Paleontologist Fossils and the history of life
1. What does a Paleontologist study? What are 3 classes in college you would have to take in order to
be a Paleontologist?
2. Write a single journal entry for 1 day in New Mexico when he was on an exhibition in New Mexico.
(paragraph)
3. Page 43 question 2 a, b, c, d, e.
4. Observe each of the Fossils and draw a 3 circle Venn diagram. Describe each of the animals noting
their similarities and differences with your Venn diagram.
5. Watch The Video on Earth’s Continental Drift (Plate Tectonics).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGcDed4xVD4 At 120 Million years ago what big differences
do you see in the continents? (1:50 min into video)
6. At 2:00 min into the video start it over and discuss with your group which earlier land masses of
Pangaea later became the USA, Latin America and Eurasia. Continue with the entire video.
7. What impact did these changes in the land masses have on animals that may have in recent times
lived on these land masses?
8. How did their ability to travel across land bridges between continents alter the evolution of these
animals?
9. How do you think the “future Earth formation” from the video will impact man and other species?
Be specific.
Evolutionary Biologist: Evidence for change across time
1. What do you think that an Evolutionary Biologist studies? Give 2 examples of what they might do
in a typical day at work.
2. Why does he use the analogy of his job is like looking under the hood of the car?
3. Obtain dissecting materials and gloves for your team. Then ask Ms. Brown for a chicken wing. You
may use the diagrams in your packet to help you identify structures in this dissection.
4. Sketch the chicken wing after removing the skin. Label the sketch. (Use your hands or scissors to
remove the skin.)
5. What muscle do the chicken wings have that correspond to a human? If you pull on the muscles or
tendons (white connective cord attached to the muscle) what actions does it create?
6. Use scissors or your hands to locate the bones of the chicken wing by removing the muscle.
3. While dissecting write down qualitative observations about what you see. Look at the joints and
compare them to your own joints.
4. What bones do the chicken wings have that correspond to a human?
5. Make a sketch of the wing after you have removed the muscle. Label your diagram.
6. Answer questions on page 45 2 C, D, and E. Use the given diagrams of bat, chicken and human.
7. Use the pictures of Vestigial organs that you have and write an explanation of your hypothesis of
what you think these were originally used for. Include in your explanation what a vestigial organ is
and what it shows us about evolution.
Developmental Biologist Evidence for change across time
1. What does a developmental Biologist focus on? Read the “Need to know” box on page 46 in your
book.
2. Dr. Domingo decided to go into lab work instead of being a Physician. What do you think are the
biggest differences between the two careers?
3. Why does she think experimentation is so important? What are some similarities with her
experimentation with what you do in high school experiments?
4. On page 46 in your book do the activity described in question 2 b. After completing the puzzle ask
Ms. Brown (me) for the answer key. There are 5 animals in your bag.
5. Answer the questions 2 d (page 46) on your paper after discussing with your group.
6. Look at the 2 diagrams of different animals in embryonic stages. On Diagram #1 what are specific
anatomical differences and similarities between the embryos? Be very specific. At which stages are
the embryos most similar? Why?
7. Look at Diagram #2 and find the two organisms that are most similar and the two that are most
different. Describe these organisms. Explain why you think they are more similar or more different?
8. Why is DNA such an important tool in determining relationships between animals?
9. Discuss the given sheet of DNA from different organisms with your group. How could you use the
DNA to determine which organisms are the most closely related to each other?
10. Using a ruler to help guide you, check the DNA strands of the given primates for similarities and
differences. Which primates do you think are most closely related to each other? How does DNA
analysis help provide evidence for evolution?
Physical Anthropologist Biological changes in Humans over time:
1. What does a Physical Anthropologist’s work focused on? How does that relate to evolution?
2. Look at questions 2 A, parts 1, 2 & 3 in the book on page 48. Answer all these questions while
using the pictures of the chimp, human and mystery bones.
3. Use the given table to take detailed notes on the Hominid skulls in the DVD video given to you.
4. Explain the trends you saw in the skulls from oldest to most recent. Be specific. What do you think
was an evolutionary advantage to those changes? (1/2 page)
5. What can you infer about our ancestors life styles based on the physical traits that you see? How
do our traits today reflect our change in lifestyle?