Question

refer to the table from question 9: in this hypothetical example, assume scientists determined that this sequence accumulates 2 mutations per year. according to the nucleotide differences in the table, what is the evolutionary distance between viruses a and d? 120 years 30 years 15 years 60 years

Explanation:

Step1: Identify nucleotide differences

From the table, the nucleotide - difference between viruses A and D is 120.

Step2: Calculate evolutionary distance

Since the sequence accumulates 2 mutations per year, the evolutionary distance $d$ is calculated by the formula $d=\frac{\text{nucleotide differences}}{\text{mutations per year}}$. So, $d = \frac{120}{2}=60$.

Answer:

60 years