Evidence for Evolution

The diagram shows fossils in different rock layers. Which of these statements about the age of these fossils is most likely correct?

• Fossil A and C are the same age
  
• Fossil B is older than fossil C
• Fossils A is older than fossil B
• Fossil D is older than fossil C

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

What are fossils?

• Are the remains or evidence of once-living organisms

• Is the change over time in populations of related organisms

• A chart that divides Earth’s history into different time units

• Occurs when the last individual organism of a species dies

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

What is the fossil record?

• Are the remains or evidence of once-living organisms

• Is the change over time in populations of related organisms

• Is made up of all the fossils ever discovered on Earth

• Occurs when the last individual organism of a species dies

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

The fossil record help scientists

• better understand the kinds of organisms that lived in the past

• better understand how the environment has changed over time

• better understand how organisms have evolved over time

• all of the above

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

What is the value of a transitional fossil?

• Transitional forms show the evolutionary steps between species.

• Transitional forms are evidence of punctuated equilibrium.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

What is common ancestry?

• When a species no longer exists

• When organisms are descended from a single ancestor

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Common ancestry relates to evolution because

• evolution only happens when there are common ancestors.
• Common ancestors make evolution happen more quickly.
• evolution can never take place with common ancestors.
• the more two organisms have in common, the more recent is their common ancestor during their evolution.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

In stage one (top row) of these embryos, most of the embryos________

• look very similar.
• have very different features.
• show different stages of development.
• have only a tail if they are non-human.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

NGSS.MS-LS4-3

In the the third embryonic stage (bottom row), mammal embryos _____

• have more characteristics in common with each other than with reptiles or birds.
• are still hard to tell from reptiles and birds.
• have the same features as fish, reptiles, and birds.
• do not have tails.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

NGSS.MS-LS4-3

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