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Earth and Life Science

Quarter II – Week 1
The Concept and Origin of Life

CONTEXTUALIZED LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEETS

SCHOOLS DIVISION OF PUERTO PRINCESA CITY
Senior High School– Grade 11
Contextualized Learning Activity Sheets (CLAS)
Quarter II - Week 1: The Concept and Origin of Life
First Edition, 2020
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Writers: Brandon C. Manglapus (Palawan NS)
Content Editors: Geraldine B. Dangan (Palawan NS)
Sheryll C. Saclet (Mandaragat SMSHS)
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Cyril C. Serador, PhD. CID Chief
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Rolando S. Taha,EdD. EPS-Science
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Name: Grade & Section:

Lesson 1
The Concept and Origin of Life

MELC: Explain the evolving concept of life based on emerging pieces of evidence.
S11/12LT-IIa-1
Objectives: 1. Explain the various theories on how life originated on Earth
2. Describe classic experiments that model conditions which may have enabled
the first forms to evolve
3. Describe the seven emergen properties associated with life

Let’s Explore and Discover

The Concept of Life
“What makes life so amazing?”
Unlocking of
Difficulties Life on Earth began more than 3 billion years ago, evolving from
the most basic of microbes into dazzling array of complexity
Primordial soup is overtime.But how did the first organism on Earth develop from
a generic term that primordial soup?
describe the
aqueous solution of Life and living things, including the laws that govern the
organic compounds phenomena of life the study of life itself, is a vast subject, with
that accumulated many sub-disciplines that concentrate on specific aspects of
in primitive water biology. Every aspect of life from the smallest submicroscopic living
bodies of the early particle to the largest and most imposing of plant and animals
Earth. species included.

It is usually easy to recognize life but it is often much harder to define it.
All living things are made of cells. Some organisms are unicellular and consist of only a
single cell that carries out all life processes.

Figure 1- Different unicellular organisms.

Other organisms are multicellular and are composed of many cells which perform
specialized and specific functions.
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 .

Figure 2- Epithelial cells of multicellular organisms

A living entity,regardless of its structure, size, or behavior is an organism that possesses

characteristics that most biologists have agreed upon. These are:
a. Locomotion- refers to the ability of organisms to move.
b. Irritability- ability to respond to an environment stimulus.
c. Metabolism- refers to the sum total of the chemical reactions taking place in an
organism.
d. Growth- increase in size and number of cells.
e. Adaptation- characteristics that allow an organism to survive in its environment.
f. Homeostasis- ability to maintain a state of balance or equilibrium.
g. Reproduction- is the ability to produce new individuals closely resembling them.
h. Cellular organization- refers to the parts and function of the cell in an organism.

Figure 3- MRS.GREN mnemonics of the 7 characteristics of life

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 The Origin of Life
“Where did the first life come from?”
There are many theories to consider about the origin of life. The evolutionists
particularly Charles Darwin talked more about the process of evolution to explain how life
developed. According to him, there was growth from simple to complex forms.

Theories on the Origin of Life

1. Special Creation Theory- many people believed that everything in this world was
created by a Supreme Being,emphasizes that the source of all creation is God and
with Him nothing is impossible.
2. Spontaneous Generation Theory-a hypothetical process by which living organism
develop from non-living matter; also, the archaic theory that utilizes this process to
explain the origin of life. Francisco Redi, Lazaro Spallanzi and Louis Pasteur were
some scientist who performed experiments disproving this theory.
3. Biogenetic Theory-ancient scientists knew from the common experience of farmers
and shepherds that life produced life, that each animal and plant produce its own
kind. They saw the earthworm grew out of tiny eggs that had been laid by other
worms.
4. Abiogenetic Synthesis Theory- Alexander Oparin, a Russian biochemist, presented
this theory.According to him, “the first organisms were probably form out of organic
chemicals and processes that were much simpler than those that exist today. Out of
the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur, molecules were formed
from which complex compound develop.

Other Theories on the Origin of Life

1. Beneath the Ice- some evidences indicates that Earth’s oceans were covered with
ice. This ice may have been hundreds of meter thick, mainly due to the sun being
much less fierce than it is nowadays. This theory contends that the icemay have
protected the compounds, allowing them to interact and, thereby, creating life.
2. Electricity- it has proven that electricity can produce simple sugars and amino acids
from simple elements in the atmosphere. This lead to the theory that lightning may
have been responsible for the origins of life, primarily by striking through rich
volcanic clouds.
3. Panspermia (Cosmozoic Theory)- is the proposal that life on Earth began from rocks,
and other debris from impacts, in the form of highly resistant spores (cosmozoa) such
as meteorite. In fact,rocks from Mars have been found here on Earth, and it has been
suggested that any one of these would have brought microbes that could have kick-
started life.
4. RNA World- Ribonucleic acid(RNA) is known today for its role in the expression of
genes.To put it simply,DNA unzips,revealing the necessary gene that is being called
for by the body, then RNA is transcribed from sinlge nucleotides, copying the revealed
segment for gene expression.This theory states that all lofe sprouted from a complex
RNA world.This is plausible, as RNA is far more self-regulating, if less efficient, than
DNA.
5. Simple Metabolism and Reactions-in contrast to RNA theory, this approach
suggests that the primordial soup simply continued to react with itself over time,
producing more and more complex molecules, eventually yielding life.
6. Clay Breeding Ground- it is suggested that clay my have served as an area of
concentrated chemical activity, providing a breeding ground for DNA and other
components. Organic chemist Alexander Graham Cairns-Smith suggested that
mineral crystals in clay could have arranged organic molecules into organized
patterns. After a while, organic molecules took over this job and organized
themselves.
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 7. Submarine Hydrothermal Vents- the nutrient-rich environment filled with reactive
gases and catalysts, creates a habitat teeming with life.Studies suggest that life may
have been originated from within this vents, a theory that cannot be ignored, and
one that may in fact tie in with the ice theory explained earlier

Let’s Practice

Directions: Give an example of how each organism exhibit the characteristics of life listed
next to it.Write your answer on the space provided.
Organism Characteristic of life Example
sunflower irritability

tadpole growth and development

human metabolism

snake nutrition

bacteria reproduction

bear adaptation

Question
1. The ability to maintain a stable internal environment, or homeostasis, is another
characteristics of life.Give three examples that illustrate how your body maintained
homeostasis.
____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________

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Directions: Briefly state the postulates of each of the following theories on the origin of
life.
Theories Postulates
Spontaneous Generation
Theory

Biogenetic Theory

Abiogenetic Synthesis
Theory

Special Creation Theory

Question
1. Aside from the Special Creation theory, which among the theories you are most
convinced with? Justify your answer.
__________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

Let’s Do More

The Miller-Urey experiment was a chemical experiment that stimulated the conditions
thought at that time (1952) to be present on the early Earth and tested the chemical origin
of life under those condition.

Directions: Explain the experiment conducted by Miller and Urey that provided the
first evidence that organic molecules needed for life could be formed from inorganic
components.Below is an illustration for your guidance amd write your answer on the space
provided.

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______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Question

1. Which among the theories on the origin of life is best supported by Miller-Urey
experiment? Justify your answer.
__________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

Directions:Study the diagram of Francisco Redi’s experiment and explain how does this
disprove the Spontaneous Generation Theory. Write your answer on the space provided.

Let’s Sum It Up
Activity 1
Directions: State the significance of each of the different characteristics of life in organism’s
survival.
1.Locomotion-_________________________________________________________________.
2.Irritability-__________________________________________________________________.
3.Metabolism-_________________________________________________________________.
4.Adaptation-__________________________________________________________________.
5.Homeostasis-________________________________________________________________.
6.Growth-_____________________________________________________________________.
7.Reproduction-_______________________________________________________________.

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Activity 2
Directions: State the strength and weaknesses of each of the following theories on the
origin of life.
Theory Strength Weakness
Spontaneous Generation
Theory
Biogenetic Theory

Abiogenetic Synthesis Theory

Panspermia

Beneath the Ice

Let’s Assess

Directions: Read the questions carefully and encircle the letter that
correspond to the best answer.

1. Which of the following is not an attribute of all living things?

A. Reproduction B.Maintain homeostasis C. Locomotion D. Irritability
2. What did the Miller-Urey experiment prove?
A. That life arose on Earth through abiogenesis.
B. That life could have also arisen from life.
C. That life could have came from both living and non living
D. All of the above.
3. Which is NOT an example of plants demonstrating the characteristics of life?
A. A plant has stimuli that causes it to grow towards the sunlight.
B. Plants are fierce to make adaptations depending on its environment.
C. There are stages of growth that plants go through depending on favorable
conditions.
D. The leaves on plant move in reaction to the wind.
4. When the level of sugar in the blood is too high, the excess sugar is stored in the
muscle to be used later as needed.Which characteristic of life is described here?
A. Irritability B. Homeostasis C. Reproduction D. Adaptation
5. Which is the smallest unit of structure and function in living things?
A. Proteins B. DNA C. Cells D. Molecules
6. Which of the following concept suggests life on Earth came from meteorites (outer
space)?
A. Beneath the Ice B. Panspermia C.RNA World D. Electricity
7. Which scientist disproved spontaneous generation of large organisms by showing
maggots came from flies not from rotting meat?
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 A. Francisco Redi B. John Needham C. Lazaro Spallanzi D. Louis Pasteur
8. Which of the following theories suggests that the primordial soup simply continued
to react with itself overtime, producing more and more complex molecules and
eventually yielding life?
A. RNA world B. Panspermia C. Simple Metabolism reactions D. Electricity
9. Chemical reactions that occur within the body are best categorized by which
characteristics of life?
A. Metabolism B. Homeostasis C. Irritabilty D. Reproduction
10. A sunflower follows the sun as it move across the sky during the day. This is an
example of which characteristics of life?
A. Growth B. Reproduction C. Homeostasis D. Irritability

Answer Key

Let’s Practice
Activity 1 Activity 2
sunflower Follows the direction of the Spontaneous Living organisms develop from
sun Generation non-living matter
tadpole Develop into an adult frog
Biogenetic Life come from life
human Digest food into simplest form
Snake Devour the prey whole Abiogenetic Life from non-living things
bacteria Undergo binary fission
Special Everything created by Supreme
bear Hibernate during winter Creation Being

Lets Do More Let’s Sum It Up Let’s Assess

Activity 1-answers may vary Activity 1- answers may vary 1.C 2. A 3. D 4. B 5. C.
Activity 2-answers may vary Activity 2- answers may vary 6. B 7. A 8.C 9. A 10. D

Reference
Book

Moncada, Maria Noemi M.,Rolly B. Bayo-ang,Maria Lordes G. Coronacion,Anna Mae

T. Jorda, and Anna Jamille Restubog.Earth and Life Science For Senior High
School. Pasig City: Department of Education, 2015.

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