Introduction

class="introduction"

class="summary" title="Sections Summary"

class="art-exercise" title="Art Connections"

class="multiple-choice" title="Multiple Choice"

class="free-response" title="Free Response"

Photo shows a bee collecting nectar from a flower.

This bee and Echinacea flower could not look more different, yet they are related, as are all living organisms on Earth. By following pathways of similarities and differences—both visible and genetic—scientists seek to map the history of evolution from single-celled organisms to the tremendous diversity of creatures that have crawled, germinated, floated, swam, flown, and walked on this planet.

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