Origins of Life

The Miller-Urey experiment of 1953 was designed to test the hypothesis that lightning supplied the energy needed to turn atmospheric gases into organic molecules such as amino acids. Which of the following describes why the Miller-Urey theory is widely accepted today?

• Amino acids spontaneously form from molecules in the atmosphere today.

• Organic molecules are present today in extremely high concentrations.

• The process of synthesizing organic molecules from a mixture of gases has been successfully modeled in the laboratory. 

• No other alternative hypotheses have been introduced.

These scientists proved that organic molecules formed from inorganic molecules present in the Earth’s early atmosphere when given energy from lightening.

• Lennon and McCartney

• Einstein and Newton

• Watson and Crick

• Miller and Urey

The image provided represents the following experiment to test Earth Early Atmosphere...

• Watson-Crick's DNA experiment

• Lynn Margullis Endosymbiotic Theory

• Miller-Urey Experiment

• Einstein's theory of general relativity

One of the accepted scientific theories describing the origin of life on Earth is known as chemical evolution. According to this theory, which of the following events would need to occur first for life to evolve?

• onset of photosynthesis

• origin of genetic material

• Synthesis of organic molecules

• formation of the plasma membrane

The first living organism on the planet was what type of organism?

• Plants

• Fish

• Archaea

• Mold / Fungi

By discharging electric sparks into a laboratory chamber atmosphere that consisted of water vapor, hydrogen gas, methane, and ammonia, Stanley Miller obtained data that showed that a number of organic molecules, including many amino acids, could be synthesized. Miller was attempting to model early Earth conditions as understood in the 1950s. The results of Miller’s experiments best support which of the following hypotheses?

• The molecules essential to life today did not exist at the time Earth was first formed.

• The molecules essential to life today could not have been carried to the primordial Earth by a comet or meteorite.

• The molecules essential to life today could have formed under early Earth conditions.

• The molecules essential to life today were initially self-replicating proteins that were synthesized approximately four billion years ago.

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS1-6

What was the product of the Miller-Urey Experiment?

• Simple amino acids

• Simple nucleotides

• Simple lipids

• Simple monosaccarides

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS1-6

What are some scenarios scientists thought of the origin of life?

Origin of life took place around _____

• 2.5 billion years ago

• 3.5 billion years ago

• 4.5 billion years ago

• 5.5 billion years ago

The theory that the first cells came from non-living matter (in the right conditions) is

• Abiogenesis

• Cell theory

• Endosymbiosis