The lines of evidence for evolution
Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Use the table
Tree: Four animals (model data). Tips, left to right: frog, lizard, ostrich, duck. Node Y joins frog and node X. Node X joins lizard and node W. Node W joins ostrich and duck. Evidence table beside the tree: early embryo features and percent of DNA letters that differ from the duck's.
animal early embryo gill slits and tail percent of letters that differ from the duck's ostrich yes 6 lizard yes 22 frog yes 33 Ari reads the tree and the table. Which claim uses both the embryo column and the DNA column?
- The lizard is the duck's closest relative, since both have four limbs and the embryos match
- All share early embryo features, and the DNA ranks the frog as the duck's closest relative, since it differs most
- The embryo column ranks the animals, so the frog is closest to the duck
- All share early embryo features, and the DNA ranks the ostrich as the duck's closest relative
Front limbs of a model swimming animal (model data)
rock age (million years) front limb bones 50 walking leg upper arm bone, two lower arm bones, digits 35 paddle the same bones 20 flipper the same bones today flipper of a living swimmer the same bones as the oldest leg Bo reads the fossil rows and the living flipper. Which claim uses both lines of evidence?
- The fossils alone settle the flipper's history, so the bone layout adds nothing
- The leg changed into a flipper in steps, and the matching bones fit one ancestor
- The flipper appeared at once, since the paddle and the flipper have the same layout
- The flipper and the leg are analogous, so the bone layout is just a coincidence
A model cave animal and two relatives (model data)
animal eyes percent of DNA letters that differ from surface animal S cave animal C small and sightless 3 animal T working 25 Esme reads a table about a model cave animal C. Which claim uses both lines of evidence?
- T is closer to S than C is, since T has the larger gap in DNA letters and so more kinship
- C is not related to S, since the eyes of C and S look so different from each other
- C's eyes are useless, so they add nothing to what the DNA shows about how C is related to S
- C's eyes are vestigial and its DNA is near S's, so its ancestors likely had working eyes
Three wings (real facts)
animal wing job wing built on bones front limb bone layout bat flying yes same overall layout as the bird's bird flying yes same overall layout as the bat's honeybee flying no not built on those bones Jun asks why bat and bird wings share bones while the honeybee wing does not. Which explanation fits?
- Bat and bird bones come from a shared ancestor limb; honeybee flight arose separately
- The honeybee wing is much smaller than the others, so size decides which parts match
- Bat and bird bones match because flying shaped them, so no shared ancestor is needed for either
- The three wings do the same job of flying, so the three came from one ancestor's wing
DNA comparisons of a pine, a frog and a spruce (model data)
comparison letters compared letters that match one segment, pine and frog 20 18 many segments, pine and frog 1000 380 many segments, pine and spruce 1000 960 Kira sees that one DNA segment of a pine and a frog matches in 18 of 20 letters. Which explanation fits?
- Many segments are less reliable than one segment, since more letters add more chance of error
- The pine and frog are close relatives, since 18 of 20 letters is a match of 90 percent
- The pine and frog look nothing alike, so the DNA match must be an error in the data
- One segment can match by chance in distant relatives, so compare more DNA and structures
Notebook
Notes on two model swimmers (classmate's notebook), 4 lines. Columns: line, entry. Line 1: Animals P and Q both have fins and smooth bodies for swimming. Line 2: Their DNA differs in 41 of 100 letters. Line 3: So P and Q must be close relatives, because they look so much alike. Line 4: DNA and early development should also be compared.
Milo reads a classmate's notebook about two model swimmers. Which line has the mistake?
- Line 4: DNA and early development do not matter when two animals look alike
- Line 1: swimmers cannot have fins and smooth bodies
- Line 2: DNA letters cannot be counted as a percent
- Line 3: looking alike does not prove close kinship
Notebook
Notes on whale hind leg bones (classmate's notebook), 4 lines. Columns: line, entry. Line 1: Whales have small hind leg bones. Line 2: The bones do not help a whale swim. Line 3: So the bones say nothing about whale ancestors. Line 4: Land animals have leg bones in a matching layout.
Pia reads a classmate's notebook about whale hind leg bones. Which line has the mistake?
- Line 3: vestigial bones are leftovers that do say something about ancestors
- Line 2: bones in a whale's body help it swim, so this is wrong
- Line 4: land animals have no leg bones, so there is nothing to compare
- Line 1: whales have no hind leg bones, because they have no hind legs
Medium ground finches on Daphne Major (real facts)
time seeds average bill size after a wet period few large hard seeds, many small soft seeds smaller than before 1987 and after larger seeds more available the trend toward smaller bills stopped Ren judges a claim about medium ground finches on Daphne Major. Which claim and reason fit best?
- Each bird's bill shrank as it grew up, which made the average bill size fall across the group
- Bill size changes with the seeds a bird finds, so it is not inherited from one bird to the next
- The population changed, since bill size is inherited and small-billed birds had more offspring
- This shows nothing about evolution, since fossils alone can show change over long periods of time
Two model gliders (model data)
animal glide surface percent of DNA letters that differ from the other glider glider P a skin flap between front and back legs 38 glider Q a skin flap along the ribs 38 Tala judges a claim about two model gliders. Which claim and reason fit best?
- The gliders are close relatives, since a 38 percent difference is a large one
- The gliders are close relatives, since both glide in much the same way
- The flaps are analogous and arose separately, since the builds and the DNA differ
- The gliders are close relatives, since analogous flaps show a recent shared ancestor
What living things share (real facts)
feature how widely it is shared DNA as the genetic material universal the genetic code nearly universal ribosome parts and membrane structures differ among the three domains Zee judges a claim about all living things. Which claim and reason fit best?
- Common ancestry of all life is unsupported, since fossils cannot show anything about DNA
- The three domains have no shared ancestor, since their ribosome parts and membranes differ
- All life shares an ancestor, since all living things look alike when seen from the inside
- All life likely shares one ancestor, since DNA and nearly one code are used throughout