1. Outline the Four Essential Processes Needed for the Spontaneous Origin of Life on Earth

1. Outline the four essential processes needed for the spontaneous origin of life on earth. Add details beyond the list given in the course syllabus. Include examples, evidence, characteristic features.

1. Visit this site: and try various combinations of gases to see which gives you the most production of organic material. The steps listed to the right of the animation are not necessarily in order! List the successful mixture of gases and steps in using the apparatus.

1. View the short clips with interviews of Stanley Miller. (a) What parts of the early earth were represented by which parts of the experimental apparatus? (b) Why was he focused on finding amino acids in the resulting mixture as opposed to nucleic acids?

1. An alternative hypothesis is that comets may have delivered organic compounds to earth. Considering this possibility, study Figure 1 and Table1 below and respond to the questions.

1. Discuss possible locations on earth (or extraterrestrial!) where conditions would have allowed the synthesis of organic compounds, sometimes referred to as biochemical evolution. Think about environments would offer the necessary conditions suggested by Miller-Urey and other evidence. (note that the command term here is not “list,” but “discuss”)

1. The importance of nucleic acids as the original organic molecules is presented in a model known as the “RNA world.” Do some quick research to determine who first used this term. What are his/her qualifications as an authoritative source on this subject?

1. Explain how RNA possesses qualities that allow it to be considered so integral to the initial biochemical evolution. (i.e., what features of the molecule provide for information transfer? What features allow for facilitation of biochemical reactions?) Which of these two properties do you think was the most surprising to the science world?

1. Define “protobiont.” What features would suggest that a structure may have indeed been a protobiont? List three examples of protobionts and some of their particular features.

1. Study the graph below. Circle the point at which (a) oxygen was first produced, (b) oxygen began to accumulate and (c) oxygen reached current levels.

Knowing that the early ocean was rich in iron, how can you explain the delay between oxygen production and oxygen accumulation? (Where were these early organisms living?)

10. Create an annotated schematic to illustrate the endosymbiotic theory of the origin of eukaryotes. Consider why the theory is referring to the origin of eukaryote and not cells in general. What big evolutionary transformation is involved here? Good references:

(secondary endosymbiosis, origin of chloroplast)

(primary endosymbiosis, origin of mitochondria and the implication for further evolution) (and a cool Italian accent)

(chemical evolution 2009 - Szostak)

(chemical evolution 1984 – C Sagan – recreation of Miller Urey experiment)

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