Question: Which of the following observations best supports the conclusion that two animal species evolved from a common ancestor in recent geological history?
Answer: The species have similar bone structure.
Hypothesis: animals with similar bone structure probably evolved from a common ancestor in recent geological history
Supporting facts: sent1: if two things have the same features then those two things are alike sent2: structure is similar to shape sent3: if two or more continents have similar fossils / rocks then those continents probably once were a single landmass sent4: the skeleton of an animal can be used for inferring the height / the length of that animal sent5: living things in the same class are more closely related than living things in different classes sent6: genes are able to determine the inherited characteristics of a living thing sent7: evolution occurs over a long period of time sent8: some characteristics of animals are inherited sent9: bones can be fossilized into sedimentary rocks sent10: evolution causes significant trait changes in a species sent11: similarity means the same property sent12: a structure of something is synonymous with a part of that something sent13: the properties of something can be used to identify / used to describe that something sent14: the shape of body parts is an inherited characteristic sent15: inherited characteristics are passed down from ancestor to descendant sent16: if two things perform the same function then those two things are similar sent17: to conclude means to make a conclusion sent18: a tooth is a kind of bone sent19: if two objects are composed of similar materials then those objects may have come from the same source sent20: bone structure is a kind of inherited characteristic of an animal sent21: two or more animals have similar characteristics sent22: a dinosaur is a kind of ancient organism sent23: an inherited characteristic is a kind of characteristic sent24: similar means in common sent25: recent geological history means a relatively short period of time
Reasoning: [BECAUSE] inherited characteristics are passed down from ancestor to descendant [AND] some characteristics of animals are inherited [INFER] int1: some characteristics are passed down from ancestor to descendant [BECAUSE] int1 [AND] two or more animals have similar characteristics [INFER] int2: animals with similar characteristics might share a common ancestor [BECAUSE] evolution causes significant trait changes in a species [AND] evolution occurs over a long period of time [INFER] int3: evolution causes  significant trait changes over a long period of time [BECAUSE] int3 [AND] recent geological history means a relatively short period of time [INFER] int4: if an animal evolved from another animal in recent geological history then the changes in traits will be less significant [BECAUSE] int2 [AND] int4 [INFER] int5: animals with similar characteristics might have evolved from a common ancestor in recent geological history [BECAUSE] bone structure is a kind of inherited characteristic of an animal [AND] an inherited characteristic is a kind of characteristic [INFER] int6: bone structure is a kind of characteristic of an animal [BECAUSE] int5 [AND] int6 [INFER] int7: animals with similar bone structure probably evolved from a common ancestor in recent geological history