1. Development Of The Biosphere Flashcards
What did the Urey & Miller experiment do?
The Urey and Miller experiment was a chemical experiment that simulated the conditions
thought at the time to be present on early Earth. It tested the chemical origin of life under those
conditions.
What was the major outcome of the Urey-Miller experiment?
The outcome was that amino acids were created, which are now the building blocks of protein.
What is a black smoker?
A black smoker is a type of hydrothermal vent typically found on the seafloor.
What do the animals in the blacksmokers feed on?
These animals feed on bacteria that use chemosynthetic processes rather than photosynthetic pathways
What are chemosynthetic processes?
food (glucose) is made by bacteria using chemicals as the energy
source, rather than sunlight
What animals are found in these black smokers?
Tube worms and mussels
What is the panspermia theory?
A theory that suggests that primitive life forms (possible single-celled microbes) were transported to Earth from space, often from meteorites and are responsible for the origin of life on Earth.
What is cyanobacteria?
Cyanobacteria are a group of single-celled, photosynthetic prokaryotic microbes are considered largely responsible for changing
the composition of the atmosphere.
What are BIF’S?
are distinctive units of sedimentary rock consisting of alternating layers
of iron oxides and iron-poor chert. BIFs are thought to have formed in sea water as the result of
oxygen production by photosynthetic cyanobacteria.
What are stromatolites?
calcareous (composed of calcium carbonate) mound built up of layers of
lime-secreting cyanobacteria and trapped sediment → found in Precambrian rocks as the
earliest known fossils.
