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Table 2 Final survey statements

From: Freshman Undergraduate Biology Students’ Difficulties with the Concept of Common Ancestry

Question number

Designation

Statement

8

N1

Dogs and wolves have a common ancestor

2

N2

Pears and apples have a common ancestor

13

N2.1

Rats and mice have a common ancestor

9

N3

Horse flies and fruit flies have a common ancestor

4

H3

Baboons and humans have a common ancestor

1

N4

Whales and zebras have a common ancestor

7

N4.1

Rats and dogs have a common ancestor

3

N5

Crocodiles and dolphins have a common ancestor

11

H5

Salamanders and humans have a common ancestor

5

N6

Zebras and snails have a common ancestor

10

N6.1

Earthworms and mosquitoes have a common ancestor

12

N7

Tuna fish and pumpkins have a common ancestor

6

H7

Cucumbers and humans have a common ancestor

  1. Statements are listed in order of increasing taxonomic distance. The number indicates the order of the statements in the survey. The designation is used in the figures: N/H indicates non-human or Human, respectively; the first digit indicates the taxonomic distance (1 = different species; 7 = different kingdoms); the last digit, if present, indicates more than one statement at the same level of taxonomic distance