Anatomy Evolution Worksheet

Howard Hughes Medical Institute
2011 Holiday Lectures on Science

Skeletons Reveal Human and Chimpanzee Evolution
Student Worksheet
About This Worksheet
This worksheet complements the Click and Learn “Skeletons Reveal
Human and Chimpanzee Evolution” developed in conjunction with the 2011 Holiday Lectures on Science, “Bones, Stones, and Genes:
The Origin of Modern Humans”.
Author: Mark Eberhard, St. Clair High School

Web Link: www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/skeletons-reveal-human-and-chimpanzee-evolution
Click the arrow in the bottom right corner of the screen to proceed to Slide 2 and begin the Click and
Learn.
1. What is a phylogenetic tree used to illustrate? __________________________________________________
A phylogenetic tree is used to illustrate the evolutionary relationships of organisms.
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Proceed to Slide 3. Click on the video of Dr. Tim White to listen to his description of the human branch of the tree of life, then answer the following questions.
The genetic evidence suggests
2. Based on genetic evidence, humans are most closely related to which two species? ____________________ that humans are most closely related to the chimpanzee and the bonobo.
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3. Are humans more closely related to gorillas or orangutans? State the evidence. _______________________
We are more closely related to gorillas than orangutans based on the tree of life.
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Proceed to Slide 4. Click on the video of Dr. White to listen to the explanation of human evolution and answer the following question.
4. Charles Darwin proposed that modern humans directly descended from chimpanzees. Support or
Darwin appreciated common ancestry and did not