ENVS 010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Stanley Miller, Primordial (Band), Spontaneous Generation

• School: SJSU
• Department: Environmental Studies, Department of
• Course: ENVS 010
• Professor: Rachel Lazzeri-Aerts

Document Summary

Spontaneous generation: living organisms arose from non-living matter. Biogenesis: living organisms can only arise from other living organisms. First atmosphere was most likely made of hot hydrogen gas, but escaped due to low gravity. As the earth began to cool a new atmosphere developed. Favorable conditions on earth included: gases in atmosphere from volcanoes, electricity from lightning, sunlight, warm oceans. 1953: stanley miller designed an experiment to test the primordial soup theory. The experiment produced organic matter - including amino acids - from inorganic matter. From these first organic compounds came prokaryotic cells. Prokaryotic has no nucleus, has a flagellum to move, no internal structure, free floating, small. 2. 5 billion years ago photosynthetic prokaryotes developed. All functions of life happen within one cell. Many cells work together as one organism. The idea that modern species arose or developed from a succession of ancestors leading to one common ancestor.