Evidence of Evolution

Learn about evolution's proof with our Evidence of Evolution worksheet!

Matching (Types of Evidence) Matching the type of evidence for evolution with its corresponding description. Biogeography Species found in one location closely resemble species found in another location indicating a common ancestor. Embryology Different species show similar developmental patterns indicating a common ancestors. Homologous Structures Similar body structures with different functions show indication of a common ancestor as different environments lead to adaptations. Vestigial Structures Organs or structures which have lost most or all of their original function indicates common ancestry with related species. Molecular Homology Comparison of the genetic code; more related species have similar biochemistry which indicates common ancestry. Fossil Record Remnant of an organism preserved in a sedimentary rock, conveys that organism have changed overtime Comparative Anatomy Sort the image based off whether it is a homologous, analogous or vestigial.(Larger images have been provided below for you to look at in case you need to- the images to sort are below them.)#1#2#3#4 Homologous Structure #4 Analogous Structure #1 #3 Vestigial Structure #2 Comparative anatomy, the comparative study of the body structures of different species of animals in order to understand the adaptive changes they have undergone in the course of evolution.Anatomical similarities between organisms support the idea that these organisms evolved from a common ancestor. Embryology Embryology, the study of embryos, is an important cornerstone of biological evolution and can be used to help determine similarities and differences between various species. An embryo of an organism is the fertilized egg as it goes through the processes of development that are specific to that species. Below you will see an embryo at the same stage of development for a human, chicken, turtle, fish. Try to sort them into those categories. KEY WORD... TRY. Human 1 Fish 3 Chicken 2 Turtle 4 Complete the sentence Similarities in embryological development can also provide evidence for evolution. Observing of different species during various stages of early development can reveal similarities. Many different species share similar structures early on such as tails or gill slits, which demonstrates relationships and reveals common ancestors. The more structures they have in common, the more closelyrelated the organisms. Fossil Record Use the Law of Superposition to rank the labeled fossils at location one, in the image below, in order from oldest to youngest. Where 1 = oldest and 4 = youngest. (Hint: Use Numbers!!) 4 3 2 1 Complete the sentence The fossil record provides snapshots of the past which, when assembled, illustrate a panorama of evolutionary change over the past 3.5 billion years. The picture may be smudged in places and has bits missing, but fossil evidence clearly shows that life is very, very old and has changed over time through evolution. Speciation Sort Scientists around the world study speciation, documenting observations both of living organisms and those found in the fossil record. As their ideas take shape and as research reveals new details about how life evolves, they develop models to help explain rates of speciation. In terms of how quickly speciation occurs, two patterns are currently observed: gradualism model and punctuated equilibrium model. Analyze the pictures and sort them according to which type of model is depicted. Gradualism Punctuated Equilibrium #2 Molecular Homology Examine the shark amino acid sequence; circle the amino acids that differ from the human sequence. Then do the same for the monkey. Which species is most similar to the human sequence? Answer the multiple choice question that follows. Which species is most closely related to the human? Horse Frog Chicken Shark Monkey Rabbit SUMMARY Word Bank:Comparative AnatomyFossilsMolecular Homology Fossils Comparative Anatomy Molecular Homology Word Banksimilaritiescommon ancestry similarities common ancestry