Study Guide: Common Ancestry and Phylogenetic Trees

Lesson
(Essential Knowledge) / Objectives
Conserved Coreprocesses
1.B.1: Organisms share many conserved core processes and features that evolved and are widely distributed among organisms today. / ●Identify and describe specific examples of conserved core biological processes and features shared within and among domains
o… and pose scientific questions that identify essential properties of them
o… and explain how they support the concept of common ancestry for all organisms
●Use scientific evidence to explain that organisms share many conserved core processes and features that evolved and are widely distributed among organisms today.
o… and justify your choice of evidence
Phylogenetic trees
1.B.2: Phylogenetic trees and cladograms are graphical representations (models) of evolutionary history that can be tested. / ●Using a group of organisms whose relatedness is described by a phylogenetic tree or cladogram:
oidentify shared characteristics
oinfer about the evolutionary history of the group
oidentify data that could improve the phylogenetic tree
opose scientific questions about the group
odetermine evolutionary history and speciation
●Create a phylogenetic tree or simple cladogram that correctly represents evolutionary history and speciation from a provided data set.
Vocabulary:chromosome; cladogram; cytoskeleton; domain archaea; domain bacteria; domain eukarya; endosymbiotic theory; genetic code; l.u.c.a; metabolic pathway; morphology; organelle; phylogenetic tree; phylogeny; shared/derived characteristic

Questions

The purpose of this set of questions is to help you determine what you know, and connect that knowledge to other topics. If you don’t know the answer to a question, you probably need to review that topic. Looking up the answer without understanding the concept will not help you very much.

  1. Name and describe the three domains

Explain how each of the following provide evidence of the relatedness of all domains?

  1. The genetic code
  2. DNA and RNA
  3. Metabolic pathways

Explain how each of the following provide evidence of the relatedness of all eukaryotes?

  1. Cytoskeleton
  2. Membrane-bound organelles
  3. Chromosomes
  4. How do phylogenetic trees and cladograms reflect our understanding of evolution?
  5. What evidence is used to construct phylogenetic trees?
  6. Give an example of a derived trait
  7. Give an example of a trait that was lost during evolution
  8. How does endosymbiotic theory fit with evolution?
  9. What is the evidence for endosymbiotic theory?
  10. What does it mean that phylogenetic trees are dynamic?

Required Reading

Holtzclaw pages 179-184

Resources

  • Prezi - Knuffke - Classification
  • Crash Course: Taxonomy - Life's Filing System
  • Bozeman Science - Classification

Joshua Kaspar 2017