Common Ancestry

Whales, which live in the water, have hips. These structures are important for carrying the weight of animals that walk on land. Finding this body part in animals that don’t walk on land would lead us to predict what finding in the fossil record?

• Hips in ancient animals that always lived in water

• An ancestor of whales that walked on land

• Land-dwelling animals that don’t have hips

• A form of whale that lacked this structure

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NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Which of the following best describes how an observation of the fossil record supports the theory of evolution?

• The fossils found in rock layers of different ages are related to, but different from, fossils found in rock layers above and below

• Close examination of fossils reveal details and the diet, environment, and even behaviors of the organisms the fossils represent.

• The fossil record has many more examples of organisms that lived in water where their remains were more likely to be buried quickly.

• Hard parts of animals, such as bone and teeth, are much more fossilized than other parts made of soft tissue.

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NGSS.MS-LS4-1

José is learning about the fossil record. He knows the fossil record is the total number of fossils and their locations and that they provide information about an organism that once lived. Which of the following can José gather from studying the fossil record and its evidence?

• How organisms will evolve in the future

• Every plant and animal species that has ever lived

• Origin of species and life on the planet

• Similarities between past and present species

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NGSS.MS-LS4-1

The fossils remains of a creature that is the common ancestor of amphibians, primates, rodents, crocodiles, and birds is discovered. This fossil represents an organism represented by which labeled location on the diagram?

• D

• C

• B

• A

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NGSS.MS-LS4-1

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Evolutionary theory predicts that related organisms will share similarities that are derived from common ancestors. Which of the following CANNOT be concluded from the fossil evidence?

• Evidence of every species that has ever existed

• The chronological sequence in which different organisms first appeared

• Links between groups leading to various modern species

• Relation through common descent from older organisms

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NGSS.MS-LS4-1

A fossil that shares a common ancestor with birds and crocodiles, but not primates, would belong in which labeled location on the diagram?

• A

• B

• D

• C

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NGSS.MS-LS4-1

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Which of the following is NOT a reasonable conclusion that can be drawn from the similarities and differences found in this illustration?

• Birds, bats, and humans have bones and structures that allow them to function

• Humans live in habitats that are very different from that of birds and bats

• Different structures allow for different functions

• Humans and bats share a closer evolutionary history with each other than with birds

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NGSS.MS-LS4-2

To change or develop gradually over time

• Evolve

• Common ancestor

• Fossil evidence

• Theory of evolution

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NGSS.MS-LS4-2

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Fossils that are found in deeper layers of rock are older than fossils that are found in more shallow (closer to the surface) layers of rock

• False

• True

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Two species that share fossil history and genetic evidence of a shared past have this

• Fossil evidence

• Theory of evolution

• Common ancestor

• Evolve

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NGSS.MS-LS4-2

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