1) Evolution occurs through small changes in a population over a long period of time. Thus organisms of different kinds can by traced to a common ancestor. For example, modern whales can be traced back to their common ancestor, the Mesonychid. Over time, the Mesonychid went through a series of gradual changes. It is closely related to the Ambulocetus, which is closely related to Rodhocetus, which is most closely related to the modern whale.
2) Marsupials originated in North America.
3) Dragonflies, birds, and bats are examples of convergent evolution, because all these are parts of different species that evolved to have some of the same characteristics because of their environment: air.
4) In the Common Descent Lab, we showed how similarities in DNA are evidence for evolution. For example, from the hemoglobin strands we showed that gorillas are most closely related to chimpanzees, which are closely related to humans. We also found that all these share a common ancestor. It is important to note that humans did not directly evolve from chimpanzees, they just share a common ancestor.
5) Homology refers to similarities between structures due to common ancestry. For example, the common structure for limbs is 1 bone --> 2 bones --> blob of bones --> fingers/toes.
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