The lines of evidence for evolution
Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence
NameDate
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
A museum card about shells (model data)
what was found where it was found shells with plain edges deeper rock layers shells with ridged edges shallower rock layers Ari reads a museum card about shells. Which line of evidence for common ancestry does the card show?
- Biogeography: patterns in where species live on Earth
- Fossils: remains in rock layers of different ages show change
- Homologous structures: matching bone layouts in different animals
- DNA comparison: letters matched between two species
A card about a whale (real facts)
feature what is found how the whale moves hind leg bones small bones that remain in the body with flippers and a tail Bo reads a card about a whale. Which line of evidence for common ancestry does the card show?
- Vestigial structures: leftover parts from an ancestor's body
- Embryology: early forms that match across groups
- Biogeography: patterns in where species live on Earth
- Fossils: remains of past life found in rock layers
A scientist's note about three species (model data)
compared what was counted species P with species Q 3 of 100 DNA letters differ species P with species R 20 of 100 DNA letters differ Esme reads a scientist's note about three species. Which line of evidence for common ancestry does the note show?
- DNA comparison: counting matching letters in two species
- Fossils: remains of past life that alone show how species are related
- Vestigial structures: leftover parts from an ancestor's body
- Biogeography: patterns in where species live on Earth
Percent of DNA letters that differ from the dog's (model data)
animal percent of letters that differ cat 9 pigeon 21 frog 27 trout 33 Jun reads the table. Which animal's DNA is closest to the dog's?
- Trout: 33 percent of its letters differ, the largest gap
- Frog: 27 percent of its letters differ, in the middle
- Cat: just 9 percent of its letters differ
- Pigeon: 21 percent of its letters differ, in the middle
Two wings (real facts)
wing job built on bones bird wing flying yes honeybee wing flying no Milo reads a card about two wings. Which word fits the bird wing and the honeybee wing?
- Transitional: both wings show a step between two forms
- Homologous: both fly, so both came from one ancestor wing
- Analogous: the same job, but a different build
- Vestigial: both wings are leftover parts with no use
Two limbs (real facts)
limb job bone layout dog front leg walking same overall layout whale flipper swimming same overall layout Noah reads a card about two limbs. Which word fits the dog leg and the whale flipper bones?
- Vestigial: the flipper is a useless leftover part from a past form
- Homologous: the same bone layout, from a shared ancestor limb
- Transitional: the flipper is a step between two forms in rock
- Analogous: the jobs differ, so the limbs cannot be related
Two model desert plants (model data)
plant home stem percent of DNA letters that differ from the other plant plant P a desert on one continent thick and spiny 44 plant Q a desert on another continent thick and spiny 44 Pia reads a card about two model desert plants. Which word fits their thick spiny stems?
- Analogous: similar traits that arose separately in similar surroundings
- Homologous: the same traits show that P and Q share a recent ancestor
- Vestigial: the spines are leftover parts from an ancestor
- Close relatives: plants that look this alike must be near kin
A card about some snakes (real facts)
animal body part how the animal moves some snakes small pelvic bones without legs Ren reads the word vestigial on a card about snakes. What does vestigial mean?
- A new part that helps an animal in a new home
- A part that two unrelated animals build in different ways
- A useless part, so it tells scientists nothing about ancestors
- A leftover part from an ancestor that had a fuller version
A card about island species (real facts)
place what scientists found Hawaiian Islands many species found nowhere else, distantly related to mainland species Tala reads a card about island species. What does biogeography study?
- How old the rock layers holding a species are
- Where species live on Earth, and how those places fit their history
- How many bones two species share in their limbs
- How many DNA letters two species share
A card on lines of evidence (real facts)
line of evidence what it compares fossils forms in rock layers of different ages body structures bones and other parts of different species DNA letters in the DNA of different species biogeography where different species live Zee reads a card about evidence. Which statement about evidence for common ancestry is true?
- Fossils alone count, since body structures and DNA cannot show ancestry
- Living species give evidence, but fossils cannot be compared with them
- Several lines of evidence, such as fossils, body structures and DNA, point the same way
- One line is enough, so scientists do not compare the others