1. Warm-Up (2/1)
On the piece of white paper from the back, answer the following question.
Name
Date
Period
A fossil was newly discovered with three intact DNA which was aligned using BLAST all translated genomes in the NCBI database. The results of the alignment is shown below.
Sequence:
Species
Snake
Parrot
Shark
Monkey
Fly 1
84%
95%
71%
98%
65% 2
82%
92%
60%
74%
45% 3
70%
90%
72%
38%
Construct a cladogram which most accurately places the evolutionary relationship to the other five species.

2. 1A.4a: Scientific evidence of biological evolution uses information from geographical, geological, physical, chemical, and mathematical applications
1A.4b: Molecular, morphological and genetic information of existing and extinct organisms add to our understanding of evolution.
1A.4b.1: Fossils can be dated by a variety of methods that provide evidence for evolution. The include the age of rocks where a fossil is found, the rate of decay of isotopes including carbon-14, the relationships within phylogenetic trees, and the mathematical calculations that take into account information from chemical properties and/or geographical data.
1A.4b.2: Morphological homologies represent features shared by common ancestry. Vestigial structures are remnants of functional structures, which can be compared to fossils and provide evidence for evolution.
1A.4b.3: Biochemical and genetic similarities, in particular DNA nucleotide and protein sequences, provide evidence evolution and ancestry.
1A.4b.4: Mathematic models and simulations can be used to illustrate and support evolutionary concepts.
Illustrative example: construction of phylogenetic trees based on sequence data
1C.3a: Scientific evidence supports the idea that evolution has occurred in all species.

3. Evidence for Evolution
Methods for determining age and relationships:
Geological Analysis

4. Evidence for Evolution
Methods for determining age and relationships:
Geological Analysis
Carbon dating

5. Evidence for Evolution
Methods for determining age and relationships:
Geological Analysis
Carbon dating
Morphological homologies
“vestigial” leg bone

6. Evidence for Evolution
Methods for determining age and relationships:
Geological Analysis
Carbon dating
Morphological homologies
Genetic alignments

7. Critical Thinking Question #1
Radioactive carbon-14 dating conducted on rock samples at the fossil excavation site determined that the species became fossilized 165 million years ago. Furthermore, minor indentations in the fossil were analysed under a high-resolution computer topography scanner to very greatly resemble feathers. Re-create your cladogram considering this information as well as the table of data below showing the point of speciation for each of the five species. (LO 1.10) (LO 1.09)
Species
Point of Speciation from common human ancestor (million years ago)
Snake
200
Parrot
150
Shark
400
Monkey 10
Fruit fly
495

8. Critical Thinking Question #2
Which came first: the chicken, or the lizard egg? Design a plan using three scientific methods to determine modern lizards speciated from primitive birds or whether modern birds speciated from primitive lizards. Justify how the methods you used contribute to answering your driving question.

9. Closure
On the piece of white paper from the back, answer the following question:
Name
Date
Period
Explain three scientific methods which provide evidence for biological evolution.
Scale 1 – 10