Question

A cladogram shows the evolutionary relationship between humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas. The cladogram currently shows humans and chimpanzees with a more recent common ancestor compared to gorillas. Which piece of evidence, if true, would most likely weaken this hypothesis?(1 point)
Responses

Amino acid analysis of the cytochrome c protein shows significant differences in the sequence of amino acids between humans and gorillas.
Amino acid analysis of the cytochrome c protein shows significant differences in the sequence of amino acids between humans and gorillas.

DNA sequence analysis of the hemoglobin alpha gene shows that humans and chimpanzees have a more similar sequence to each other than they do to the gorilla’s DNA sequence.
DNA sequence analysis of the hemoglobin alpha gene shows that humans and chimpanzees have a more similar sequence to each other than they do to the gorilla’s DNA sequence.

Fossils of humans appear in deeper sedimentary rock layers compared to fossils of chimpanzees.
Fossils of humans appear in deeper sedimentary rock layers compared to fossils of chimpanzees.

The cells of the eye in embryos of gorillas and humans follow a similar pattern of development while chimpanzee embryos are different.
The cells of the eye in embryos of gorillas and humans follow a similar pattern of development while chimpanzee embryos are different.

Answer 1

The cells of the eye in embryos of gorillas and humans follow a similar pattern of development while chimpanzee embryos are different.

Reason: Shared, unique developmental patterns (homologies) between humans and gorillas would indicate a closer common ancestry between those two, which would weaken the hypothesis that humans and chimpanzees are most closely related. The molecular/DNA options instead support humans + chimps, and fossil depth is ambiguous for phylogenetic relationships.