Evolutionary Relationships

Which best describes how shared characteristics can be used to identify evolutionary relationships?

• If organisms have a common ancestor, most of their characteristics will be shared.

• If two organisms have a shared characteristic, it means one evolved from the other.

• If organisms have many shared characteristics, they are likely to be closely related.

• If organisms have a shared characteristic, it means they are closely related.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

The chart shows shared characteristics of three organisms.

Which is supported by the information in the chart?

• The common ancestor of rabbits, fish, and cats had fins.

• Rabbits and fish share two characteristics.

• Only cats and fish had tails.

• Cats are more closely related to fish than to rabbits.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

The chart shows shared characteristics of three kinds of plants.

Which is supported by the information in the chart?

• All three plants have a common ancestor that had seeds.

• All three plants have a common ancestor that had leaves.

• Plants B and C are most closely related.

• Plants A and B are most closely related.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Which statements best describe shared characteristics? Select two options.

• Shared characteristics always exist in the common ancestor and in the modern organism.

• Shared characteristics never exist in the common ancestor or in the modern organism.

• The more characteristics organisms share, the more closely related they are.

• The fewer characteristics organisms share, the more closely related they are.

• Shared characteristics can exist among organisms that belong to different species.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Which best describes the two types of shared characteristics?

• 1 - characteristics that remain in the common ancestor and the modern organism

  2 - characteristics that are new and have been modified from what was found in the common ancestor

• 1 - characteristics that are new in the common ancestor and the modern organism

  2 - characteristics that have been modified from what was found in the common ancestor

• 1 - characteristics that have been modified in the common ancestor but not in the modern organism

  2 - characteristics that are new in both the common ancestor and the modern organism

• 1 - characteristics that remain in the common ancestor and the modern organism

  2 - characteristics that are new in both the common ancestor and the modern organism

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

NGSS.MS-LS4-3

Study the images of four different plants.

Based on the observable shared characteristics, which two plants are probably the most closely related?

• W and Y

• X and Z

• W and Z

• Y and Z

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Evidence for evolution reveals that closely related organisms have many different__________ characteristics

• shared

• different

• ancient

• modified

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Tigers and crocodiles are more closely related than tigers and sharks.

Which statement about shared characteristics best supports this statement?

• Crocodiles and sharks both live in water.

• Crocodiles and tigers are both made of cells.

• Crocodiles and tigers both have four legs.

• Sharks and tigers are both meat eaters.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

A _________ is a branching diagram that shows evolutionary relationships.

• genogram

• teddygram

• cladogram

• candygram

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

A cladogram is shown for three groups of organisms, X, Y, and Z.

Which relationship is the arrow pointing to in the cladogram?

• the common ancestor for X and Z

• the common ancestor for X and Y

• the common ancestor for X, Y, and Z

• the common ancestor for Y and Z

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2