Cladistics Exam Question & Answers
(Latest 2025 )
What is the outgroup? - CORRECT ANSWERS ✔✔Oldest relative
What is the difference between ancestral characters and derived
characters? - CORRECT ANSWERS ✔✔Ancestral traits are present
in ancestral groups while derived traits are new traits
What is a Cladogram? - CORRECT ANSWERS ✔✔Branching
diagram that shows the cladistic relationship between a number of
species; hypothetical
What is a phylogenetic tree? - CORRECT ANSWERS ✔✔Diagram
that shows us how species are related to each other through
common ancestors; backed by molecular evidence
What is the ingroup? - CORRECT ANSWERS ✔✔Rest of the groups
after outgroup
What are the three assumptions in cladistics? - CORRECT
ANSWERS ✔✔1. Characteristics of organisms change over time
2. Groups of organisms are related by a common ancestor
3. Bifurcating pattern of lineage splitting
(Latest 2025 )
What is the outgroup? - CORRECT ANSWERS ✔✔Oldest relative
What is the difference between ancestral characters and derived
characters? - CORRECT ANSWERS ✔✔Ancestral traits are present
in ancestral groups while derived traits are new traits
What is a Cladogram? - CORRECT ANSWERS ✔✔Branching
diagram that shows the cladistic relationship between a number of
species; hypothetical
What is a phylogenetic tree? - CORRECT ANSWERS ✔✔Diagram
that shows us how species are related to each other through
common ancestors; backed by molecular evidence
What is the ingroup? - CORRECT ANSWERS ✔✔Rest of the groups
after outgroup
What are the three assumptions in cladistics? - CORRECT
ANSWERS ✔✔1. Characteristics of organisms change over time
2. Groups of organisms are related by a common ancestor
3. Bifurcating pattern of lineage splitting
