CONCEPT OF LIFE

• Beliefs about the Origin of Life Biology means the study of life. It is derived
from two Greek words, bios meaning “life” and logos meaning “reason or
study”. Many centuries ago, people were puzzled and inquisitive about how life
originated on Earth. Planet Earth began to exist about 4.6 billion years ago. The
geologic evidence about the composition of Earth’s early atmosphere suggests
that planet Earth started out with little or no oxygen. In addition, Earth’s
surface was molten rock at first, so all water was in the form of vapor. Around
4.3 billion years ago, evidence from ancient rocks indicates that Earth had
cooled enough for water to pool on its surface.
• As believed by many scientists, the existence of life started from the moment
the Earth’s environment became stable to support life. For billions of years
now, life is believed to have existed on Earth. Scientists do not precisely know
when did life begin on planet Earth. However, they were able to trace how life
had emerged and evolved using some pieces of evidence
 ACTIVITY

• Theory of Special Creation

• Theory of Spontaneous Generation
• Biogenesis Theory
• Panspermia
• Primordial Soup Theory
 THEORIES ON THE ORIGIN OF LIFE

• Theory of Special Creation – creationism;

supernatural
• Theory of Spontaneous Generation –
abiogenesis; from nonliving material
• Biogenesis Theory - originates from
preexisting life
 THEORIES ON THE ORIGIN OF LIFE

• Panspermia - meteor or cosmic dust; Svante

Arrhenius
• Primordial Soup Theory – biological
compounds ; organic broth; Alexander
Oparin and John Haldane
Electric Spark - Lightning and chemicals
from the atmosphere combined to make
amino acids
EXPERIMENTS ON THE ORIGIN OF LIFE

• Redi’s Experiment
• Needham’s Experiment
• Spallanzani’s Experiment
• Pasteur’s Experiment
• Miller-Urey Experiment
EXPERIMENTS ON THE ORIGIN OF LIFE

• Redi’s Experiment
Francesco Redi
maggots that
arose in decaying
meat
EXPERIMENTS ON THE ORIGIN OF LIFE

• Needham’s Experiment
John Needham; challenged
Redi
Disprove: boiling could
kill microorganisms
spontaneous generation
 EXPERIMENTS ON THE ORIGIN OF LIFE

• Spallanzani’s
Experiment
Lazzaro Spallanzani;
challenged Needham
Boiling; open and
close flask
EXPERIMENTS ON THE ORIGIN OF LIFE

• Pasteur’s Experiment
Louis Pasteur
Biogenesis
Long neck flask and
broth
 EXPERIMENTS ON THE ORIGIN OF LIFE

• Miller-Urey Experiment
simulating the formation of
organic molecules; primordial
filled a reaction chamber with
methane, ammonia, and hydrogen
gas, zapped it with sparks from
electrodes