Name: ___________________________________________

Period: ____
Evidence of Evolution- PreAP
Background: Much evidence has been
found to indicate that living things have
evolved or changed gradually during
their natural history. The study of fossils
as well as work in embryology,
biochemistry, and comparative
morphology provides evidence for
evolution.
Objective: To compare
homologous, analogous,
and vestigial structures
and analyze their
signifcance in evolutionary
history.
I. Foil
Study the fgure at right.
1. hich rock layer is the oldest!
1
". hich rock layer is the
youngest! #$
%&plain what can scientists learn about
evolution when comparing di'erent
fossils in di'erent rock layers! ()se
terms like relatedness, e&tinction,
transition etc.* +ou must write at least
two complete sentences. ,ver time
organisms have become more and
more comple&. Some organisms have
become e&tinct while others have
evolved into other species with similar
characteristics.
!.
II. "omologou #tructure
1. -arefully e&amine the drawings
of the bones in .igure 1 on the
ne&t page. /ook for imilaritie
among the various animals.
i. -olor each bone of the human
arm a di'erent color (on the
ne&t page*. 0ll bones of the
wrist (carpals* should be a
single color, and the bone
groups of the hand
(metacar$al and
$%alange* should be another
color. Then color the
corresponding bones
(containing the same pattern*
in each of the other animals the
same color as the human bone
(i.e. if you color the humerus
blue in the human, it should be
blue in all the other animals*.
ii. 1escribe at least two functions
of each set of bones below2
Animal Function
3uman Throw 4rab
hale 5ush
forward
-hange
angles
-at 6un 7ump
8at .ly 8alance
8ird .ly 8alance
-rocodile alk dig
&able '
iii. 0re the bones arranged in a
similar way in each animal! +es, they
have the same bones in a similar
pattern.
These structures on the following page
are formed in similar ways during
embryonic development and share like
arrangements9 however, they have
somewhat di'erent forms and functions.
They are called homologous structures.
(%at doe t%e $re)* +%omo, mean-
ame
Figure '
III.Embr.olog.
1. )sing complete sentences,
describe how comparing early
development can help scientists
learn about the relatedness of
species.
8y e&amining embryos scientist
can tell at what point of their
development the structures begin
to develop di'erently, similar to
divergent evolution.
I/.Analogou tructure
1. %&amine the butter:y wing and the
bird wing shown in .igure ".
a. hat function do these structures
share! They support the skin;features
that allow the animal to :y.
b. 3ow do the structures di'er
internally and e&ternally! (give me
three* The butter:y has scales while the
birds have feathers. 8utter:y wings have
two structures and a bird wing<s is a
single structure. 8utter:y wings are
wide while birds are narrow.
c. 1o birds and insects share any
structural similarities that would
suggest they are closely related in
the single tree of life that includes all
organisms! %&plain. They both have
legs, the bird<s beek is similar to the
insect<s mandibles, they have wings,
and the scales on a butter:y are
similar to a bird<s feathers. 8ird<s
bones are hollow while butter:ies
e&oskeletons are light weight as well.
Some apparently unrelated animals
have organs with similar functions,
yet are very di'erent in structure and
form. These structures are called
analogous structures.
/. /etigial tructure
4radual changes have occurred
through time that have, in some cases,
reduced or removed the function of
some body structures and organs. The
human appendi& that is reduced and no
longer diget roug% vegetation and
pelvic bones of snakes that have no legs
are e&amples of this phenomenon.
1. The cave fsh and minnow shown in
.igure = are related, but the cave fsh
is blind.
a. %&plain why eyesight is not an
important adaptation to life in a
cave.
ith no light an animal can<t see
or an animal will not need eyes to
live in a cave.
b. 1o the appearance of the cave
fsh and minnow suggest common
ancestry! %&plain. They have
similar body shapes, they each
have one top fn and two dorsal
fns and their tails are shaped
similarly
,rgans or structures that have lost
their function in the organism and
have become reduced in size
(because of e>ciency* are called
vetigial tructure.
". 6ead the list of human vestigial
structures shown in Table ".
Suggest a possible function for each
structure and e&plain why it became
vestigial (why that adaptation
became less important for survival*.
Think about organisms that are
closely related to us and the
functions they have for those
structures (meaning other mammals
or specifcally other primates*.
6ecord your answers in the table.
.or the second part, analyze why
this function is no longer needed
(has a di'erent structure taken over
that function! 3as the environment
changed!*
&able 0
#tructu
re
Poible
Function12
(%. it i
conidered
vetigial
0ppendi
&
1igest rough
vegetation
e don<t need
it anymore, we
don<t eat grass
or bark.
Muscles
that
make
To scare away
predators
.ew predators.
hair
stand up
-occy&
(tail
bone*
Tails are used
to balance
e walk
upright and
don<t need the
tails for
balance
Muscles
that
move
ears
%ars help with
locating prey
and predators
e no longer
have to hunt
for prey and
are not often
predators
isdom
teeth
e use to
have larger
?aws to
provide for
the di'erent
foods we ate.
/arger ?aws @
more teeth.
e no longer
have the larger
?aw
Anal.i and Inter$retation
1. %&plain why the homologous
structures in 5art AA are evidence of
evolutionary relationships.
The bone sets are very similar with the
same bones but they have adapted to
having di'erent functions.
". %&plain the evolutionary relationship
between the fn of a fsh and the :ipper
of a whale (a mammal*. These are
possibly convergent relationships where
the whale uses its :ipper more like a
foot to travel where the fsh uses its fn
to keep it upright.
=. /ist two structures (not found in Table
"* that you think are vestigial and why.
These structures can be from any living
organism, not ?ust humans.
8lind mole rats have skin over their eyes
to help keep out dirt but they can no
longer see. -rabs have hind legs that
they no longer use.
B. hat is the appendi& homologous to
in other mammals! hat do
homologous structures indicate!
-ows have caecum that helps them
digest leaves and grass. The appendi&
could have been the evolved stomach.
C. Af a scientist states that two species
are closely related based on
morphology, what would you e&pect a
comparison of their 1D0 base seEuence
to reveal! They should be very similar.