Question

1. what order did the organisms in the diagram to the right evolve in?

____ → __ → __ → __ → ____

1. how did you find your answer to #3? explain how relative dating works in your answer.

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(diagram on the right: rock layers with bacteria at the bottom, then sharks, dinosaurs, elephants, apes at the top, and a small illustration above the rock layers showing a landscape with a person, tree, etc.)

Explanation:

Question 3

Step1: Analyze Rock Layers

In relative dating, older rock layers are below younger ones. The bottom layer (Bacteria) is oldest, then Sharks, Dinosaurs, Elephants, Apes (top, youngest).

Step2: Determine Evolution Order

Organisms in older layers evolved earlier. So from oldest to youngest (earliest to latest evolution): Bacteria → Sharks → Dinosaurs → Elephants → Apes.

To answer #3, I used relative dating: rock layers' positions (older below, younger above). Bacteria are in the bottom (oldest layer), so they evolved first. Then Sharks (next layer up), then Dinosaurs, Elephants, and Apes (top layer, youngest). Relative dating infers age by layer position—older fossils are in lower layers, younger in upper, showing evolution order (simpler organisms earlier, complex later).

Answer:

Bacteria → Sharks → Dinosaurs → Elephants → Apes

Question 4