GMAS Practice

Question
Permafrost, soil that remains permanently
frozen all year, can be found in which biome?

A. Taiga
B. Grasslands
C. Tundra
D. Temperate deciduous forest
Clues About
Evolution
 Standard S7L5
Students will examine (look at) the
evolution (change over time) of living
organisms through inherited (present
at birth; from parents) characteristics
(uniqueness; individuality) that
promote (help; encourage) survival of
organisms and the survival of
successive (later) generations (age
groups) of their offspring (babies;
children).
 Essential Question
What evidence do scientists have
to support evolution?
 Essential Question
What evidence do scientists have
to support evolution?
 5
Clues
 1st Clue
Fossils provide most of the
evidence for evolution

Fossil: The remains, an imprint,

or a trace of a prehistoric
organism.

Most fossils come from

sedimentary rock.
 Fossils are found more often in
limestone than any other kind
of sedimentary rock.

The fossil record provides

evidence that living things have
evolved.
 Determining a Fossils
Age
Two basic methods, relative
dating & radiometric dating,
can be used alone or together
to estimate the age of rocks
and fossils.
 Relative Dating: A way to find the
approximate age of fossils found
within a layer of rocks.
-Based on idea that in undisturbed areas,
younger rock layers are deposited on top of
older rock layers

- Provides only an estimate of a fossils age

- Made by comparing the ages of rock layers

found above and below the fossils layer
 Radiometric Dating: Obtaining a
more accurate estimate of the age of
a rock layer by using radioactive
elements (gives of a steady amount
of radiation as it slowly changes to a
non-radioactive element).
-Each radioactive element gives off radiation
at a different rate.

-Scientist can estimate the age of a rock by

comparing the amount of radioactive element in
the rock with the amount of non-radioactive
element in the rock.
 Fossils & Evolution
Fossils provide a record of organisms that
lived in the past.

The fossil record has gaps because of

incomplete rock record, and because most
organisms dont become fossils.

From a study of the fossil record, scientist

concluded that 99% of all organisms that
have ever existed are extinct now.
 More Clues About
Evolution
Sometimes evolution can be directly
observed:
-cross-breeding to produce genetic changes in
plants, antibiotic resistance in bacteria, pesticide-
resistant insect species

Indirect evidence also exists:

-Similarities in embryo structure, DNA, the way an
organism develops into an adult
 2nd Clue
Embryology: The study of embryos and the
development

An embryo is the early growth stage of an

organism

A tail & gills or slits are found at some point in

embryos of fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals

These similarities suggest an evolutionary

relationship among all vertebrate species.
 3rd Clue
Homologous Structures: Body parts
that are similar in origin and structure.

Homologous structures and also be

similar in function.

Homologous structures often indicate

that two or more species share
common ancestors.
 4th Clue
Vestigial Structures: Structures that
dont seem to have function.

Provide evidence for evolution.

Manatees, snakes, and whales no longer

have back legs, but they still pelvic bones.

Body parts that once functioned in an

ancestor.
 5th Clue
DNA: The molecule that controls heredity and
directs the development of every organism.

Scientist compare DNA from living organisms to

identify similarities among species.

Provides additional evidence of how some

species evolved from their extinct ancestors.