7.3 & 7.4 The Earth's Atmosphere In The Past/Life On Earth Flashcards Preview

GCSE Chemistry 1.7 Our Changing Planet > 7.3 & 7.4 The Earth's Atmosphere In The Past/Life On Earth > Flashcards

Flashcards in 7.3 & 7.4 The Earth's Atmosphere In The Past/Life On Earth Deck (21)
Loading flashcards...
1
Q

What was the earth covered in in its first billion years?

A

Volcanoes

2
Q

Name 3 things that volcanoes release

A
  • carbon dioxide
  • water vapour
  • nitrogen
3
Q

How were the oceans formed?

A

As the earth cooled down, most of the water vapour released by volcanoes condensed to form the oceans

4
Q

What gases were in the early atmosphere?

A
  • carbon dioxide

* water vapour

5
Q

What other gases did scientists believe were in the early atmosphere?

A
  • nitrogen
  • methane
  • ammonia
6
Q

Where did most of the earths carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water vapour in the early atmosphere come from?

A

It was released by volcanoes

7
Q

What developed over the 2nd and 3rd billion years of the earth?

A

Bacteria, algae and plants

8
Q

Why did the amount of carbon dioxide in the air decrease after about 2 billion years of the earths formation?

A

It was absorbed by the plants for photosynthesis which released oxygen

9
Q

What produced the oxygen in the atmosphere?

A

Photosynthesis from the plants

10
Q

Where did the first plants probably evolve from?

A

Simple organisms like plankton and algae in ancient oceans

11
Q

Why are we not sure about how life began?

A

There are lots of theories but no proof or evidence for any of them

12
Q

How long ago do scientists believe the earth was formed?

A

4.5 billion years ago

13
Q

What was the Miller-Urey experiment?

A

An experiment based on what scientists at that time thought was in the early atmosphere

14
Q

What mixture of substances were used in the Miller-Urey experiment?

A
  • water
  • ammonia
  • methane
  • hydrogen
15
Q

What did Miller and Urey add to their experiment (not a gas) and why? What did this cause?

A

They gave the gases a high voltage spark to simulate lightning

This caused the elements to react together

16
Q

What did Miller and Urey find after a week of their experiment?

A

Amino acids had been formed

17
Q

What are amino acids?

A

The building blocks for proteins

18
Q

Name a substance that had not been made in the Miller-Urey experiment

A

•oxygen was not made

19
Q

What is the primordial soup theory?

A

The organic molecules formed a primordial soup. The amino acids in this mixture combined to make proteins from which life began

20
Q

What is the Murchinson meteorite theory?

A

Fragments of meteors contain amino acids, which shows that molecules capable of starting life may have arrived from outer space. The Murchinson meteorite landed in 1969 in Australia, weighing 100kg

21
Q

Amino acids are made from the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Suggest why Miller and Urey used a mixture of water, ammonia, methane and hydrogen in their experiment.

A
They all contain the elements need to make amino acids
•water contains hydrogen and oxygen
•ammonia contains nitrogen and hydrogen 
•methane contains carbon and hydrogen 
•hydrogen is hydrogen