Suppose a biologist has data showing both the divergence times between species and the number of changes at a gene for the species.Now suppose that the biologist plots divergence time on the x axis and the number of changes on the y axis.If a molecular clock is operating, then the slope of that curve must be
A) increasing.
B) constant.
C) decreasing.
D) one change per million years.
E) zero.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

If a molecular clock is operating, the number of changes in a gene over time is expected to be constant, meaning for any given period, the number of changes should be proportional to the time elapsed. This results in a linear relationship with a constant slope when plotting divergence time against the number of changes.

Suppose a Biologist Has Data Showing Both the Divergence Times