A scientist discovers a fossil of a new organism and places it in the fossil record. The fossil shows the organism had similar structures to organism X, which appears later in the fossil record. Which conclusion about the organisms is most reasonable?(1 point)

Question

Responses

The fossils came from the same organism.
The fossils came from the same organism.

The fossils are from an organism that is a descendant of organism X.
The fossils are from an organism that is a descendant of organism X.

The fossils are from an organism that is an ancestor of organism X.
The fossils are from an organism that is an ancestor of organism X.

The fossils are from organisms that lived in the same location.

Answer 1

The most reasonable conclusion about the organisms is:

The fossils are from an organism that is an ancestor of organism X.

This conclusion is based on the idea that if the newly discovered organism has similar structures to organism X and appears earlier in the fossil record, it is likely that the newly discovered organism is an ancestor of organism X, which subsequently evolved from it.