The Evolution Lab ANSWER KEY

EVOLUTION 101

1. c

2. c

3. c

4. Sample answer: The bird is eating the yellow insect. This is probably because it was easier to see and catch

than the green one, which is blended in with the leaf. This illustrates natural selection because a variation

(green color) is giving some of the insects an advantage that will help them to survive longer and reproduce

more frequently than the yellow-colored insects.

5. d

MISSION 1: Training Trees

Introductory video:

1. c

2. a

3. The common ancestor of B and C

4. A and B: trait 1; B and C: traits 1 and 3

5. From left to right, trees 1, 3, and 4 are equivalent.

Red, green, & gecko:

6. c

7. They are heterotrophs.

8. Any two of these four trees:

9. Sample answer: Because mushrooms and plants look a lot more alike than do mushrooms and animals, and

neither move around like animals do—you might think that the mushroom and plant are more closely related

than the mushroom and animal.

Familiar faces:

10. An amniote is an animal whose embryos develop inside the set of protective membranes. The snake and

dog are amniotes.

11. Sample answer: Hair

Tree of life—Vegetarian edition:

12. c

13. Sample answer: Because an onion is a vegetable, but bananas and lemons are both yellow fruits—you might

think that the banana and lemon plants are more closely related than banana plants and onion plants.

1

Gecko

Palm

tree

Fly

agaric

Gecko

Palm

tree

Fly

agaric

Gecko

Palm

tree

Fly

agaric

Gecko

Palm

tree

Fly

agaric