The Phylogenetic Tree

Students study genetics and evolution. They evaluate a group of organisms and estimate their genetic relatedness. Then they use an online program to check the accuracy of their estimations and make a branching phylogenetic tree which...

Introduce your class to the concept of creating phylogenetic trees by playing a game of Telephone. Participants create a mixed-up message and through the use of distance matrices, the evolution of the message is recreated. 

Insects, and other invertebrates outnumber vertebrates—segmented-legs down! The first in a five-part series of videos from an Invertebrates series introduces these organisms in all their spineless glory. Each invertebrate phyla takes the...

How closely are animals related? Check their phylogenetic trees! The use of DNA sequencing altered our understanding of these relationships. Individuals explore and gain a better understanding of how scientists sort, align, and determine...

High schoolers study a list of cars and trucks and think about characteristics that can be used to show an "evolutionary relationship". From the characteristics they identity, students construct a phylogenetic tree to show how the...

Many scholars study phylogenetic trees without understanding how they are made. Through an online game, young scientists use the given data to create phylogenetic trees of increasing complexity. They rely on the trees they create to...

Are your biologists ready for advanced genetics? Briefly learn about Gregor Mendel, and dive into the phylogenetic tree, linked genes, multiple genes and nonnuclear inheritance! Mr. Anderson continues his clear instruction and use of...

Scholars explore revolutionary relationships among organisms through phylogenetics. Using cladograms, or an evolutionary tree, the narrator shows viewers how organisms are created through morphological (analysis of number of heart...

Each branch of a phylogenetic represents a species, and you can trace each one back through history. A short video, the fourth of seven, introduces phylogenetic trees and the online game lab used in the unit. 

Junior biologists compare the amino acid sequences from fragments of five different globin molecules. They count the letter differences between each species pair. They construct a graphic representation of the evolutionary relationships...