Science·Animals of the World·conceptual
Grouping Species Using DNA
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
Suggested ages 13–14
Evidence of understanding
No evidence statements are recorded.
Assessment prompt
Can Grouping Species Using DNA 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?
Standards alignment
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