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    7.13 - Origins of Life On Earth

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    7.13 - Origins of Life On Earth

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    7.13 - Origins of Life on Earth

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    16 views9 pages

    7.13 - Origins of Life On Earth

    Uploaded by

    Bliss Singhal

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    of 9

    Unit 7

    Natural Selection
    Topic 7.13 – Origins of Life on Earth
    Introduction

    Scientifically answering the question about the origin of life on


    Earth is one of science’s biggest questions.

    A couple of hypotheses exist that attempt to explain, and provide


    evidence for, the appearance of the first forms of life.
    Origins of the Earth

    Around 4.6 BYA, a swirling mass of dust, the remnants of an


    interstellar cloud, began to coalesce due to gravity.

    Most of the matter collected at the center of the disc, forming


    the sun.

    The four inner planets -- Mercury, Venus, Mars, and of course


    Earth -- became home to heavier elements as the dust collected.

    The outer planet gas giants, account for 99% of the remaining
    matter within the Solar System
    Inorganic Synthesis

    One of the leading hypotheses about how life formed on Earth


    begins with the inorganic synthesis of organic molecules.

    The Oparin-Haldane hypothesis begins with the fact that early


    Earth would have had little to no atmospheric oxygen.

    This would have meant that the


    atmosphere was a reducing one,
    promoting the formation of
    molecules by donating electrons to
    do so using ultraviolet radiation,
    lightning, or even thermal energy.
    Inorganic Synthesis

    In the 1950s, Stanley Miller and Harold Urey tested the Oparin-
    Haldane hypothesis.

    They were able to


    demonstrate that
    organic molecules,
    including those used as
    the building blocks of
    life, could be formed
    abiotically.
    Panspermia

    A second major hypothesis suggests that the organic molecules


    necessary for life (or even microbes themselves) formed
    elsewhere and were transported to Earth by some celestial event
    like an asteroid impact.

    Evidence suggests that microbes could survive ejection from a


    body and impact on another. In 2015 in Australia, biotic remains
    were discovered, dating back to when Earth was only about 400
    million years old.

    Scientists discovered DNA on the outside of the ISS in 2018.


    Polymerization

    How ever the organic precursors formed, they would have


    collected at various locations on Earth, such as at shorelines.

    Research from Sidney Fox in the 1950s and 60s demonstrated that
    amino acids self-polymerize and form peptide structures.

    Phospholipids will spontaneously arrange into structures that


    could serve as membranes, protecting their contents from the
    external environment.
    RNA World

    The discovery of ribose in meteorites further supports the idea


    that RNA would have preceded DNA as the primary genetic
    material.

    RNA’s ability to self-replicate, act as an enzyme, and form peptide


    bonds demonstrate that it can act in some of the most
    foundational, biological processes.

    RNA, due to its properties, is an inherently fragile molecule, but


    would have been sufficiently stable for early, simple forms of life.
    Adapted from the AP® Biology Course Exam Description
    ©
    2019 College Board

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