies the four most-abundant elements in biomolecules?

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The graph shows the number of taxa of reptiles whose fossilized tracks have been found. Which statement is best supported by these data?

• Competition for food and shelter among reptile species was very low during the Triassic period

• A great extinction occurred during the Jurassic period.

• Environmental conditions for speciation were most favorable for reptiles during the Permian period.

• Reptiles adapted to a terrestrial environment during the Cretaceous period.

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NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Researchers studying populations of lizards from the genus Gallotia on the Canary Islands compared the protein cytochrome b in different populations. The table shows the number of differences in the cytochrome b protein between different populations. Which conclusion about the relatedness of the lizards do these data support?

• G. atlantica and G. stehlini are the least closely related.

• G. simonyi and G. bravoana are the most closely related.

• G. galloti eisentrauti and G. galloti palmae are the most closely related.

• G. galloti eisentrauti and G. galloti galloti are the least closely related.

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NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Simple leaves have a single leaf on a petiole, or stem, while compound leaves have more than one leaflet on a petiole. This unknown leaf can be identified using the dichotomous key. Which tree does the unknown leaf come from?

• Ungnadia speciosa

• Sophora secundiflora

• Salix nigra

• Quercus laceyi

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NGSS.MS-LS4-2

25 The diagram represents a theory about cells. Which theory is represented in this diagram?

• The theory that all living organisms are made of cells

• The theory that all living organisms share the same basic genetic components

• The theory that organisms function best when their internal conditions are maintained within narrow limits

• The theory that complex cells evolved after primitive cells engulfed bacterial cells that continued functioning

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NGSS.MS-LS1-1

Organisms are classified today using the Linnaean system, and the following table shows the taxonomic classification of two marine organisms living along the Pacific Coast. Taxonomic classification is important to marine biologists because it provides a way to —

• prove that marine evolution occurs

• discover and name every marine organism on Earth

• designate Latin as the universal language of marine biology

• identify marine organisms and find evolutionary relationships between them

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NGSS.MS-LS4-2

The table shows the survival rate of two types of beetles in the same environment over a period of three years. Which statement about the beetles in this environment is best supported by the data?

• Green beetles are more fit for the environment than brown beetles are.

• Brown beetles undergo a greater number of unfavorable mutations than green beetles do

• Green beetles have a greater gene frequency among their population than brown beetles have.

• Brown beetles have a shorter life cycle than green beetles have.

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NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Cetaceans are whales and their relatives. The diagram shows some fossils of cetaceans. Which statement provides the best evidence that Ambulocetus natans is an ancestor of Basilosaurus isis?

• Homologous structures occur in each fossil.

• Similar nitrogenous bases are found in the DNA of each fossil.

• The fossils were found in different locations.

• The youngest fossil is larger than the older fossils.

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NGSS.MS-LS4-2

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

The classifications of four trees are shown in the table. Which two trees are the most closely related?

• Taiwan beech and Taiwan catkin yew

• Taiwan catkin yew and lodgepole pine

• Lodgepole pine and Japanese maple

• Japanese maple and Taiwan beech

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NGSS.MS-LS4-2