APBiologyCollege BoardTopic Questions7. Natural Selection7.6 Evidence of Evolution

Evidence of Evolution (College Board AP Biology)

Topic Questions

DownloadView
Medium
1a2 marks

Fossils of lobe-finned fishes, which are ancestors of amphibians, are found in rocks that are at least 380 million years old. Fossils of the oldest amphibian-like vertebrate animals with true legs and lungs are found in rocks that are approximately 363 million years old.

Three samples of rocks are available that might contain fossils of a transitional species between lobe-finned fishes and amphibians: one rock sample that is 350 million years old, one that is 370 million years old, and one that is 390 million years old.

Select the most appropriate sample of rocks in which to search for a transitional species between lobe-finned fishes and amphibians. Justify your selection. 

How did you do?

1b2 marks

Describe TWO pieces of evidence provided by fossils of a transitional species that would support a hypothesis that amphibians evolved from lobe-finned fishes.

How did you do?

Did this page help you?

22 marks

Identify whether morphological data or amino acid sequence data are more likely to accurately represent the true evolutionary relationships among the species, and provide reasoning for your answer.

How did you do?

Did this page help you?

31 mark

TABLE 1. DIVERGENCE (IN PERCENT) OF MITOCHONDRIAL DNA SEQUENCES AMONG FIVE PRIMATE SPECIES

  Human Gorilla Orangutan Gibbon Chimpanzee
Human - 10.3 16.1 18.1 8.8
Gorilla   - 16.7 18.9 10.6
Orangutan     - 18.9 17.2
Gibbon       - 18.9
Chimpanzee         -

A researcher studying the evolutionary relationship among five primate species obtained data from a sequence of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from a representative individual of each species. The researcher then calculated the percent divergence in the sequences between each pair of primate species (Table 1).

Based on fossil data, the researcher estimates that humans and their most closely related species in the data set diverged approximately seven million years ago. Using these data, calculate the rate of mtDNA percent divergence per million years between humans and their most closely related species in the data set. Round your answer to two decimal places.

How did you do?

Did this page help you?