NEET-UG Biology · Class 12
Evidence from fossils and molecules — NEET & JEE Questions
Evidence from fossils and molecules is a topic in Evolution, a Class 12 Biology chapter of the NEET-UG syllabus. TestBudy holds 12 published NEET-UG questions on Evidence from fossils and molecules, each with the marking scheme of the real paper. The ideas it examines include What fossils and rock layers tell us, Shared molecules as evidence of ancestry.
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Key formulas and concepts
The ideas Evidence from fossils and molecules is examined on, as they are tagged in the syllabus tree.
- What fossils and rock layers tell us
- Shared molecules as evidence of ancestry
Evidence from fossils and molecules MCQs with solutions
10 of the 12 published questions on this topic, exactly as they appear in a test. Answers and worked solutions come with your result rather than on this page.
Preserved remains or traces of ancient organisms:
- A. mutations only
- B. hybrids
- C. analogous organs
- D. fossils
Fossils are important evidence for evolution because they
- A. document organisms from past geological periods and changes through time
- B. show only living species
- C. prove all species appeared simultaneously
- D. contain no temporal information
Greater similarity in DNA or protein sequences between two species generally suggests
- A. a more recent common ancestor
- B. no evolutionary relationship
- C. that the species are identical
- D. a more ancient common ancestor than less-similar species
Molecular clocks are based on the idea that
- A. some sequence changes accumulate at roughly estimable rates over time
- B. all genes mutate at exactly the same rate
- C. fossils are unnecessary for calibration
- D. DNA never changes
Two species have very similar cytochrome-c amino-acid sequences. What is the most reasonable inference?
- A. They are relatively closely related evolutionarily
- B. They cannot share an ancestor
- C. They must occupy the same habitat
- D. They are necessarily the same species
Fossils of an extinct form occur consistently in rock layers older than fossils of a derived form. This pattern supports
- A. temporal succession in evolution
- B. simultaneous origin of all forms
- C. absence of ancestry
- D. random fossil placement only
If species P and Q differ at fewer homologous DNA positions than P and R, the simplest molecular inference is
- A. P and Q share a more recent common ancestor than P and R
- B. P and R are necessarily the same species
- C. Q evolved independently with no ancestor
- D. DNA difference cannot inform relatedness
Why are transitional fossils especially informative?
- A. They may show combinations of ancestral and derived features
- B. They prove no species ever change
- C. They occur only in living organisms
- D. They remove the need for other evidence
A fossil lineage shows a gradual change in a structure across successively younger rock layers. What does this most directly support?
- A. Evolutionary change through time within a lineage
- B. Permanent structural constancy
- C. No relation between fossils and age
- D. Only ecological migration
Molecular data and fossil dates disagree strongly about a divergence event. What is the best scientific response?
- A. Re-examine molecular assumptions, fossil dating and calibration rather than automatically discarding one source
- B. Accept molecular data regardless of evidence
- C. Accept fossils regardless of evidence
- D. Average the dates without analysis
Common mistakes in Evidence from fossils and molecules
Recorded against questions in this topic that are not shown above, so none of these points at an answer you can see on this page.
- Assumes fastest-changing sequences are always best for deep comparisons.
- Uses only one evidence source or reverses similarity-based relatedness.
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