How You Are Like a Blue Whale

The main difference between fish and blue whales according to the passage is that _________________________.

• Fish are cold-blooded while blue whales are warm-blooded.

• Fish have scales while blue whales have smooth skin.

• Fish are primarily aquatic while blue whales are amphibious.

• Fish lay eggs while blue whales give live birth.

According to the passage, mother whales produce ________ for their babies.

• Milk

• Eggs

• Sound

• None of these

Whales can't breathe underwater because ________________________________.

• They rely on air to breathe using lungs.

• They use gills, just like fish.

• Water contains too much oxygen.

• They are capable of breathing underwater but choose not to.

The bones in a blue whale flipper are compared to ______________________ in the passage.

• The bones in a human hand

• The bones in a fish

• The bones in a bird wing

• The bones in a reptile's leg

According to the passage, blue whales' small leg bones are a leftover from ______.

• ancient land-dwelling ancestors

• modern marine adaptation

• vestigial random growth

• recent evolutionary mutation

Scientists study ______ to figure out how two species are connected.

• Genetics

• Physiology

• Anatomy

• Ecology

Shared body structures refer to ____________________________________________________________.

• Structures that serve a unique function in a single organ.

• Structures that are exclusively present in one anatomical region.

• Structures that are common to multiple organs or systems.

• Structures that only exist during the developmental stage.

Based on the diagram, which of the following is a shared body structure between humans and blue whales?

• Tail flukes for swimming

• Ability to walk upright

• Backbone

• Claws for catching insects

The passage indicates how humans, whales, and other mammals are related.

• They evolved independently with no common traits.

• They are all mammals sharing a common ancestor.

• They developed similar features through convergent evolution.

• They are only superficially similar due to environmental adaptations.

Scientists understand the evolutionary history of living organisms by analyzing ______________________.

• Fossil records

• Tree rings

• Glacier structures

• Cloud patterns