Origin of Life Flashcards
Talk about cellular organization.
Cellular level consists of atoms, molecules, organelles and cells.
Cell is the basic unit of life.
Organism level consists of tissues, organs, systems.
Talk about sensitivity.
Organisms respond to physical or chemical changes in external or internal environment called stimuli.
Talk about biological growth.
Increase in size of individual cells of an organisms, in number of cells, or both.
Talk about development.
All changes in organism’s life.
Talk about reproduction.
Maintain the survival and continuity of species.
What is asexual reproduction?
Offspring have same genes as single parent.
Variation by mutations only
What is sexual reproduction?
Offspring produced by fusion of egg and sperm.
Genes contributed by two parents.
Talk about regulation.
Organisms regulate their metabolic process.
Metabolism include all chemical activities that take place in an organism such as nutrition, growth and repair, conversion of energy.
Talk about homeostatis.
Regulate metabolic process to maintain appropriate, balanced internal environment.
Talk about hereditary DNA/RNA.
DNA is the hereditary material that transmits information from one generation to the next.
What makes up the genetic code?
Sequence of nucleotides.
Talk about adaptations.
Inherited characteristics that enhance an organisms ability to survive in a particular environment.
Structural, physiological, biochemical, behavioral or a combination of all four.
What are the theories about the origin in life?
Special creation.
Extraterrestrial origin.
Spontaneous origin.
Talk about special creation.
Life forms may have been put on earth by supernatural or divine forces aka god.
Core of most major religion.
Oldest hypothesis.
Talk about extraterristrial origin.
Panspermia.
Life may not have originated from earth but be infected from some other planet.
Talk about spontaneous origin.
Abiogenesis states that life may have evolved from inanimate matter as associations among molecules become more and more complex.
Life originated from non living chemical that will make bonds and form complex polymer and the polymers join up to form the first living cell.
What are the four process needed for spontaneous origin?
Non living synthesis of non organic molecules.
Assembly of molecules into polymers.
Origin of self-replicating molecules that made inheritance possible.
Packaging of these molecules into membranes with internal chemistry different than their surroundings.
Why is there no DNA/RNA mentioned in spontaneous origin?
It’s impossible to form them in nature.
Self replicating molecules works the same as them.
What are the theories of formation of universe?
The Steady State Theory
The Chaotic Inflation Theory
The Big Bang Theory
Talk about the steady state theory.
Universe has no beginning and no end. It is infinite.
Talk about the chaotic inflation theory.
Many universe form from different regions of a mother universe.
Talk about the big bang theory.
Universe has a beginning and it originated from a huge explosion that occurred 15 billion years ago.
Cosmic microwave background radiation was detected.
Before the creation of universe, time, space, and matter didn’t exist.
Formation started with the creation of a very small particle called singularity where a huge explosion occurred.
Talk about the formation of Earth.
Age estimated to be 4.5 billion years.
Particles of matter pulled together by gravitational attraction causes the vast cloud in solar system condense into gigantic spinning disc.
90% of matter gravitated to center causing temperature to rise to ignite sun’s thermonuclear reactions.
Heavier elements sank inward to form planet cores while floating lighter gasses blasted away leaving shrunken, dense planets with virtually no gaseous atmosphere.
How did Earth come alive?
Immense quantity of thermal energy turned primitive earth with reducing atmosphere into red hot molten orb.
As time passed, collision with meteorite is less frequent and heat decreases.
Earth’s surface cooled and thin crust of crystalline rock formed.
Below it, enormous interior heat produce massive buildups of hot gasses which sparks violent volcanic eruptions.
Repeated eruptions filled the empty atmosphere with hot gasses and steam.
Steam condenses into clouds and becomes rain water which lives earth.
What is reducing atmosphere?
No oxygen in atmosphere.
Why is earth the miraculous planet?
Size and its position relative to sun were ideal for life to exist.
Water exists in three phases, solid liquid and gas.
What would’ve happened if Earth size is smaller?
Lack the mass necessary to generate enough gravitational force to hold onto its atmospheric gasses, thus lacking atmosphere.
What would’ve happened if Earth size is bigger?
Gravitational force make atmosphere thick for light to pass through thus making impossible for photosynthesis to occur.
What would’ve happened if Earth is closer to sun?
High temperature on surface would’ve prevented the condensation of steam into liquid.
What would’ve happened if Earth is further from sun?
Freezing temperature would’ve kept water in solid phase.
What was Oparin-Haldane hypothesis?
Early earth has reducing atmosphere with energy for organic compound synthesis came from lightning and intense UV radiation.
What is the Miller Urey experiment?
Test OH hypothesis by creating laboratory conditions comparable to early earth.
Set up a close system and simulate conditions thought to have existed on early earth.
What were the conditions simulated?
Warmed flask of water simulates primeval sea.
Reducing atmosphere consisting hydrogen, methane, ammonia, water vapor.
Electric sparks to simulate lightning.
What was the results of Miller Urey experiment?
Amino acids such as alanine and glutamic acid and complex oily hydrocarbons formed.
Organic molecules can be formed in a strong reducing atmosphere.
How does simple organic molecules becomes complex?
Reaction of gasses in atmosphere produce simple organic compounds which fell through rain and accumulate in ocean known as primitive soup.
Simple organic compounds forms chemical bonds with each other forming complex organic macromolecules such as amino acids, self replicating molecules, lipids and carbohydrates.
What are the properties of life?
Ability to replicate accurately or the ability to produce exact copies of itself through self replicating molecules.
Metabolism to produce energy in ATP form.
Exist together in primitive soup.
What is protobionts aka liposome?
Small droplets with membrane that are able to maintain stable internal environment.
Also reproduces through budding and has metabolism.
From spontaneously from abiotically produced organic compound where lipid when placed in water organizes itself into bilayer.
Selectively permeable, undergo osmotic swelling or shrinking, can store energy.
Still not a living entity.
Talk about prokaryotic cells.
Appeared 3.5 billion years ago so chemical evolution could’ve happened within earth’s first 600 million years.
Prokaryotes populated primitive earth for first 2 billion years.
Small, anaerobic, heterotrophs, depended on organic molecules as food and competed with each other.
Environmental pressure them to evolve into autotroph.
Filled earth’s atmosphere with oxygen.
Talk about internal structure of prokaryotes.
Simple single celled organism with no nuclear membranes or membrane enclosed organelles.
No cytoskeleton so no mitosis and meiosis.
Genetic material dispersed in cytoplasm and circular called plasmid.
