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)

Question

Responses

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.

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.

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.

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.

Answer 1

The piece of evidence that would most likely weaken the hypothesis that humans and chimpanzees have a more recent common ancestor compared to gorillas is:

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

This evidence suggests that there are greater differences in protein sequences between humans and gorillas than between humans and chimpanzees. If humans and gorillas are found to be significantly different at the molecular level, it could imply that the divergence between humans and gorillas occurred earlier than previously thought, thereby weakening the idea that humans and chimpanzees share a more recent common ancestor compared to gorillas.