taxonomy practice tests

How is knowledge of paleontology (the study of ancient life) helpful to this expert for completing the cladogram?

The cladogram will show an evolutionary lineage that led to perissodactyls, and it will include many extinct species.

If Vanessa's cladogram is accurate, then it supports which statement about the 6 butterfly species?

The genomes of species C and D have more similarities than the genomes of species B and C, or species D and E.

Paul is studying a certain species of algae. The algae is unicellular, eukaryotic, and autotrophic. In the Linnaean system, the species is classified in Kingdom Protista. Based on this information, what can Paul conclude about the classification of the species into clades?

The species is classified in a clade that does not include all protists.

In the Linnaean system of classification, camels are members of the order Artiodactyla and the family Camilidae. Llamas are also members of the family Camilidae. Based on this information, are llamas members of the order Artiodactyla?

Yes, because all family members are classified together in the same order.

According to the cladogram, which of these organisms appeared before all the others?

an organism that developed from an embryo

Scientists recently revised the classification of the red panda (Ailurus fulgens). They based their revision on comparisons of data obtained from the red panda and other species. Which type of data provided the STRONGEST evidence for the revised classification?

analysis of DNA sequences

Which characteristic applies to all four kingdoms in the table?

cells with nuclei and other membrane-bound organelles

The diagram shown here is an example of a ___. On the branch for mammals, a label for body hair could be added to show a ___, which is a trait that arose in a lineage.

cladogram, derived character

Advances in the study of ___ led to a classification system based on evolutionary relationships. This new system is based on the concept of a ___, which contains a single common ancestor that all species within that clade descended from.

phylogeny, clade

Scientists once classified a diverse group of eukaryotic species into kingdom Protista. However, in modern evolutionary classification, protists are not grouped together in their own clade, and the concept of kingdom Protista has little meaning. Which statement about protists explains its revised classification?

the common ancestor of protists gave rise to many other types of eukaryotes

Which information about two species can be concluded from their classification into clades, but not their classification in the Linnaean system of taxa?

their shared evolutionary history

Scientists now use domain Eukarya to group together the kingdoms of eukaryotic species, which include plants, animals, protists, and fungi. Which statement about the evolution of eukaryotes supports the grouping of the kingdoms into domain Eukarya?

All eukaryotic species descended from a common eukaryotic ancestor.

A scientist is studying the classification of three species of birds, labeled Bird A, Bird B, and Bird C. According to a field guide on birds, Birds A and B are very closely related, while Bird C is a more distant relative. However, the scientist concludes that the field guide is wrong, and that Birds A and C are the closest pair of relatives. Which finding would provide the STRONGEST evidence in support of the scientist's conclusion?

Birds A and C share more genetically derived characters with one another than with Bird B.

In the Linnaean system, birds and reptiles are each classified in a separate class. However, in the modern system, birds are members of the clade Reptilia. Which conclusion, based on evidence, did scientists cite to revise the classification of birds?

Birds descended from the most recent common ancestor of reptiles.

What best describes the role of genes in evolutionary classification?

Certain genes are derived characters that can be used to define clades.

Compared to the Linnaean system of classification, what is the advantage of classifying species into clades?

Clades show evolutionary relationships.

Two students are studying plants to determine the closest relatives to cone-bearing plants. Which conclusion could they make based on the cladogram?

Cone-bearing plants are most closely related to flowering plants because they share the most recent common ancestor.

Howard is constructing a model of the tree of life. Which strategy would most likely ensure that all of Earth's organisms are represented somewhere in the model?

Draw three branches for the domains: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.

Which is an example of binomial nomenclature in the Linnaean system of taxonomy?

Felis catus

What conclusion about flowers is supported by the evidence in the cladogram?

Flowers evolved more recently than seeds and vascular tissue.

Members of domain Archaea and domain Bacteria share many characteristics. In which two characteristics are archaea different from bacteria? Select two answers.

Habitat, because many archaea live in extreme environments that lack oxygen; Cell structures, because archaea use different types of cell walls and cell membranes

The diagram is a cladogram that shows evolutionary relationships among several vertebrate groups. Groups of reptiles are shaded. Does the shaded region of the diagram represent a clade?

No, because birds evolved from the common reptile ancestor, but birds are excluded from the shaded regio

All birds have a variety of traits including feathers, a backbone, and reproduction with an amniotic egg. Are all of these traits derived characters for the clade Aves, which is the clade that represents birds?

No, because some of the traits evolved before birds and were passed to other clades, including amphibians, reptiles, and mammals.

Is the trait of a backbone made of vertebrae an example of a derived character in mammals?

No, because the trait evolved in a vertebrate ancestor and was passed to all vertebrates, and not mammals only.

Scientists struggled with classifying red pandas and giant pandas because they have physical similarities to both raccoons and bears. How has the availability of DNA evidence affected the evolutionary classification of organisms such as the pandas?

Organisms with the most shared derived genetic characters are considered the most closely related.

Maureen is constructing a model of the tree of life. She begins with three main branches for the three domains. Then she draws smaller branches that show evolutionary lineages. For the model to accurately represent the number and diversity of species in the domains, how should Maureen draw the smaller branches?

Smaller branches should be included in all three domains, and most should represent single-celled organisms.

How do the taxa that scientists use to classify animals differ from the child's classification scheme?

Taxa are based on biological relationships, not language.

Byron is observing organisms that are living in a patch of soil. He makes the following claim. "I have observed 40 individual organisms. They are classified into 3 species, 1 phylum, and 2 kingdoms." Which is the most accurate evaluation of Byron's statement?

The statement cannot be accurate because one phylum must be grouped into one kingdom.

Which statement describes the evolution of the trait of an amniotic egg?

The trait evolved in an ancient ancestor of lizards and wallabies, and was passed to all of the ancestor's descendants.

Which statement best explains why scientists added the domain to the Linnaean classification system?

The two groups of prokaryotes differ greatly from each other and from eukaryotes.

Scientists now classify all species into three domains. The domains Archaea and Bacteria contain prokaryotic, single-celled organisms. The domain Eukarya contains eukaryotic organisms, including plants, animals, and fungi. Each domain is a valid clade. Which statement can be concluded about all species in domain Eukarya?

Their most recent common ancestor was neither archaea nor bacteria.

Which of the derived characters appears in exactly 2 species, and not in the other 4 species?

Trait 4

From the 1700s to the present, scientists have revised the Linnaean classification scheme many times. Which are the two most significant reasons for these revisions? Select two answer choices.

to incorporate microscopic organisms into the classification scheme, to group organisms according to evolutionary relationships