Mallery BIL150 Study Guide Exam
Questions And Actual Answers.
Lecture presented possible scenarios for the origin of the chemicals necessary for the evolution
of early life on Earth. The 3 major hypotheses of the origins of life and cells are? - Answer
1 .Chemical Evolution
2. Astrobiological 3.Supreme Being (non-testable)
Radioisotope dating using 235U decay indicates that the Earth is
around______________________________old and that life originated between - Answer 4.0
and 4.5 billion years old
life originated about 3.5 billion years ago
Conditions on the primitive Earth are thought to have favored the spontaneous formation of
organic monomers, the linking of these monomers into polymers, the development of self-
replicating molecules, and the grouping of aggregates of organic molecules into droplets called -
Answer protobionts
Consider the Stanley Miller apparatus. What was it meant to simulate - Answer early earth-like
conditions
What molecules are found in the reaction vesicle labeled A (top) - Answer methane, ammonia,
hydrogen, and water
the atmosphere inside the vessel "A." (top) is described as a chemically - Answer reducing
Miller & Urey's atmosphere was probably more strongly reducing than the actual atmosphere of
early Earth. Volcanoes today emit CO, CO2, and N2 and it is likely they were also abundant.
in the sample vesicle which they tested for various types of chemical made...what molecules did
they find in "B (flask on bottom) - Answer Hydrogen cyanide,f ormaldehyde, and many organic
molecules, including amino acids, nucleotides, and sugars.
At the end of one week, Miller observed that as much as 10-15% of the carbon was now in the
,to form a variety of sugars, including the five-carbon sugars fundamental to the formation of
nucleic acids and such six-carbon sugars as glucose and fructose
in 1961, Juan Oro found that - Answer Juan Oro found that amino acids could be made from
hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and ammonia in an aqueous solution. He also found that his
experiment produced an amazing amount of the nucleotide base, adenine. Adenine is of
tremendous biological significance as an organic compound because it is one of the four bases
in RNA and DNA. It is also a component of adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, which is a major
energy releasing molecule in cells. Experiments conducted later showed that the other RNA and
DNA bases could be obtained through simulated prebiotic chemistry with a reducing
atmosphere
in miller experiment, what energy source(s) were provided, and what was it likely meant to
simulate? - Answer An electrode.
energy Sources on primitive Earth, especially electricity in the form of lightning. While it is
believed lightning storms were extremely common on the primitive Earth, they were not
continuous as the Miller/Urey experiment portrayed.Subsequent experiments have substituted
ultraviolet light or heat as the energy source On the early Earth there was much more energy
available in ultraviolet light than in lightning discharges
How might each of the molecules made in the Miller/Urey apparatus have contributed to the
formation of early cells? - Answer All of these organics are extremely common metabolites
and structural building blocks in contemporary organisms. Furthermore, the nucleotide bases as
well as porphyrins have been produced in the laboratory under simulated primitive Earth
conditions by several investigators. While there is still debate on the generality of the
experimental synthetic pathways and on the stability of the molecules produced, most if not all
of the essential building blocks of proteins, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids can be readily
produced under quite general primitive reducing conditions
What is an abiotic molecule? - Answer abiotic components Nonliving chemical and physical
factors in the environment
What is the definition of a biological macromolecule? - Answer biotic -a giant molecule
formed by the joining of smaller molecules, usually by a condensation reaction. Polysaccharides,
proteins, and nucleic acids are macromolecules that makeup living organisms
examples of
, a. deoxyribonucleic acid
b. ribonucleic acid
2. protein
a. albumin
b. petidase
3. carbohydrate
a. glucose, etc
b. sucrose
4. lipid
a. triglyceride
b. phospholipids
Where did the Chemicals of Life come from?
This idea is often known as - Answer Panspermia
Pose an experimentally testable research question that might help to determine whether this
idea might be correct. Have your Learning Community critique the experiment. Is the
experiment really testable? - Answer Determine if the precursor chemicals of life on Earth
(amino acids, sugars, and nucleotides) exist on other planetary bodies in the Universe, such as
planets like Mars
Possible extraterrestrial sources of early organic molecules that may have lead to life include: -
Answer comets
meteorites
asteroids
science vs religious belief - Answer The difference between science and religious belief is that
science is experimentally testable. At present, the existence of a divine creation is not
experimentally testable and therefore is in the realm of faith.
Questions And Actual Answers.
Lecture presented possible scenarios for the origin of the chemicals necessary for the evolution
of early life on Earth. The 3 major hypotheses of the origins of life and cells are? - Answer
1 .Chemical Evolution
2. Astrobiological 3.Supreme Being (non-testable)
Radioisotope dating using 235U decay indicates that the Earth is
around______________________________old and that life originated between - Answer 4.0
and 4.5 billion years old
life originated about 3.5 billion years ago
Conditions on the primitive Earth are thought to have favored the spontaneous formation of
organic monomers, the linking of these monomers into polymers, the development of self-
replicating molecules, and the grouping of aggregates of organic molecules into droplets called -
Answer protobionts
Consider the Stanley Miller apparatus. What was it meant to simulate - Answer early earth-like
conditions
What molecules are found in the reaction vesicle labeled A (top) - Answer methane, ammonia,
hydrogen, and water
the atmosphere inside the vessel "A." (top) is described as a chemically - Answer reducing
Miller & Urey's atmosphere was probably more strongly reducing than the actual atmosphere of
early Earth. Volcanoes today emit CO, CO2, and N2 and it is likely they were also abundant.
in the sample vesicle which they tested for various types of chemical made...what molecules did
they find in "B (flask on bottom) - Answer Hydrogen cyanide,f ormaldehyde, and many organic
molecules, including amino acids, nucleotides, and sugars.
At the end of one week, Miller observed that as much as 10-15% of the carbon was now in the
,to form a variety of sugars, including the five-carbon sugars fundamental to the formation of
nucleic acids and such six-carbon sugars as glucose and fructose
in 1961, Juan Oro found that - Answer Juan Oro found that amino acids could be made from
hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and ammonia in an aqueous solution. He also found that his
experiment produced an amazing amount of the nucleotide base, adenine. Adenine is of
tremendous biological significance as an organic compound because it is one of the four bases
in RNA and DNA. It is also a component of adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, which is a major
energy releasing molecule in cells. Experiments conducted later showed that the other RNA and
DNA bases could be obtained through simulated prebiotic chemistry with a reducing
atmosphere
in miller experiment, what energy source(s) were provided, and what was it likely meant to
simulate? - Answer An electrode.
energy Sources on primitive Earth, especially electricity in the form of lightning. While it is
believed lightning storms were extremely common on the primitive Earth, they were not
continuous as the Miller/Urey experiment portrayed.Subsequent experiments have substituted
ultraviolet light or heat as the energy source On the early Earth there was much more energy
available in ultraviolet light than in lightning discharges
How might each of the molecules made in the Miller/Urey apparatus have contributed to the
formation of early cells? - Answer All of these organics are extremely common metabolites
and structural building blocks in contemporary organisms. Furthermore, the nucleotide bases as
well as porphyrins have been produced in the laboratory under simulated primitive Earth
conditions by several investigators. While there is still debate on the generality of the
experimental synthetic pathways and on the stability of the molecules produced, most if not all
of the essential building blocks of proteins, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids can be readily
produced under quite general primitive reducing conditions
What is an abiotic molecule? - Answer abiotic components Nonliving chemical and physical
factors in the environment
What is the definition of a biological macromolecule? - Answer biotic -a giant molecule
formed by the joining of smaller molecules, usually by a condensation reaction. Polysaccharides,
proteins, and nucleic acids are macromolecules that makeup living organisms
examples of
, a. deoxyribonucleic acid
b. ribonucleic acid
2. protein
a. albumin
b. petidase
3. carbohydrate
a. glucose, etc
b. sucrose
4. lipid
a. triglyceride
b. phospholipids
Where did the Chemicals of Life come from?
This idea is often known as - Answer Panspermia
Pose an experimentally testable research question that might help to determine whether this
idea might be correct. Have your Learning Community critique the experiment. Is the
experiment really testable? - Answer Determine if the precursor chemicals of life on Earth
(amino acids, sugars, and nucleotides) exist on other planetary bodies in the Universe, such as
planets like Mars
Possible extraterrestrial sources of early organic molecules that may have lead to life include: -
Answer comets
meteorites
asteroids
science vs religious belief - Answer The difference between science and religious belief is that
science is experimentally testable. At present, the existence of a divine creation is not
experimentally testable and therefore is in the realm of faith.
