Scientists examine fossils from three different animals. They determine that all three animals share similar structures and record their observations as follows:
• Animal A and animal B have somewhat similar structures.
• Animal A and animal C have very similar structures.
• Animal B and animal C have very similar structures.
The scientists use the similarities to determine the order in which the fossils should appear in the fossil record. Based on the scientists' observations, which order is the most reasonable?
(1 point)
• C, B, A
• A, C, B
O A, B, C
• A, C, B
This order is the most reasonable based on the scientists' observations. Animal A is very similar to both animal B and animal C, while animal B and animal C are also similar to each other. This suggests that animal A likely evolved first and then split into two different branches, one leading to animal B and the other to animal C.