Biological Evidence for Evolution lesson 3

Which of the following are analogous features?

• dolphin flippers and squirrel arms

• elephant trunks and pig snouts

• rabbit fur and chicken feathers

• dog tails and monkey tails

Answer explanation

Rabbit fur and chicken feathers both function to insulate the animal, but are different structures.

Similarities in the structures of embryos of different species suggest what?

• that adults of those species look similar to each other

• that those species have the exact same genetic makeup

• that those species are distantly related

• that those species share a common ancestor

Answer explanation

Shared embryonic features suggest that species share a common ancestor.

Over what time scale do vestigial structures lose their function?

• over many eras

• over many generations

• over one generation

• over the lifetime of an individual

Answer explanation

Vestigial structures lose their function during the evolution of a species over many generations.

Which field of study examines homologous structures?

• embryology

• genetics

• physiology

• comparative anatomy

Answer explanation

The study of homologous structures falls in the field of comparative anatomy.

Which type of DNA is useful as a “molecular clock?”

• DNA that mutates more and more quickly across time

• DNA that mutates more and more slowly across time

• DNA that mutates at a steady, predictable rate

• DNA that never mutates

Answer explanation

DNA that mutates at a steady, predictable rate over time is useful as a molecular clock.

body parts that are similar in structure and position but different in function

• vestigial structures

• comparative anatomy

• analogous structures

• homologous structures

body parts that have lost their original function through evolution

• homologous structures

• embryology

• analogous structures

• vestigial structures

body parts that are similar in function but different in structure

• vestigial structures

• embryology

• analogous structures

• comparative anatomy

study of the similarities and differences among structures of living species

• molecular biology

• comparative anatomy

• embryology

• analogous structures

study of gene structure and function

• analogous structures

• comparative anatomy

• molecular biology

• embryology