Phylogenetic Trees and Cladograms

On the cladogram, which organism is the closest relative of the parrot?

• Frog

• Hare

• Caiman

• Parrot

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Who is most closely related to Taxidea taxus?

• Lutra lutra

• Panthera pardus

• Canis latrans

• Canis lupus

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Which group of animals on this tree are most closely related to birds?

• Saurischian dinosaurs

• Ornithischian dinosaurs

• Crocodiles

• None of these are related to birds

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

According to the cladogram, which organism is most distantly related to the human?

• crayfish

• grasshopper

• perch

• frog

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

A biologist sequences a gene shared by five different species. The percentage of sequence similarity for four different gene segments, A, B, C, and D, are shown in the table.

Using the data in the table, move the species labels into the blank boxes of the cladogram to show the relationships among the species.

b

c

d

e

a

4

5

3

2

1

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-1

NGSS.HS-LS4-2

NGSS.HS-LS4-3

A biologist sequences a gene shared by five different species. The percentage of sequence similarity for four different gene segments, A, B, C, and D, are shown in the table. Using the data in the table, move the species labels into the blank boxes of the cladogram to show the relationships among the species.

b

c

d

e

a

3

4

5

1

2

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-1

NGSS.HS-LS4-2

NGSS.HS-LS4-3

Each node on a cladogram represents...

• the last point at which two groups shared a common ancestor.

• the point at which one or more species became extinct.

• the most recent point at which a trait was lost in a certain clade.

• the point at which two clades joined and became monophyletic.

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-1

The cladogram shown is a model used by scientists to represent the order in which they hypothesize organisms descended from a common ancestor based on the appearance of derived characteristics.

Which of the following traits do the salamander and the lizard share?

• Jaws only

• Jaws and Lungs

• Claws or nails

• Jaws, Lungs, and Claws or nails

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

The phylogenetic tree was constructed using derived traits of organisms A, B, C, D, and E. Based on the tree, which two organisms share the most derived traits?

• C and D because they share one common branch.

• C and D because they are closest to the end of the tree next to each other.

• A and B because they share the most branch points.

• A and B because they are the pair closest to the center.

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-1

NGSS.HS-LS4-2

NGSS.HS-LS4-4

What is the common ancestor of Letters C and E?

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

NGSS.MS-LS4-3