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Grouping Species Using DNA

CONCEPTUAL
ScienceAnimals of the World|Ages 13—14|ID: mt_fqAkSv3cUE

Explain cladistics: organisms are grouped by shared derived characters, not just similarity; how phylogenetic trees are built using molecular data (DNA sequence alignment) and the molecular clock; explain why birds are technically a group within dinosaurs (crown Avemetatarsalia); distinguish convergent evolution (unrelated species evolving similar traits) from parallel evolution; introduce horizontal gene transfer and why the tree of life is more accurately a web; explain why classification systems keep changing as new data emerge

Mastery Evidence

    Assessment Prompt

    “Can [child] explain why biologists now say that birds ARE a type of dinosaur — not just their descendants but literally within the dinosaur family tree? What does that tell us about how scientists classify animals?”

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