NATS 1880 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Polar Regions Of Earth, Tidal Heating, Carbon
10 Apr 2018
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Lecture 7: chapter 7 - searching for life in the solar system. Learning outcomes: explain the advantages of liquid water for life, explain where to look for (simple) life in the solar system, describe the types of (robotic) space missions in the solar system. Life exists and ourishes on earth, in part because of its temperature, atmosphere and the abundance of water it has not always been this way on earth. When we search for life, we don"t necessarily mean human life, but more like simple life (i. e. , microscopic life). Life on earth uses 25 of the 92 naturally occurring elements of the periodic table. Hydrogen (h), carbon (c), nitrogen (n), and oxygen (o) make up 96% of the mass of living organisms. We need more than just the elements of life, we need certain complex molecules such as amino acids. On earth, water is essential for dissolving and transport of organic materials, metabolic processes.
