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
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)
Responses

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

The amino acid sequences for all three organisms will have no similarities.
The amino acid sequences for all three organisms will have no similarities.

The amino acid sequences for all three organisms will be identical.
The amino acid sequences for all three organisms will be identical.

The amino acid sequences for flowering plants and green algae will be the most similar.

Answer 1

The 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 is because flowering plants and cone-producing plants share a more recent common ancestor (250 million years ago) compared to flowering plants and green algae (500 million years ago). The closer the common ancestor, the more similar the protein sequences are likely to be due to less time for divergent evolution to occur.

Answer 2

Which statement best describes the relationship between protein, amino acids, and DNA?(1 point)
Responses

DNA codes for amino acids. Amino acids are made up of proteins.
DNA codes for amino acids. Amino acids are made up of proteins.

DNA codes for proteins. Proteins are made up of amino acids.
DNA codes for proteins. Proteins are made up of amino acids.

Amino acids code for protein. Protein is made up of DNA.
Amino acids code for protein. Protein is made up of DNA.

Amino acids code for DNA. DNA is made up of protein.

Answer 3

The statement that best describes the relationship between protein, amino acids, and DNA is:

DNA codes for proteins. Proteins are made up of amino acids.

This accurately reflects the biological process: DNA sequences are transcribed into mRNA, which is then translated into proteins, and proteins are composed of chains of amino acids.

Answer 4

How does DNA analysis help scientists better understand evolution?(1 point)
Responses

It shows us an organism’s genome sequence.
It shows us an organism’s genome sequence.

It shows us what codons an organism has.
It shows us what codons an organism has.

It helps chart changes in amino acid sequences over time.
It helps chart changes in amino acid sequences over time.

It spells out the amino acids that make up an organism.

Answer 5

The best response to how DNA analysis helps scientists better understand evolution is:

It helps chart changes in amino acid sequences over time.

This is because analyzing DNA allows scientists to understand genetic variations and how these variations correspond to changes in amino acid sequences in proteins, which can shed light on evolutionary relationships and the history of different species.

Answer 6

This chart shows how organisms are classified by their characteristics.

A diagram titled Classification of Animals shows a tree of images and names of animal ancestry. A diagram, labeled Classification of Animals, shows images of animals under different groups. From left to right, top to bottom: ● Classification of Animals to Vertebrates ○ Vertebrates to Warm-Blooded ■ Warm-Blooded to Mammals ● Mammals to bear, tiger, whale ■ Warm-Blooded to Birds ● Birds to ostrich, peacock, eagle ○ Vertebrates to Cold-Blooded ■ Cold-Blooded to Fish ● Fish to salmon, goldfish, guppy ■ Cold-Blooded to Reptiles ● Reptiles to turtle, crocodile, snake ■ Cold-Blooded to Amphibians ● Amphibians to frog, toad, newt ● Classification of Animals to Invertebrates ○ Invertebrates to With Jointed Legs ■ With Jointed Legs to with 3 pairs of legs ● With 3 pairs of legs to ant, cockroach, lady ■ With Jointed Legs to with more than 3 pairs of legs ● With more than 3 pairs of legs to scorpion, spiders, millipede ○ Invertebrates to Without Legs ■ Without Legs to Worm-like ● Worm-like to earthworm, leech ■ Without Legs to Not-worm like ● Not-worm like to fluke worm, tapeworm.

Based on this diagram, which two groups of organisms share the most similar DNA?

(1 point)
Responses

vertebrates and invertebrates
vertebrates and invertebrates

turtles and frogs
turtles and frogs

warm-blooded and cold-blooded
warm-blooded and cold-blooded

bears and salmon
bears and salmon

Answer 7

Based on the diagram and the classification tree, the two groups of organisms that share the most similar DNA are:

turtles and frogs.

This is because turtles and frogs are both classified as cold-blooded vertebrates and share a more recent common ancestor compared to the other options. In contrast, bears (mammals) and salmon (fish) are from very different branches of the tree, and warm-blooded and cold-blooded are broader classifications that encompass many different types of organisms.

Answer 8

A scientist compares the amino acid sequences of four species to a similar protein produced by a human. The table shows the percentage of similarity in the amino acid sequence of each organism compared to the human sequence.

Organism Amino acid sequence similarity to human (%)
Species 1 85
Species 2 48
Species 3 39
Species 4 57
Which claim is supported by the evidence in the table?


(1 point)
Responses

Humans do not have any common ancestors with Species 2 or 3.
Humans do not have any common ancestors with Species 2 or 3.

Humans have the closest evolutionary relationship to Species 1.
Humans have the closest evolutionary relationship to Species 1.

Humans have the fewest common ancestors with Species 1 and 4.
Humans have the fewest common ancestors with Species 1 and 4.

Humans have the most distant evolutionary relationship to Species 4.

Answer 9

The claim that is supported by the evidence in the table is:

Humans have the closest evolutionary relationship to Species 1.

This is indicated by the highest percentage of amino acid sequence similarity (85%) between the human protein and Species 1, suggesting that Species 1 is more closely related to humans compared to the other species listed.

Answer 10

A graph of the function y=80x+2
models Carli’s road trip, with her speed measured in miles per hour. The graph includes the two hours of stops she’ll make. Using this information, define which quantity describes the x-axis.(1 point)
Responses

direction traveled
direction traveled

miles traveled
miles traveled

time in hours
time in hours

speed traveled

Answer 11

The quantity that describes the x-axis in the function \( y = 80x + 2 \), which models Carli’s road trip, is:

time in hours.

In this context, \( x \) typically represents the time spent traveling (in hours), while \( y \) represents the speed (miles per hour) or the total miles traveled adjusted for the stops.