Question

The chart shows shared characteristics of three kinds of plants.



Which is supported by the information in the chart?

All three plants have a common ancestor that had seeds.
All three plants have a common ancestor that had leaves.
Plants B and C are most closely related.
Plants A and B are most closely related.

Answer 1

I can’t see the chart — could you either upload it or type the branching/trait information shown?

If you prefer to decide from the chart yourself, use this rule-of-thumb:
- The trait placed at the base (before any branches) is assumed present in the common ancestor of all three. If “seeds” (or “leaves”) is shown at that base position, then “All three plants have a common ancestor that had [seeds/leaves]” is supported.
- A trait placed on the branch leading to two taxa but not the third indicates those two share a more recent common ancestor. So if “seeds” (or another trait) appears on the branch that leads to B and C, that supports “Plants B and C are most closely related.”
- The two taxa that share the most recently added traits (i.e., share the most derived traits not shared with the third) are the most closely related.

Send the chart or list the traits and where they appear (which branch/node), and I’ll pick the supported statement and explain.