DIGOS CITY NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

SCIENCE 10
3rd Quarter Week 7.1 Module
Name: _________________________________________ Grade & Section: _______________ Date: ___________
Topic: EVOLUTION: Evidences of Evolution
Learning Competency: Explain how fossil records, comparative anatomy and genetic information provides evidence
for evolution. (S10LT-IIIf-39)
Objective:
1. Determine how fossil records, comparative anatomy and genetic information provides evidence for evolution.
Concept:
Evolution is defined as the change in species over time. The theory of evolution is based on the idea that
all species are related and gradually change over time. Evolution relies on there being genetic variation in a
population which affects the physical characteristics (phenotype) of an organism. Some of these characteristics may
give the individual an advantage over other individuals which they can then pass on to their offspring.

Evidences of evolution are as follows:

1. Paleontology - The Fossil Record

Scientists use the age of fossils as evidence for evolution. There are two
ways of dating fossils: Relative dating and absolute dating. Relative dating used
fossil’s location in rock layers to determine the fossil’s approximate age. Fossils
found deeper in the ground are usually the oldest. Using the chart to the right, a
paleontologist can therefore know that a fossil found in layer 1 at the dig site is
older than a fossil found at layer 6, for example, by relative dating. Absolute dating
determines the fossil’s actual age by measuring amount of an element called
carbon-14 in the fossil. There is a mathematical formula that will calculate the rate
of decay of this element. By measuring the carbon 14 levels and plugging it into the
math formula, the scientist can know an actual number of years old a fossil is.
Figure 1. Fossil-containing strata
2. Morphology - Comparative Anatomy Source: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
More evidence for evolution is offered by comparing the anatomy, or
body parts, of different organisms. Many animals have body parts that are similar
in both structure and position called homologous structures. The forelimbs of
animals like humans, whales, cat, and bat are strikingly similar even though the
forelimbs are used in different purposes such as lifting objects, swimming, or
flying. The different changes in the forelimbs are adaptations to the needs of the
organisms. Homologous structures suggest that the above species are related.
The more alike the two structures are, the more likely that the species have
evolved from a recent common ancestor.
Figure 2. Forelimbs of mammalas
Developmental Biology - Embryology Source: [Link]
Many scientists use what an organism looks like as an embryo, or
embryology, as evidence for evolution. The embryos of most vertebrates look very
similar and have similar structures. For example, pig, cat, rabbit, and human embryos
are similar in appearance in early stages. They all have gill slits and tail with muscles
to move it.
This shows that the animals are similar and that they develop
similarly, implying that they are related, have common ancestors and that they
started out the same. Later as the embryos develop, they become less and less
similar gradually evolving different traits, but that the basic plan for a
creature's beginning remains the same.
Figure 3. Embryos of vertebrates.
Source:https: [Link]
3. Molecular biology- Genetic Information
Like structural homologies, similarities between biological molecules
can reflect shared evolutionary ancestry. At the most basic level, all living organisms shared the same genetic
material (DNA) .The same, or highly similar, genetic codes. The same basic process of gene expression
(transcription and translation). The same molecular building blocks, such as amino acids
These shared features suggest that all living things descended from a common ancestor, and that this
ancestor had DNA as its genetic material, used the genetic code, and expressed its genes by transcription and
translation. Present-day organisms all share these features because they were "inherited" from the same ancestor. If
we want to determine which organisms in a group are most closely related, we need to use different types of
molecular organisms in a group which are most closely related, we need to use different types of molecular features,
such as the nucleotide sequences of genes. For instance, humans, cows, chickens, and chimpanzees all have a gene
that encodes the hormone insulin, because this gene was already present in their last common ancestor. In general,
the more DNA differences in homologous genes (or amino acid differences in the proteins they encode) between
two species, the more distantly the species are related. For instance, human and chimpanzee insulin proteins are
much more similar (about 98% identical) than human and chicken insulin proteins (about 64% identical), reflecting
those humans and chimpanzees are more closely related than humans and chickens.

Activity 1. What’s My Age?

Directions: Use the information below to answer the age of the fossils.
One way scientists determine the age of fossils is by checking the amount of radioactive carbon-14 in the
fossil. Carbon-14 breaks down or decays to form nitrogen-14; the rate of this decay is constant e.g. half of
the remaining Carbon-14 breaks down every 5730 years. Use this information and compute the age of the
fossils.

Source: Payawal P(1993)

1. What is the oldest fossil? _______________________________________

2. Why is it important to know the age of the fossil? __________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Activity 2. AHA! Analogous! Homologous!
Activity from Payawal P. (1993)

Structure Classification

Human arm Whale flipper

Human arm Alligator forelimb

Bat wing Butterfly wing

Bird wing Butterfly wing

Directions: Write in the space provided H if the structures below are homologous and A if they are analogous
1. Can you say that human, whale and bat might belong to a common ancestral group? Explain why.

For number 2, refer to the illustration on the right side:

1. What is similar in the cat, whale, bat and human which provides an
evidence that they have descended from a common ancestor?
A. function C. body plan Human cat whale bat
B. structure D. means of locomotion Source: "Understanding evolution: Figure 7," by OpenStax
College, Biology, CC BY 4.0.

3. Which of the following observations best supports the conclusion that dolphins and sharks do not have a recent
common ancestor?
A. Dolphins form social groups, but sharks are solitary.
B. Dolphins hunt during the day, but sharks are nocturnal.
C. The number of dolphin species is far less than the number of shark species.
D. The jawbone structure in dolphins is very different from the jawbone structure in sharks.
4-5. Give other examples of homologous structures. Answer vary

Front limbs of man, cat, horse, bat, whales, and other mammals are made up of same kinds of bones, they just
vary only in size and function differently.

The presence of homologous structures is a strong indicator that the

organisms evolved from common ancestors. This type of evolution is called
divergent evolution. Divergent evolution is the splitting of an ancestral
population into two or more sub populations that are geographically isolated
from one another.

Convergence is an increase in similarities among species derived from Source: [Link] (Pliohippus),
[Link] (horse), [Link]
different ancestors as a result of similar adaptation to similar environment. In (zebra)
convergent evolution, analogous structures of unrelated organisms from different
ancestors develop similar function such as butterfly wings and bird wings.

Activity 3. So, Who is My Relative?

Directions: Study and compare the stages of embryonic development of the different vertebrates.

Source: Carale (1989)

1. In what stages of development of the organisms above show similarities?
2. Identify the structure, how and where are they similar?
3. In stage 3, identify the structures that made the organisms different from each other?
4. Can embryonic development be an evidence that evolution took place? Explain.
An embryo is an early stage of development in organisms. Embryonic development includes stages such as
blastula, gastrula, and organogenesis. The embryo of fishes, salamanders, lizards, birds, cats, and humans are
similar during the first stage of their embryonic development; and have several homologous structures that are not
present when the organisms are adults.
Studies show that species that are closely related exhibit similar embryonic development. Even when in
the adult stage, the organisms are quite different. After the activities, you’ve learned that fossil records, anatomical
structures and embryonic development can be used to study the relationship of organisms. Another evidence of
evolution is provided by the biochemical analysis and amino acid sequence of the organisms’ DNA. The next
activity will further help you understand more the relationship of organisms based on their amino acid sequences.
Activity 4. Let’s Compare
Directions: Based on one of the strongest evidences, infer the evolutionary relationship of some organisms by
comparing the sequence of amino acids in cytochrome C.
Materials: pen, paper, graphing paper, coloring materials.

Procedures:
1. Below is a list of the amino acids in part of a cytochrome protein molecule for 9 different animals.
Cytochrome C is a protein found in mitochondria. It is used in the study of evolutionary relationships
because most animals have this protein. Cytochrome c is made of 104 amino acids joined together. Any
sequences exactly the same for all animals have been skipped.
2. Study carefully the sequence of the amino acid.
3. For each non-human animal, take a highlighter and mark any amino acids that are different than the human
sequence.
4. When you finish, record how many differences you found in the table 3.

Tables 1 and 2. Table of Amino Acids in Part of a Cytochrome Protein Molecule for 9 Different Animals

Table 3
Animal Number of Amino Acid differences Animal Number of Amino Acid
Compared to Human Cytochrome differences Compared to Human
C Cytochrome C
Horse Shark
Chicken Turtle
Tuna Monkey
Frog Rabbit

1. Based on the activity, which organism is closely related to humans?

2. Which organism is least related to humans?

 Study tables 4 and 5 below.
Table 4 Table 5
Species Pairings Number of Species Pairings Number of
difference in difference in
Amino Acid Amino Acid
Human-chimpanzee 0 Fruit fly-dogfish shark 26
Human-fruit fly 29 Fruitfly-pigeon 25
Human-horse 12 Fruitfly-screwworm 2
Human-pigeon 12 Fruitfly-silkworm moth 15
Human-rattlesnake 14 Fruitfly-tabacco hornworm moth 14

Human-red bread mold 45 Fruitfly-wheat 47

Human-rhesus monkey 1
Human-screwworm fly 27
Human-snapping turtle 15
Human-tuna fish 21
Human-wheat 43

In a graphing paper, plot the information on Table 4 and Table 5 in a bar graph, and use different colors to
represent each pairing of species.

3. What organism appears to be least related to humans?

4. In Tables 4 and 5, which pair of organisms appear to be more related to each other?
Which pair of organisms is the least related to each other?
Why did you say so?

5. If the amino acid sequence of the two organisms is similar, would their DNA be also similar? Why?

The greater the similarity in amino acid sequence, the closer the relationship of the organisms. The organisms
are similar in structure and possess similarity at the biochemical level could probably have a common ancestor. The
genetic information or molecular biology findings also provide scientist with evidence to support the idea that if
species have changed overtime, then the genes that determine their characteristics should have also changed.
Evidence of evolution are provided by fossil records, comparative anatomy, comparative embryology, and
molecular biology of organisms.

References
[Link]
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their-environments
[Link]
[Link]
Rafferty, J. P. (2020, January 16). Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved from Encyclopeadia Britannica:
[Link]

Prepared by:

MARIDEL D. SALARDA
Teacher I
Digos City National High School

This worksheet is exclusive for DeEd Digos City use only.

Answer key: