1.5: The Origin of cells

prior learning

Essential idea: There is an unbroken chain of life from the first cells on Earth to all cells in organisms alive today.

NoS: Testing the general principles that underlie the natural world—the principle that cells only come from pre-existing cells needs to be verified. (1.9)

U2: The first cells must have arisen from non-living material.

Exercise 2: If cells do not arise spontaneously i.e. out of thin air,  how did the first cell come into existence?

There must have been a time before cells because the earth is approximately                                                                   years old and our oldest fossils are                                                                          years old. 

During this gap in time the following processes must have occurred to allow living cells to emerge:

1.   The formation of                                            organic compounds or                                                   from other simple molecules like ______, ________, methane and _______ gas.

2.   The formation of                                             from these monomers.

3.   The formation of                          -replicating molecules that would have allowed inheritance of information to begin.

4.   The formation of                                            that would enclose and package these molecules. This would provide an internal chemistry that was                                                         from the surroundings.