Examine the tree shown below. Which of the following statements is correct? Angiosperms Gymnosperms Ferns and horsetails Lycophytes Hornworts Angiosperms are more closely related to hornworts than to lycophytes. Lycophytes are more closely related to gymnosperms than to angiosperms. Hornworts are more closely related to lycophytes than to angiosperms. Ferns are more closely related to angiosperms than to lycophytes. Gymnosperms are equally closely related to angiosperms and to ferns
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The correct answer is:
Ferns are more closely related to angiosperms than to lycophytes.
Explanation:
To determine evolutionary relationships from a phylogenetic tree, observe the branching points, or nodes, which represent common ancestors. Groups that share a more recent common ancestor are more closely related.
Let’s examine the tree:
- Hornworts are the most basal group (they branch off earliest), so they are less closely related to all others.
- Lycophytes branch off after hornworts, making them more closely related to the rest of the groups than hornworts, but still more distantly related than the others.
- Ferns and horsetails come next and share a more recent common ancestor with gymnosperms and angiosperms.
- Gymnosperms and angiosperms are the most closely related of all the groups listed because they share the most recent common ancestor.
Now let’s analyze the options:
- “Angiosperms are more closely related to hornworts than to lycophytes.”
→ Incorrect. Angiosperms are more distantly related to hornworts, which branch off earliest. - “Lycophytes are more closely related to gymnosperms than to angiosperms.”
→ Incorrect. Lycophytes are more distantly related to both gymnosperms and angiosperms, but not specifically closer to gymnosperms. - “Hornworts are more closely related to lycophytes than to angiosperms.”
→ Incorrect. Hornworts branch off first and are equally distant from lycophytes and angiosperms. - “Ferns are more closely related to angiosperms than to lycophytes.”
→ Correct. The tree shows ferns and angiosperms sharing a more recent ancestor than ferns and lycophytes. - “Gymnosperms are equally closely related to angiosperms and to ferns.”
→ Incorrect. Gymnosperms and angiosperms are more closely related to each other than to ferns.
Thus, based on the tree structure, ferns are more closely related to angiosperms than to lycophytes is the only accurate statement.
