Biological Evidence and the Fossil Record

Question 1

Marsupials are found in North America and Australia, but they would not have been able to swim across the ocean. According to scientists, how did this group of organisms come to live on two separate continents?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

The continents were once connected, and marsupials were able to migrate over the land.

Question 2

What do gradualism and punctuated equilibrium have in common?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

They are both explanations of the rate of evolutionary change.

Question 3

What is the value of a transitional fossil?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

Transitional forms show the evolutionary steps between species.

Question 4

Australopithecus is an ape that lived in trees, but could walk on two feet. How might fossils from Australopithecus provide evidence for evolution?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

Australopithecus is a transitional form between apes and humans.

Question 5

What is the most likely reason that horses and mountain goats have hooves?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

They have homologous structures because they have a common ancestor.

Question 6

Whales have what seem like remnants of a pelvis and femur, as shown here.What are these structures an example of?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

vestigial structures

Question 7

A scientist makes the argument that she has found DNA evidence that shows that evolution does not exist. What would her evidence have to show for her to be correct?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

Weak genetic similarities in closely related organisms and strong genetic similarities in distantly related organisms.

Question 8

Siblings have similar traits because they inherit those traits from a common ancestor. How is this similar to some evidence for evolution?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

Similarities can be seen among related organisms, which shows common ancestry.

Question 9

Studying the anatomy of different organisms allows scientists to determine how different species have evolved over time. Which type of anatomic structure are bird wings and butterfly wings when compared to each other?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

analogous

Question 10

Which of these statements best sums up evolution?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

change in a population through genetic variation over time

Biological Evidence and the Fossil Record Answers

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