Of the primates listed below, a human’s closest extant relative is a(n)

Question

A.  South American spider monkey.
B.  mandrill.
C.  orangutan.
D.  ring-tailed lemur.

Gather Content
· What do you already know about primate relationships?

Choose Answer
· Given what you now know, what information and/or problem solving approach is most likely to produce the correct answer?

Reflect on Process
· Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?

Answer 1

C.  orangutan.

Clarify Question
· What is the key concept addressed by the question?
        o This question addresses primate relationships.
· What type of thinking is required?
        o This question is asking you to take what you already know and apply it to this unfamiliar situation.

Gather Content
· What do you already know about primate relationships?
        o The primates consist of several groups.
        o Tarsiers, lemurs, and lorises used to be considered prosimians, but it is now realized that this group is paraphyletic, with tarsiers more closely related to monkeys and apes than they are to lemurs and lorises.
        o Anthropoids include monkeys, apes, and humans.
        o The monkeys fall into two groups, New World monkeys and Old World monkeys. The mandrill, despite its short tail, is an Old World monkey, not an ape.
        o Anthropoids that remained in Africa gave rise to two lineages: the Old World monkeys and the hominoids (apes and humans).
        o The apes include gibbons, orangutans, gorillas, and chimpanzees. The chimpanzees and hominids (humans and human ancestors) are sister groups.

Choose Answer
· Given what you now know, what information and/or problem solving approach is most likely to produce the correct answer?
        o The ring-tailed lemur is the most distantly-related to humans. It lies at the base of the primate phylogeny, in the clade of lemurs and lorises.
        o The South American spider monkey is the second most distant from humans. It is a New World monkey.
        o The mandrill is still distantly related to humans. It is an Old World monkey, not an ape.
        o The orangutan is a hominoid and an ape. Of these options, it is the closest relative to humans.

Reflect on Process
· Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
        o The question required you to take what you already know and apply it to this unfamiliar situation.
        o Did you recognize that mandrills are Old World monkeys, not apes?