Physical Evidence of Evolution Lab
Station 1: Fossils
Observe the five fossils presented here. BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THEM – they are REAL and FRAGILE!! Fill in the chart
below and answer the questions:
Fossil #
1
Description of fossil
Name of Organism
2
3
4
5
1.
Compare the shell fossil to the actual shells (Fossil #1). Why did the shell form such an excellent, clear fossil?
2.
Can you tell the specific type of organism that lived within the shell of Fossil #1 or Fossil #4? Why or why not?
3.
Look at Fossil #2. What structures from the organism formed this fossil?
4.
Compare Fossil #3 to the real coral next to it. How are the two similar? How are the two different?
Station 2: More Fossils
Look at the special small gray fossil. Feel it – it‟s very smooth. This is a Petoskey stone which is a fossil of coral. Coral is a
marine (salt water) creature. This fossil was found in Petoskey, Michigan along the Lake Michigan shoreline, Petoskey stones
are abundant here
1. Explain how a saltwater organism was found in a freshwater lake
2.
In the book Jurassic Park, DNA from blood was extracted from a mosquito caught in amber. Look over the page on
amber and at the amber at the station. What is amber and what characteristic did it have in order to trap insects?
Using the Law of Superposition, answer the following questions using the diagram of sedimentary rock layers:
3.
Which fossil, A or D, is older? Explain your answer.
4.
Which fossil, A or C, is older? Explain your answer.
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species. Look at the various maps of Earth. The same species of fossils have been
found on the east coast of South America and the west coast of Africa
5.
Explain why identical species of a now extinct terrestrial fern could be found on the both the coasts of South America
and Africa and no where else in either of the 2 countries
Station 3: Homologous Structures
Look at the forearm skeletal structures 1-7.
1.
Describe 3 ways each of these structures are similar:
a.
b.
c.
2.
Are these skeletal structures endoskeletons (internal skeletons) or exoskeletons (external skeletons)?
3.
Can you match the 7 forearms to the organisms they come from?? There are pictures at this station to help you!
a. Frog
____
b. Bat
____
c. Bird
____
d. Whale ____
e. Lizard ____
f. Cow ____
g. Human ____
4.
What can you conclude about the evolutionary relationship between these 6 organisms?
5. Are these forearm structures homologous or analogous? Explain your answer.
Station 4: Analogous Structures
Look at the butterfly wing and the bat wing:
1.
How are the two wings similar in structure OR function?
2.
Think about a butterfly – does it have an endoskeleton (internal skeleton) or an exoskeleton (external skeleton)?
How about the bat: endoskeleton or exoskeleton?
3.
How are the two wings different in structure OR function?
4.
What can you conclude about the evolutionary relationship between the butterfly and the bat?
5.
Are the butterfly wing and the bat wing homologous or analogous? Explain your answer.
Station 5: Teeth
Look at each of the teeth presented in the tray.
1.
Describe 2 ways the teeth are similar in structure OR function:
a.
b.
2.
Describe 2 ways the teeth are different in structure OR function:
a.
b.
3.
Can you guess which organisms these may have come from? (List in no particular order)
a.
c.
d.
b.
e.
4. Do you think these teeth are examples of analogous or homologous structures? Explain your reasoning.
Station 6: Embryology
1.
Look at the series of developing embryos. Describe two similarities between each
a.
b.
2.
Can you identify which organism each embryo becomes?
a. Hog ___
b. Rabbit ____
c. Tortoise ____
d. Fish ____
e. Human ____
f.
Salamander ____
g. Cow ____
h. Chicken ____
3.
Watch the four short time-lapse videos of the embryos developing on the computer at:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/odyssey/clips/
a.
Which two organisms do you believe are most closely related, based on the similarities between the developing
embryos? Explain your answer
Station 7: Biochemistry / DNA
Think back to Protein Synthesis and the DNA unit.
1.
How many different amino acids are there in Nature? Are these amino acids the same in all organisms?
2.
What does the similarity between amino acids tell you about the relationship between all organisms?
Look over the 5 bulleted facts at this station and answer questions 3-5:
3. Which organisms‟ genome is most similar to a humans‟– yeast, a worm, or a fly?
4.
If two organisms have the same number of genes, such as a mouse and a human , does that mean each gene has the same
function?
5.
If a chlorophyll molecule is the same in a blue-green bacteria, algae, a cactus, and a giant sequoia tree – what does that
tell you about the evolutionary relationship between these organisms?
Read the short couple of paragraphs at this station and answer the questions 6-8 below:
6.
What are “conserved” sequences of DNA?
7.
If two organisms share a great amount of conserved DNA, what does this tell you about their evolutionary relationship?
Studying the genomes of major organisms can help scientists have a better understanding of how genes work and could potentially
lead to new discoveries and uses of genes and gene products.
8. Describe one way (think of it on your own – it‟s not in the article ) that increased knowledge of shared genomes could
help improve healthcare, or life in general, for humans.
Station 8 : Vestigial Structures
The term vestigial means „footprint‟ in Latin. Vestigial structures are remnants or „leftovers‟ structures that are present but do not
have the same function as they used to have in their evolutionary past.
Observe the specimen in the mirror (careful, it cab be a scary beast). Look at the inside corners of your eyes and compare it to the
picture of the dog/cat falling asleep.
1.
What is the vestigial structure in our eye and what function does it perform now?
Observe the skeleton of the cat, notice the bone structure of the tail. Determine what part of our skeleton is the vestigial „tail‟.
Circle the answer on the pelvic girdle (hip area) portion of the skeleton provided to you
Pelvic Girdle
2.
What might the presence of a vestigial structure suggest about the evolutionary history of that species?
3.
What might the presence of a vestigial structure in you and the non-vestigial structure in the cat suggest about their
evolutionary history?
Station 9 : Bio Humor
Even the topic of Evolution can have its humorous moments!! Read the „literature‟