FAU BROOKS BIODIVERSITY UNIT 1 EXAM Questions and Answers (SCORED A+)

Haldon-Oparin Hypothesis -ANSWER_ life arose spontaneously from methane, ammonia, water & energy sources Milley-Urey experiment -ANSWER_ Tested Haldane-Oparin hypothesis Contemporary scientist think that methane & ammonia were likely ABSENT in early atmosphere Organic molecules: CO, CO2, H2 (not much), N2 and H2O Panspermia -ANSWER_ idea that organic molecules were brought to earth by meteorites/asteroids. Organic material would have come from outer space. CHOOSE: Earliest life forms were anaerobic/aerobic and autotrophic/heterotrophic -ANSWER_ Earliest life forms were anaerobic and heterotrophic Primordial Soup Theory -ANSWER_ suggests that 3.8 billion to 3.55 billion years ago life began in a pond or ocean because of the combination of chemicals from the atmosphere and some form of energy to make amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, which would then evolve into the first species on Earth RNA -ANSWER_ earliest cells contained RNA through discovery of RETROVIRUSES (home could perform REVERSE TRANSCIPTION meaning RNA -> DNA) RNA makes copies of DNA & can act as enzymes Unresolved problems regarding how life came about -ANSWER_ The concept of large, complex, organic molecules via dehydration of condensation bonds in an aquatic environment is questionable because the presence of water favors hydrolysis (break down) or large molecules rather than assembly of small molecules to large ones. ALSO The concept of "self-replicating" systems, meaning asexual reproduction AKA how the first organism could have reproduced is also questionable because little evidence that abiotic systems can spontaneously reproduce exists.