Download Ch 25 Origin of Life on Earth Guided Rdg

Origin of Life on Earth Guide Reading
Biology, 8th Edition, 25.1 (507-510). If any of the questions is not explicitly defined in the reading,
you are responsible for using your text or another reliable source to answer the questions.
1. Define the term macroevolution.
2. Describe the 4 main stages that may have produced the first cells. Note: This does not mean
copy the 4 steps on page 508. You must read the rest of the section and pull out the key points.
3. When do scientists estimate that the Earth form?
4. Life developed about 3.9-3.8 billion years ago. Describe the conditions of Earth’s atmosphere
during this time.
5. What is meant by the term “primitive soup”?
6. Describe or draw and label a picture of the Miller-Urey Experiment. What did their
experiment accomplish? (p 59)
7. What evidence has been found that supports the abiotic synthesis of molecules as shown in
the Miller-Urey experiment?
8. What is an amino acid?
9. What is a nucleotide?
10. Why is RNA thought to be the first genetic material?
11. Today, DNA, not RNA is the primary carrier of genetic information. Why do scientists think
the switch from RNA to DNA occurred?
12. Why is the fossil record considered an “incomplete chronicle of evolutionary change”?
13. How are rocks and fossils dated? Use the terms radiometric dating & half-life in your answer.
14. What was the oxygen revolution & what impact did this have on life?
15. What is serial endosymbiosis? (*This would be a good time to draw a diagram like the one in
the book!)
16. What was the Cambrian explosion?
17. When did the colonization of land begin, & what are some adaptations that were necessary
to survive outside an aquatic environment?
18. Over time, life on Earth has seen the rise and fall of groups of organisms. Briefly explain each
of the large-scale processes that were at work to cause these changes.
a. Continental Drift-
b. Mass Extinctions-
c. Adaptive Radiations-