Asked by vg

Use the phylogenetic tree to the right to determine which statement below is true.

Organisms A and F are not related.

Organism E is more closely related to organism B than organism F.

Organisms C and D are more closely related than organisms A and B.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
I don't have the tree image — could you either upload it or describe how the six taxa (A–F) branch (which pairs/groups join at each node)?

If you want to check yourself, here’s how to decide each statement from any phylogenetic tree:

- Relatedness is determined by the most recent common ancestor (MRCA). Two organisms are more closely related if their MRCA is more recent (closer to the tips) than the MRCA of other pairs.
- To test a statement like “E is more closely related to B than to F,” find the MRCA of E and B and the MRCA of E and F; whichever MRCA is closer to the tips indicates the closer relationship.

Apply that to each given claim:
1. “A and F are not related.” — false on a tree: every pair of taxa is related (they all share some MRCA). If the intended meaning is “not closely related,” compare the MRCA depth.
2. “E is more closely related to B than to F.” — true only if the MRCA(E,B) is more recent than MRCA(E,F).
3. “C and D are more closely related than A and B.” — true only if MRCA(C,D) is more recent than MRCA(A,B).

Upload the tree (or type the branching order) and I’ll tell you which statement is correct.