Molecular clocks use mutations to estimate evolutionary time. They can calculate how many years ago a particular species diverged from an ancestor, and there by it tells whether the species are closely related or not because the rates will be constant in related species. Mitochondrial DNA is used to study closely related species whereas ribosomal RNA is used to study distinctly related species. Solution Molecular clocks use mutations to estimate evolutionary time. They can calculate how many years ago a particular species diverged from an ancestor, and there by it tells whether the species are closely related or not because the rates will be constant in related species. Mitochondrial DNA is used to study closely related species whereas ribosomal RNA is used to study distinctly related species..