Flowering plants have common ancestors with other plants and plant-like organisms. The table below shows the last common ancestor shared between flowering plants and two other types of organisms.

Question

Last common ancestor with flowering plants
Cone-producing plants
250 million years ago
Green Algae
500 million years ago
CK
A scientist compares the amino acid sequences of a protein produced by flowering plants, a cone-producing plant, and green algae.
What prediction about these sequences is supported by the data in the table?
(1 point)
• The amino acid sequences for all three organisms will have no similarities.
• The amino acid sequences for flowering plants and green algae will be the most similar.
• The amino acid sequences for all three organisms will be identical.
The amino acid sequences for flowering plants and cone-producing plants will be the most similar.

Answer 1

The correct prediction supported by the data in the table is:

The amino acid sequences for flowering plants and cone-producing plants will be the most similar.

This conclusion is based on the fact that flowering plants and cone-producing plants share a more recent common ancestor (250 million years ago) compared to the common ancestor shared with green algae (500 million years ago). Therefore, it is expected that the amino acid sequences will show greater similarity between flowering plants and cone-producing plants than with green algae, reflecting their closer evolutionary relationship.