Origins of Life

Theory that states life only comes from other life

Living things are made of cells and cell parts. A cell is living because it breathes, moves, reproduces, and responds to environment. Non-living things are not made of cells. (ex. rocks, minerals non-living).

Cells are made of many parts ribosomes and mitochondria. Cells are composed of atoms.

An atom is the smallest particle of matter. Even nonliving things are made up of atoms. Atoms are made of protons, neutrons and electrons.

The six most common elements found in living organisms are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosouses, and calcium. Humans are made out of three elements, as well as many others, with espalily large amounts of oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen.

An organic substance contains carbon, an element found in all living things. Organic is “characteristics of living things” Organic substances are mainly found in living things.

An inorganic substance is one that does not contain carbon. An inorganic substance is not alive and has never been alive.

Four major types of organic compounds include crapohyritesds, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.

The belief that suggests that living things can spontaneously generate from non living things.

Willem harvey came up with the conclusion Omnia ex ovo (All life comes from eggs) to replace the spontaneous generation.

Francesco tried to disprove of the spontaneous generation by counductounting an controlled experiment. He left two container with meat in it, one covered with gauze and the other not, to see with one would have maggots.

In 1859 Louis Pasteur finally disapproved of the spontaneous generation using a controlled experiment. He also boiled meat broth in a container, but instead, he used a special long-necked flask for his experiment. The neck of the container pointed downward like a long rope, allowing air inside the flask. Even with this air flow, bacteria would not grow in the broth. Once the living particles had been killed by boiling the liquid, no new life could grow in the liquid. Pasteur then broke the flask, allowing dust and outside air into the broth, and soon bacteria did grow. He concluded that the dust and air carried living bacteria into the broth, and the bacteria reproduced. His study proved that life could only come from something that was alive.

Life comes from other life

In a controlled experiment, only one variable at a time. A controlled experiment has two groups kept in the same environment under the same conditions.