The diagrams below show the upper jaws of some fossils - NSC Life Sciences - Question 3 - 2018 - Paper 2
Question 3
The diagrams below show the upper jaws of some fossils. These diagrams are drawn to scale.
Chimpanzee
Australopithecus afarensis
Homo sapiens
3.1.1 Describe ON... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:The diagrams below show the upper jaws of some fossils - NSC Life Sciences - Question 3 - 2018 - Paper 2
Step 1
Describe ONE visible difference between the jaw of a chimpanzee and that of Homo sapiens which shows trends in human evolution.
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Answer
The jaw is large in the chimpanzee and small in Homo sapiens.
Step 2
Based on the differences in dentition, what conclusion can be made about the change in diet from Australopithecus afarensis to Homo sapiens?
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Answer
The diet changed from eating raw food in Australopithecus to a diet of cooked food in Homo sapiens.
Step 3
Define a transitional species.
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Answer
A transitional species shows intermediate characteristics between two genera/species.
Step 4
Use ONE visible feature of the jaw to explain why A. afarensis may be described as a transitional species.
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Answer
The jaw is smaller than that of the chimpanzee but larger than that of Homo sapiens.
