KISS Notes Life On Earth

keep it simple science
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St Josephs Catholic College SL#804465
LIFE ON EARTH
What is this topic about?
To keep it as simple as possible, (K.I.S.S.) this topic involves the study of: 1. THE ORIGINS OF LIFE ON EARTH 2. THE HISTORY OF LIFE ON EARTH 3. THE PROCARYOTIC ORGANISMS TODAY 4. THE VARIETY OF LIFE & HOW WE CLASSIFY
Preliminary Biology Topic 3
but first, an introduction...

The Concept of Biological Evolution
Evolution means to undergo a sequence of changes. The change is NOT random... it follows a sequence or pattern. There is overwhelming scientific evidence that LIFE ON EARTH HAS CHANGED over millions of years, and that there is a definite pattern in the changes... life has evolved.
Photo by Diana
The Variety of Life on Earth

Estimates vary enormously, but there are undoubtably millions of different types (species) of living things on Earth today. This variety is just a tiny fraction of all the different types that have ever lived. How can we study and understand such diversity? Only by developing a system to classify organisms into groups. You already know about grouping like-things together:
Plants are different to animals...
whales are exactly unlike worms...
jellyfish are not like spiders...
In this topic you will study the FACTS OF EVOLUTION ...what we know about the pattern of changes to life on Earth over millions of years. In a later topics you will study the THEORY OF EVOLUTION ...the scientific theory which attempts to explain how and why evolution of life occurs.
Preliminary Biology Topic 3 copyright 2005-2007 keep it simple science and some things are simply unique.
In this topic you will study the way that science deals with the staggering diversity of life on Earth.
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CONCEPT DIAGRAM (Mind Map) OF TOPIC

Some students find that memorizing the OUTLINE of a topic helps them learn and remember the concepts and important facts. As you proceed through the topic, come back to this page regularly to see how each bit fits the whole. At the end of the notes you will find a blank version of this Mind Map to practise on.
The Urey-Miller Experiment Life from Outer Space Theory
Time-L Line of the Main Steps molecules membranes cells autotrophes eucaryotes multicellular organisms Changing Ideas
Theories of Origins of Life
Technologies that help us Understand
The Early Earth
Science & Culture
Origins of Life on Earth
History of Life on Earth Technolgies to Study Procaryotes
LIFE on EARTH
Procaryotic Organisms Today Variety of Life & How We Classify
Other Possible Environments in Which Life Began
The Archaea
Changes to the System?
The Need to Classify & Criteria used The Classification System kingdom phylum class order family genus species 2
Methanogens Thermoacidophiles
Dichotomous Keys
Preliminary Biology Topic 3 copyright 2005-2007 keep it simple science
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1. THE ORIGINS OF LIFE ON EARTH

In the Beginning...
We believe the Earth is about 4.6 billion (=4,600 million) years old. How do we know? That will be dealt with later... The Earth of 4 billion years ago was very different to that of today:Volcanoes add many gases to atmosphere Violent storms - a lot of Lightning U.V. rays from Sun
Chemicals First, Then Cells

The chemicals present in the atmosphere of the primitive Earth contained exactly the same chemical elements that the organic chemicals of life are made from... mainly carbon, hydrogen, oxygen & nitrogen. In the 1920s it was suggested by two scientists independently, that maybe the conditions on Earth 4 billion years ago: firstly caused chemical reactions that made complex organic molecules then these chemicals somehow came together to form a living organism and once life got started, it evolved into all the species we see in the fossil record and those alive today.
Atmosphere of H2O vapour, methane, ammonia, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen. NO free oxygen
The Urey-Miller Experiment

was designed in the 1950s to test the first part of this hypothesis... that the conditions of the primitive Earth could spontaneously produce the complex organic molecules necessary for life to start.
Mixture of gases to simulate primitive atmosphere. methane(CH4), CO2, ammonia (NH3), N2, H2
Early oceans
How do we know that? We cannot be 100% sure, but this description matches with: conditions and chemicals on other planets in the Solar System that our telescopes and space probes have studied the chemicals that erupt from volcanic vents today, and probably always have.
Atmosphere Flask
Spontaneous Generation of Life
Vapours circulate
In ancient times and throughout history until about 150 years ago, it was generally believed that life could appear spontaneously... maggots just happened in rotting meat, mice would appear in a pile of old clothes, and frogs just arise from swampy ground. This concept was finally proven wrong by Louise Pasteurs famous experiment of 1862...
Each flask contains a broth, boiled until sterilized
Electric spark simulates lightning
Condenser cools vapours back to liquids
Ocean Flask began with pure water
Closed flask remains sterile... no microbes grow in it.
Open flask grows microbes & rots. It was believed the life came spontaneously from contact with air.
This flask is open to the air, but the gooseneck prevents airborne spores getting to the broth. It remained sterile, and proved spontaneous generation is wrong.
HEAT
Liquid Trap was later found to contain organic chemicals, such as sugars and amino acids... the basic chemicals of life.
...and by the 1880s the cell theory of life was established as a scientific principle. (see Topic 2 Patterns in Nature) This includes the statement that all cells (life) come(s) from pre-existing cells (life). So how did the first living thing get started on the primitive Earth?
The initial experiments resulted in the production of sugars and amino acids, and later variations produced the chemical building blocks for cell membranes, and even for DNA. THIS SUPPORTS THE FIRST PART OF THE HYPOTHESIS... the chemicals of life could have appeared spontaneously on the primitive Earth. 3 www.keepitsimplescience.com.au
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Significance of the Urey-Miller Experiment

1. It demonstrates the way Science works, by formulating an hypothesis and then testing it by experiment. In this case the hypothesis was put forward by other scientists 30 years before the experiment was done. 2. Although it didnt prove how life got started on Earth, the experiments results support the hypothesis by showing that life-forming chemicals could have been produced naturally under the conditions of the primitive Earth. 3. In combination with evidence from Space Exploration Vulcanology & Earth Chemistry Ancient Rocks & Fossils Study of Primitive Life-Forms Alive Today and others... the Urey-Miller experiment is just one part of a package of evidence that seems quite consistent with the idea that life formed naturally on the primitive Earth some 4 billion years ago, and has evolved into what we see today. We cannot yet prove how life arose, but the weight of evidence suggests were on the right track.
Technologies That Help Us Understand

There are certain technologies that have helped scientists to put together the whole package of knowledge about the origins and evolution of life. Radiometric Dating The atoms of each chemical element are not all exactly the same. They have the same number of protons & electrons (thats what makes them that element), but the number of neutrons in the atom may vary. Such atoms of the same element, but with a different number of neutrons, are called isotopes. Some isotopes are radio-active and give off nuclear radiations... hence radio-isotopes. Radio-isotopes decay at a predictable rate. That is, the level of radiation dies down over time in an exact mathematical way. The time it takes
ere from h
100
for the radiation to drop to half the previous level is constant: the
Half-l life
RADIATION LEVEL
Life From Outer Space?

The hypothesis that Urey & Miller tested is not the only idea for the origins of life. It has been suggested that the first living things on Earth (or at least the chemicals they formed from) could have come from outer space. The evidence for this is: carbon compounds have been detected in many parts of the Universe... interstellar gas clouds, meteorites & comets a meteorite or comet collision with a planet can throw fragments into space, and theoretically could carry living cells to another planet.
Organic chemicals are common in the Universe... did life come to Earth from somewhere else?
50
to
he
re
25
to here
0 half-life half-life half-life
TIME
By measuring the amount of radiation present now, and knowing the half-life of the isotope, the age of objects can be calculated.
This Radiometric Dating is how we know the age of the Earth, of different fossils etc, and can describe the entire history of life on Earth with fairly good accuracy.
Mercury Earth & Moon Sun
Other planets? Jupiter Other stars?
The most famous example is Carbon Dating which uses an isotope of carbon (called carbon-14) to find the age of artifacts from human history. Carbon-14 has a half-life of about 5,700 years, so if a bone or wooden tool is measured to have only 1/2 as much radiation as it would have had originally, then one half-life has gone by since that bone or tree died... therefore, it must be 5,700 years old.
Venus
Mars Saturn
This is an interesting idea, but so far the weight of evidence supports the hypothesis that Earth life arose on Earth, and not somewhere else.
Carbon-14 is not much use beyond about 40,000 years, but there are other isotopes (e.g. potassium and uranium) with half-lives of millions of years which can determine the ages of fossils and rocks which formed millions, or even billions of years ago. 4
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The Electron Microscope was mentioned in Topic 2 as having a major impact on our understanding of cells and cell structures. Electron microscopes can also allow scientists to study very ancient fossil cells in rocks and to make comparisons with some types of primitive cells which still live today. This gives us further clues about how ancient life-forms lived and evolved. Biochemical Analysis & DNA Technology Its well known from TV crime dramas that by analysing traces of DNA from a crime scene, a criminal can be positively identified. The technique is also used to identify the remains of victims of war or natural disasters such as the Asian tsunami of Boxing Day 2004. By comparing DNA samples from a body part with samples from the relatives of missing people, scientists can positively determine which family the victim is from. The same technique can be used to find the relatedness of different living things, and even give estimates of how long ago 2 related species divided from each other, in an evolutionary sense.
For example, DNA studies suggest (very strongly, to the point of certainty) that humans and chimpanzees are closely related (our DNA is 99% identical) and that our ancestors and chimp ancestors diverged only about 5 million years ago. Were pretty certain about this, even though the relevant fossils have not been discovered.
Photo by Jeremy Henderson
More generally, biochemistry and DNA studies have shown: all life forms on Earth are related. This means that all living things today evolved from one original type. which types are more closely, or more distantly, related. This complements the evidence of the fossil record, to give us a clearer picture of the exact sequence of evolution.
Worksheet 1
Fill in the blank spaces. Check your answers in the Answer Section at the back. We believe that the Earth of 4 billion years ago had an atmosphere containing gases such as (a).................................. (b)........................................ and (c).............................................. but no uncombined (d)....................................................... There were many (e)........................................... erupting, and violent storms producing a lot of (f)........................................ (g)......................... radiation from the sun was at high levels. Under these conditions, it is possible that complex (h)....................................... chemicals could form naturally. The (i)................................&.................................... experiment supported this hypothesis. The experiment involved simulating the conditions of the primitive Earth, and after some time it was found that (j)................................................... and (k)............................................................... had formed from simple inorganic ingredients. Another hypothesis for how life began on Earth is that living cells, or at least the chemicals they formed from came from (l)............................................................................ Radio-metric dating is a technique which measures the (m)................................................. from radio-active (n)................................................................... The age of rock or fossil etc can be calculated from the (o)....................-life of the isotope. The electron microscope has not only helped our understanding of living cells, but also helps us discover and study ancient (p)................................................. in rocks. DNA technology adds to our understanding of the evolution of life by determining how closely (q)........................................................ different organisms are.
WHEN COMPLETED, WORKSHEETS BECOME SECTION SUMMARIES

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2. THE HISTORY OF LIFE ON EARTH

Summary of the Main Events
The following time-line identifies the major stages in the evolution of life on Earth. The main evidence for this has come from fossils preserved in sedimentary rocks. The times suggested are approximate, but based on radiometric studies of the rocks.
Millions of years ago 4,500
1
Earth formed Organic molecules forming as suggested by the Urey-Miller experiment? Molecules formed membranes? First living things somewhere here (?) Earliest known cell-like fossils
Throughout this immense period all life was bacteria-like, anaerobic (living without oxygen) and heterotrophic, feeding on the organic molecules of the environment.
Formation of Organic Molecules probably began as soon as the Earth was cool enough for the molecules to exist without being torn apart again. The Urey-Miller experiment (and many others since) prove that sugars, amino acids, lipids and even the building blocks of DNA and RNA could form spontaneously in the chemical conditions of the primitive Earth.
1
Eventually, by 4 billion years ago, the early oceans must have become a chemical soup, highly concentrated in organic molecules. Molecules Formed Membranes It is thought that the next crucial step to occur was the formation of membranes. In the watery environment of the oceans, hydrophobic (=water-hating) molecules naturally tend to cling together, like oil forming droplets in water. Experiments have shown that some lipid molecules in water will, quite naturally, form microspheres with other chemicals trapped inside.
2 Lipid molecules cling together, forming a microsphere One lipid molecule
4,000
2 3
3,500
3,000
2,500
First autotrophs... chemosynthetic bacteria

First Cyanobacteria, using chlorophyll for photosynthesis and releasing oxygen
Other chemicals may be trapped inside
2,000
Over this time the Earth went from being ANOXIC to OXIC. Organisms using oxygen for cellular respiration appeared. First Eucaryotic cells (with membrane-based organelles) First sexual reproduction. Evolution speeds up First multicellular plants (algae) and animals (sponges, worms, jellyfish)
A microsphere is not a living cell, but scientists believe that structures like this were the precursors of cells. The First Living Cells must have been microspheres which trapped inside themselves a mixture of chemicals that could attract other molecules in through the membrane so they became bigger (i.e. feeding & growing) and also cause copies of their own molecules to be built... small RNA molecules can do this. Eventually the sphere would split in two, (reproduction!) each part with a share of the essential chemicals to make it all happen over again.
3
1,500
1,000
9
500
Animals with hard parts (shells etc) appear. Huge increase in fossils Fish Amphibians, Insects Reptiles, Mammals Dinosaurs Birds Humans
We cant be sure when this happened, but by about 3.5 billion years ago we find microscopic cell-like fossils in some rocks, and by 3 billion years ago there are many fossils of bacteria-like cells, in various forms... they were evolving into new types already. These cells lived without oxygen (anaerobic) and were probably feeding on the soup of organic molecules still in the oceans. 6 www.keepitsimplescience.com.au

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A Billion Years of Scavenging For perhaps 1,000 million years the most advanced organisms on Earth were bacteria-like cells which lived without oxygen, and scavenged the organic soup of organic molecules in the oceans. Probably the production of organic molecules (food) was still occurring as in the Urey-Miller experiment, but the whole regime was about to change... The First Autotrophs Chemosynthesis & Photosynthesis About 2.8 billion years ago, a new type of bacteria appears in the fossil record. The fossils appear similar to autotrophic bacteria alive today, which make their own food, using energy from chemicals in the environment. This process is called Chemosynthesis. (details later) By 2.3 billion years ago, fossils of cells recognisable as cyanobacteria appeared. These are bacterial type cells, but use chlorophyll to trap sunlight, and produce OXYGEN as their waste product. The cyanobacteria grew in shallow seas in structures called stromatolites which we find as common fossils in rocks from this time. (Living stromatolites still grow in some places today)
Living mat of cells in thin top layer Column grows like a stalagmite. New layers grow on top of old, dead layers 5
We find huge deposits of evidence for what happened next... the world went rusty! In many parts of the world (including Western Australia) we find huge deposits of Banded Ironstone; rock containing layers of iron oxide (Fe2O3). The iron mineral is very fine grained as if precipitated from a water solution. The explanation is that, in the anoxic early conditions a lot of iron was dissolved in the oceans in the soluble form of Fe2+ ions. As the cyanobacteria began releasing vast quantities of O2 oxygen, it reacted with the iron forming the insoluble Fe2O3 iron oxide (which is RUST). Eventually, after about 200 milion years, all the iron was precipitated, and now the oxygen began building up in the atmosphere... the air became OXIC. This had four significant consequences:1. The natural production of organic chemicals by the Urey-Miller process stopped forever. Oxygen is chemically active enough to destroy organic molecules as fast as they could form. Life could never again start up the way it once did. 2. The old-type anaerobic bacteria found oxygen poisonous, so many became extinct. A few survived in environments where there is no oxygen, and there they live to this day... you will study them soon. 3. Atmospheric oxygen allowed development of an ozone layer. This absorbs UV rays and was vital for the later development of life on land. 4. The oxic environment encouraged a new, more efficient way to use food energy... cellular respiration. By 2 billion years ago the familiar modern cycle was operating:
Light energy
The World Goes Oxic Up until this time the Earth was anoxic... completely without any uncombined molecular oxygen (O2). There were plently of oxygen atoms of course, but they were all chemically combined in water (H2O) and various other compounds.
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PHOTOSYNTHESIS (in cyanobacteria) CARBON DIOXIDE + WATER GLUCOSE + OXYGEN
But now the cyanobacteria began modern style photosythesis in millions of stromatolites, for millions of years...
ligh
t en erg
WATER + CARBON DIOXIDE 6H2O + 6CO2
chlorophyll
GLUCOSE + OXYGEN C6H12O6 + 6O2
ATP
AEROBIC RESPIRATION (in all living things)
ATP is the energy compound which powers all life processes... cell division, moving, growing etc. 7 www.keepitsimplescience.com.au

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The First Eucaryotic Cells All the more advanced living things on Earth today are characterized by cells containing many organelles which are built from and/or surrounded by membranes. (This was dealt with fully in Topic 2) Such cells are called eucaryotic. Prior to about 1.5 billion years ago, all life on Earth was procaryotic meaning that the cells lack a true nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplasts, etc. The living procaryotes of today are the bacteria and cyanobacteria. Without true organelles to organize their cell functions better, the procaryotes have to remain very tiny, single cells in which diffusion distances are small, and the SA/Vol ratio is high. And thats how life on Earth might have remained forever, except some cells ate some smaller cells, but failed to digest them. The small cells lived on inside their host in a relationship that soon became mutualism, and after millions of years, the ingested cells evolved to became organelles of the larger cell.
Larger cell enveloping a smaller cell for food, but fails to digest it. Smaller cell becomes mitochondrion within the host cell By a similar process, a photosynthetic cell is eaten and becomes a chloroplast
Sex Speeds Things Up So far in the history of life, all the living things probably reproduced by simple cell division. This produces identical daughter cells. (as covered in Topic 2) The only way a new variation could occur was by occasional genetic accidents ... mutations. So the evolution of new types was very slow. A little over 1 billion years ago, some cells began exchanging bits of DNA with each other. Fossils have been discovered (using the electron microscope) of 2 cells joined by a thin tube apparently in conjugation, in which the cells swap DNA fragments in a kind of simple sexual fertilization of each other.
CELLS in CONJUGATION
Small fragments of DNA are passed through the tube, increasing the genetic variations within a population
The result is more genetic variations and more differences between individuals. Evolution had more opportunities, and sure enough, the fossil record shows an accelerating increase in new, more complex forms appearing.
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The First Multicellular Organisms appeared about 800 million years ago.
Evolves to become an Animal cell
Evolves to become a Plant cell
It is often an advantage for an organism to be large. A larger organism deters predators and gathers more of the resources of the environment, so its chance to survive and thrive is better. But, as you know from Topic 2, a single cell cannot grow too large because the SA/Vol ratio gets less. The other way to get large is have more cells.
Whats the evidence for this? Both mitochondria & chloroplasts contain their own DNA, and it is bacteria-like DNA in a loop. These organelles reproduce independently of the rest of the cell in a mini-version of a cell division Mitochondria contain their own ribosomes for making their own proteins Mitochondrial enzymes (control cellular respiration) are attached to the inner membrane in a very bacteria-like way. This idea is known as the Endosymbiotic Hypothesis and is our best explanation of where the first cells came from that later evolved into the plants and animals. (Endo- = inside, symbiosis = to live together)
About 800 million years ago some eucaryotic, photosynthetic cells became colonial. When the cells divided, they didnt separate, but stayed attached to each other, forming filaments or flat sheets. These simple, multicellular associations evolved into the algae group and from one type of them, came (eventually) the plants. Similarly, some eucaryotic, heterotrophs became colonial to evolve into the first multicellular animals, similar to modern sponges. Later came flatworms and jellyfish-like creatures with very simple body plans. About 600 million years ago there came an explosion of life. We find a huge increase in fossil numbers and forms, partly because some types developed shells and other hard body parts that fossilized well. 8
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Changing Ideas About the History of Life

Fossils have been known and collected by people for thousands of years. In China they were considered as Dragon Bones, while it was supposed by Europeans up until the 1860s that fossils represented the many types of animal which never made it to Noahs Ark and so drowned in the Biblical Flood. The Principle of Superposition was developed by early Geologists and used to start putting fossil discoveries into relative time order, although the actual ages were not known.
Sediments are laid down on top of the previous layer, so the lower layers are older.
Rocks and fossils location 1 youngest fossil Rocks and fossils location 2
Improved technologies changed all that... Radio-metric dating of meteorites and Moon-rock told us the true age of the Solar System and therefore of the Earth. Dating of fossils and the ancient rocks put the sequence of the fossil record into a proper time-scale. Improved microscopic techniques, especially the electron microscope, discovered the cellular fossils in the ancient rocks. It was previously thought there were no traces of life in the Pre-cambrian rocks. Now with the insights into evolution provided by DNA technology, and the biochemical experiments of Urey & Miller and many others, we can understand the fossil record and the history of life right back to its origins with some degree of scientific confidence. We cant know everything, but no longer believe in dragon bones.
Science Clashes With Culture?

fo fro ssi to m ls c an on orr ot e ela he pla te r ce
Darwins Theory of Evolution caused tremendous controversy when published in 1861 because it was not consistent with the Biblical story of divine creation and many people saw this as an attack on their religion and their culture.
Oldest fossil
Even today, there are some religious groups who reject the entire concept of the Evolution of Life because they interpret their traditional, cultural or religious stories of creation very literally. Most mainstream religions however, accept that Science is not trying to attack any belief, culture or tradition, but only to understand and explain the natural world. Most religious organizations now accept the Facts of Evolution that life on Earth has existed for billions of years, and has undergone progressive change. Many Christian churches, for example, accept the scientific evidence for the age of the Earth, the beginnings and history of life, and recognise that the creation stories in Genesis are not literally true, but are allegories to the power and benevolence of the Judaic-Christian-Islamic God. The belief is that evolution happened, but under Gods control and supervision, along a pathway He ordained. Thus it is quite possible to reconcile religious belief and faith with scientific enquiry and knowledge. Each contributes in its own way to human culture, and to each individuals humanity.
Once this rough order of age for fossils was established, scientists began to see the pattern... the fossil record shows a clear sequence over time...
ANCIENT TIMES Less complexity Less variety Unlike modern life-forms
MODERN TIMES More complex Greater variety More and more like modern life-forms
It was partly this pattern in the fossil record that convinced Charles Darwin that life on Earth had changed and evolved. The fossils dont just show that life on Earth has changed, but that is has changed in a sequence, in a direction from few & simple to more variety & more complex. Until the 20th century, little notice was taken of the most ancient rocks on Earth, from the Pre-cambrian time. Few fossils could be detected in them, and it seemed that animal life had simply appeared in abundance at a certain point in time.
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Worksheet 2 Fill in the blanks. Check answers at the back. The age of the Earth is thought to be about (a).............. billion years. By about 4 billion years ago (BYA) it is likely that many (b)........................................... compounds had formed from the inorganic chemicals present. The next step was probably that certain lipid molecules (which are (c)........................................ =water hating) may have come together and formed (d)............................................ These structures, in which the lipid layer acts like a (e)........................................., may have trapped other chemical inside. If the chemicals inside were able to (f)........................................ themselves, and to attract other molecules in through the membrane, then the structure is alive. This may have first happened about (g)...................... BYA. For the next billion years, all life on Earth was bacteria-like, (h).............................................. (living without oxygen) and heterotrophic, feeding on the (i).................................. molecules dissolved in the oceans. The first (j)............................................ (selffeeders) appeared about 2.5 BYA. They were able to make food using the energy of (k)........................................... from their environment. The first cells doing photosynthesis were the (l)................. ................................., which grew in large structures called (m)............................................. They released (n).............................................. gas which reacted with dissolved (o)................................ This precipitated and formed extensive sediments, which are known as (p)......................... ................................. Eventually there was enough oxygen formed to turn the atmosphere from being (q).................................., to become oxic. This was a disaster for many anaerobic cells, which became extinct. They were replaced by new types which used (r)............................... .............................................. (process) to release energy from their food in the form of the energy chemical (s)...................... About 1.5 BYA, the first (t)................................................... cells (with membrane-based organelles) appeared. The best explanation for these is called the (u)............................................................. Hypothesis in which one cell ingested another, but failed to (v)....................................... it. The smaller cell survived to live within the larger, eventually becoming an organelle such as a mitochondrion or (w)................................... Evidence supporting this hypothesis is that some organelles contain their own (x).............................. and ..................................... for making proteins. Roughly 1 BYA some cells began swapping bits of DNA in a primitive sort of (y)........................................................ This increased the (z)............................................ variation and so evolution (aa)............................................................. About 800 MYA, the first (ab).................................................... organisms appeared. The early forms resembled (ac)............................(plant) and (ad).................................. (animal). About 600 MYA there was an explosion in the fossil record, when many animals with (ae).......................... body parts appeared.
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3. THE PROCARYOTIC ORGANISMS TODAY

Technology to Study Procaryotes
Even with a good light microscope, bacterial cells are so small that they appear as simple rods, spheres and spiralshaped cells. The Electron Microscope with its superior magnification and resolution was the technology that revealed the fine details of cell structure. It was the electron microscope that first gave us the understanding of eucaryotic and procaryotic cells as being fundamentally different.
PROCARYOTIC CELL
Nuclear region, but no true nucleus
The Archaea
When the cyanobacteria began photosynthesizing in their stromatolites just over 2 billion years ago, the oxygen they released firstly caused the oceans to rust, and then caused the atmosphere to become oxic. We think many of the older species of anaerobic life could not cope with oxygen and died out. Some however, survived in habitats where there is no oxygen... The Methanogens are one type of the Archaea group. They cannot tolerate oxygen at all and live in habitats where there is none: in the muddy sediments under swamps, lakes and the seas and oceans. in the digestive systems of many animals, especially the ruminants, a group of grazing animals including cattle. Their original habitat of 3 billion years ago was the anoxic oceans with an atmosphere containing the gases they need... carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
EUCARYOTIC CELL
Ribosomes in cytoplasm, but no membrane-b bound organelles
Nucleus and other organelles made from or bound by membranes
This understanding led to the classification of all the procaryotic organisms into the kingdom Monera, totally different life forms to the eucaryotic plants, animals and fungi. Within this procaryotic kingdom of life, many different sub-groups were recognized, but they were all thought to be essentially alike because of their procaryotic structure. New technologies have changed that view... DNA & Protein Sequencing allow scientists to determine the precise sequence of chemical units in DNA molecules and protein chains. Studies on the different types of procaryotic organisms have shown that there are some types that are so different from the rest, that they perhaps should be placed into a new kingdom, to be called Archaebacteria or simply Archaea (pronounced ark-ee-a). Whats different about them? They have: completely different RNA molecules to all other life cell walls which are chemically different to all others totally different enzymes for releasing energy from food different pathways of metabolism for some cell processes The word archae means ancient, and it is believed that these very different organisms are modern survivors from those primitive cells of 3 billion years ago.
As the oxygen levels rose many died out, but the oxygen never reached some places such as the mud and sediments under water, where the processes of decomposition remove any oxygen immediately, and produce carbon dioxide and hydrogen from the fermentation of dead plant material and other organics which settle into the mud. The methanogens get their energy from the chemical reaction: Carbon dioxide + hydrogen CO2 + 4H2 methane + water CH4 + 2H2O
It is their production of methane (CH4) that gives them their name.

PHOTOMICROGRAPH of METHANOGEN cells
As well as living in the decomposing sediments under water, some methanogens live in the gut of animals. Other microbes help digest plant foods by fermentation, producing CO2 & H2. The methanogens convert these gases to methane... intestinal gas. 11 www.keepitsimplescience.com.au
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The Thermoacidophiles are another group of the Archaea which are probably descended from ancient types. (Thermo- = heat, -acido- = acid, -phile = loving. They love hot, acid conditions) The thermoacidophiles live today in extreme habitats which may be quite similar to the habitats they lived in billions of years ago. Some are found in the boiling, acidic waters of volcanic hot springs, like these in Yellowstone National Park, in Wyoming USA.
Other Possible Environments in Which Life Began

It is generally assumed that the first living cells formed in the oceans of the primitive Earth. However, the Archaea (including many types other than the methanogens and thermoacidophiles) inhabit a huge range of extreme environments on Earth today. Could this mean that it was in one of these extreme environments that life first began? Some scientists have suggested that this could be the case: The Volcanic Vent Scenario is one suggestion. We believe that the primitive Earth of 3-4 billion years ago was a lot hotter than today, and that volcanic activity was very widespread. The presence of the thermoacidophiles in modern hot springs proves that life can thrive in such conditions, so maybe thats where life actually began. The Clay Sediments Scenario is another possibility. Some scientists have pointed to the impressive catalytic properties of clay minerals called zeolites, which can attract organic molecules and cause chemical reactions to occur, including polymerization, an essential reaction to make the large, complex molecules of life.
Others have been discovered in the deep ocean, around volcanic vents where they are the basis of some weird food chains that do NOT depend on photosynthesis. Thermoacidophiles are autotrophs capable of making their own food from simple inorganic chemicals like CO2 & H2O. The energy needed for this comes not from sunlight, as in photosynthesis, but from the energy in certain naturally occurring inorganic chemicals... they are chemosynthetic The thermoacidophiles depend on hydrogen sulfide (H2S) which is abundant in the volcanic springs they live in and around. It is H2S which gives the characteristic rotten-egg smell of volcanic springs. It is poisonous to most lifeforms (not to mention the boiling temperatures and highly acidic conditions) but to these Archaea cells it is homesweet-home, possibly just like the habitats they inhabited 3 billion years ago on the young, volcanically-active Earth. Some of the deep-sea chemosynthetic types have formed mutualistic relationships with giant tube worms, and are the basis of food production in the totally dark ecosystems thousands of metres deep. The chemosynthetic Archaea cells live inside the tube-worms body. The worm channels H2S from the volcanic vents to the procaryotes which make food for themselves and for the worms. An entire community of crabs, starfish and mussels live on this food supply.
They suggest that perhaps the first living cells began in zeolite clay sediments, where the necessary reactions of life could get some help from the clay itself. This might have happened deep in the Earth, and it is interesting to note that some Archaea types are found thriving (although in small numbers) deep in the rocks of the crust. The Ice-Concentration Scenario is a third possibility. Some scientists have doubts that the organic chemical soup of the oceans could ever have been concentrated enough in Urey-Miller chemicals for enough chemicals to form microspheres and eventually living cells. Experiments show that as sea-water freezes, the dissolved chemicals can be pushed together into small zones of very high concentration.
Photos by Diana
Perhaps life began in a place like this? Certainly, there are plenty of Archaea (and others) which can thrive in these extreme conditions. 12 www.keepitsimplescience.com.au
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Worksheet 3 Fill in the blank spaces. Check your answers at the back. Eucaryotic cells are those which have a true a).............................................................and other b)...........................................-bound organelles. Cells lacking these features are called c)................................................................... The technology which allowed us to discover this was the d)...................................... ................................... Other new technologies such as e)................................................................................... have shown that not all procaryotes are the same. One type, now called the f)..................................... have significant differences such as g).................................................. We think they may be descended from some extremely ancient cells from about h)................... billion years ago. One type are called i)...................................... because they produce methane from the gases j)................................... and k)................................ They live in habitats such as in the l)....................................... under water and in the m)...................................... of many animals. These organisms are n)................................................. which means they live without oxygen, and in fact would be o)............................................... by it. Another type are the p)....................................................... which thrive in habitats such as q)...................................................... and in the deep ocean, around r)................................................................................... These organisms are s).....................-synthetic. They make food from simple inorganic chemicals, using energy from t)....................................... (chemical name) which is common around volcanic vents. The deep-sea variety are vital to their isolated ecosystems because they u)..................................................... .......................................................... Because the Archaea are so ancient, and because they live in such extreme v)..................................., it has been suggested that perhaps life did not begin in the w)........................................as generally assumed. Alternative places for life to have started include x).......................................... vents, in sediments of clays called y)................................... or even in cold places where chemicals could become z)........................................................as the water froze.
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4. THE VARIETY OF LIFE & HOW WE CLASSIFY IT ALL

The Need to Classify
Imagine a supermarket without any system for placing products on the shelves. Baked-beans are under the light bulbs, just beside the fresh tomatoes and the fish-fingers (which have rotted because theyre not in the freezer) and the washing detergent. Oh, you want the smaller can of baked-beans? Theyre somewhere else entirely! This would be chaos! The branch of Biology concerned with putting the living supermarket into order is called Taxonomy. Over several hundred years a system of classifying living things has developed in order to: bring order to the study of millions of living organisms help communication, by agreeing on a unique name for each species help the study of living things by placing them in groups with similar characteristics show the relationships between organisms, or between groups, so that the evolutionary pathways can be more easily established. Cladistic Classification In recent times, the use of structural criteria is being improved and extended using information from new technologies such as the electron microscope and DNA and biochemical studies. DNA and protein sequencing is able to determine the relatedness of species in an evolutionary sense. A system based more on the evolutionary pathways is called a Cladistic Classification. The advantage of a cladistic system is that the groupings are truly family trees that put organisms together in groups with their true relatives. More and more, as fossil discoveries and the new technologies reveal more details about evolutionary relationships, the traditional Morphological classification is being adjusted and altered to become more Cladistic. Examples of these changes will be discussed later.
MORPHOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION BIRD DIFFERENT
The Criteria Used to Classify

How would you put the chaotic supermarket in order? Would you put all items of the same colour, or size together? This would put the 1kg detergent (red pack) on the same shelf as the 1kg bags of red tomatoes. Morphological Classification Traditionally, biological classification uses morphology... the structure of organisms bodies and cells to place each species into groups with others with similar structures. Using structural characteristics has several advantages: Usually, structural features stay the same throughout an organisms life, unlike (say) colour which could change from time to time. Structural features are often obvious and easily observed so that classification (at least at a general level) is quick and easy once you know the things to look for. Structural features are often the result of evolution, so this can automatically lead to the placing of related species into the same groups. (**this doesnt always work) **Example: Based on structural features, the snakes, lizards & crocodiles are classified together as Reptiles, while the birds are a separate group. However, fossils and DNA evidence suggest that crocodiles and birds are actually more closely related than crocodiles are to snakes & lizards.
SAME GROUP
Based on body structure
CLADISTIC CLASSIFICATION
SAME GROUP Based on Fossils and DNA studies, which show evolutionary relationships LIZARD DIFFERENT
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The Classification Hierarchy

A hierarchy means an organization involving levels. For example, an army has a hierarchy of command where a corporal or sergeant commands a section of soldiers, a lieutentant commands a platoon of sections, a captain commands a company of platoons, and so on, upwards. As you go upwards through the levels, you are including more and more soldiers in each higher grouping. The Biological Hierarchy works the same way: Level or Taxon
MORE GENERAL GROUPS
At the top of the taxon hierarchy the groups are broad and general and contain many different types. As you go down the hierarchy the groups become smaller until at the bottom you have defined one specific organism... the species
Example: Human Animals
Example: Eastern Grey Kangaroo Animals (Eucaryotic cells, no cell wall)
KINGDOM PHYLUM Sub-Phylum: CLASS ORDER Sub-Order: FAMILY GENUS SPECIES

MORE SPECIFIC GROUPS
Chordates (Animals with a notochord) Vertebrates (Chordates with spinal chord enclosed in a vertebral column) Mammals Mammals (warm-blooded, furry, milk glands) Sub-Class: Metatheria (Marsupials... pouched mammals) Primates (mammals with grasping Diprotodonts (Herbivorous marsupials) hands, binocular vision) Anthropoids (includes humans, apes & monkeys) Hominids (apes & humans) Macropods (big-foot marsupials... includes all kangaroos & wallabies) Homo (humans, including extinct Macropus (includes only certain large ancestors & relatives) kangaroos) sapiens (modern humans only) giganteus (Eastern Grey Kangaroo)
Notice that extra taxons can be added between the main levels, as needed, by using sub- groups and super- groups. Example: a sub-order is below, a super-order is above order.
Chordates Vertebrates
The Binomial System

To name any species you use its Genus and species names. So a human is Homo sapiens and the eastern grey kangaroo is Macropus giganteus. Note: the Genus name must be written with a capital letter, but the species name must be written in lower case. The name is usually underlined. Species which belong to the same genus are very closely related and will usually share many characteristics. For example; Felis leo , Felis tigris and Felis pantheris all belong to the same genus. They are in fact the lion, tiger and leopard... all instantly recognizable as very similar big pussy-cats. Their differences in colour and coat-pattern are trivial... thats why such criteria are never used in taxonomy.
The Concept of a Species

What defines a species? At all the higher taxon levels, body and cell structures are used to separate the groups. However, once you get down to members of the same genus, they are so similar in body structure that reproduction is used to define the different species. Two organisms are considered as belonging to the same species if they normally interbreed and produce healthy, fertile offspring. In captivity lions and tigers have successfully interbred (producing ligers and tigons). However, this does not occur in nature, so lions and tigers are considered as separate species. This reproductive definition of species works pretty well for animals, but often becomes confused among the plants and microbes.
You need to remember that the classification system is an arbitrary, human-m made, artificial scheme trying to impose some order on the complexity and amazing variety of living things. As we learn more, we may change the rules and adjust the system to match our improving knowledge.
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St Josephs Catholic College SL#804465 insect A insect B

Patterned scales
Classification Keys
One of the important aids to using the classification system is the dichotomous key. Dichotomous means to divide in two, so it means the key always splits into 2 alternative pathways. At each decision point two alternative criteria allow you to choose the correct path to take, to eventually classify an organism into a taxonomic group. The criteria used need to be structural, in keeping with the whole concept of biological classification. Dichotomous keys can be in diagram form like a flow chart, or contain a series of paired statements. Use the keys below to classify these insects into groups (Orders)
insect D
insect C insect F
Wing partly thickened
insect E
TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF DICHOTOMOUS KEY
Flow-Chart Diagram Key

Choose the correct path at each branch
START
Paired Statements Key At each level is a pair of statements. Decide which alternative (a or b) applies, then go to the next level specified, until the name of a group is given. Level 1 a) Has 2 pairs of wings ....................................go to level 2 b) Has 1 pair of wings.......................................... Diptera Level 2 a) Front and hind wings have similar texture and patterns. May be different sizes.......... go to level 3 b) Front and hind wings quite different in thickness and/or texture .............................go to level 5 Level 3 a) Body has distinct, narrow waist between thorax and abdomen................................. Hymenoptera b) No distinct waist ...................................go to level 4 Level 4 a) Wings covered in patterned scales........ Lepidoptera b) Wings clear, with many veins....................... Odonata Level 5 a) Front wings totally hardened forming protective cover for rear wings. No large mouth parts................................ Coleoptera b) Front wings only partly hardened. Large mouthparts for grasping or piercing prey ............................................................. Hemiptera
Check your answers in answer section at back
One pair of wings
Diptera
Two pairs of wings
Front and hind wings have similar texture and patterns. May be different sizes.
Front and hind wings quite different in thickness and/or texture.
No distinct waist
Body has distinct, narrow waist between thorax and abdomen.
Hymenoptera
Wings covered in patterned scales
Wings clear, with many veins
Lepidoptera
Odonata
Front wings totally hardened forming protective cover for rear wings. No large mouth parts
Front wings only partly hardened. Large mouthparts for grasping or piercing prey.
Coleoptera
Hemiptera
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Changes to the Classification System

The biological classification system was developed over 200 years ago. Since that time an enormous amount of new knowledge has been discovered which has, from time to time, necessitated changes in the way we classify life. The best example is at the highest taxon, the Kingdom level. When the system was invented, all known living things seemed to be either plant or animal, so a Two Kingdom scheme was used. The fungi appeared to be rather weird plants, and later when bacteria were discovered, it was decided that they were closer to plants than animals. Two Kingdom Scheme
LIVING THINGS ANIMALS Including single-celled protozoa PLANTS Includes fungi & bacteria, as well as single-celled algae
More Changes in the Future?

The new technologies of DNA and protein sequencing have already revealed the fundamental differences between the Archaea and the other types of procaryotes. Because of this, many scientists are already using a Six Kingdom Scheme
ARCHAEA BACTERIA
ANIMALS
PROTISTS FUNGI PLANTS
However, this method is not Cladistic enough for others... it doesnt show clearly enough the evolutionary relationships between the major groups. To do so, some scientists are beginning to use another taxon, called Domain which is higher than Kingdom. Perhaps in the future we will use a scheme something like: Three Domain Scheme
By the middle of the 20th century it was realized that this scheme was really not satisfactory. The electron microscope revealed much more structural detail at the cellular level. The use of the ultracentrifuge allowed cell parts to be separated for chemical analysis and the use of radio-isotopes for tracing biochemical pathways showed up fundamental differences between living things. The new technologies made scientist realize: the enormous difference between procaryotic and eucaryotic cells that the fungi are not just weird plants... theyre a totally different type of organism that single-celled organisms are fundamentally different to multicellular life, regardless of other characteristics. This led to adoption of the Five Kingdom Scheme
ANIMALS Eucaryotic, multicellular, heterotrophic, no cell wall
LIVING THINGS
Domains of Life
ARCHAEA
BACTERIA
EUCARYOTES
PLANTS Eucaryotic, multicellular, autotrophic, with cell-wall FUNGI Eucaryotic, multicellular, heterotrophic, with cell-wall
Sub-Domains PROTISTS or single-celled Super-Kingdoms
METACYTES multicellular
LIVING THINGS
Kingdoms
PLANTS
ANIMALS
FUNGI
MONERA Procaryotic cells
PROTISTS Eucaryotic, single-celled. Includes plant-like and animallike types such as single-celled algae & protozoa
Until the exact details are agreed upon, we will continue to use the 5 (or 6) Kingdom Scheme 17 www.keepitsimplescience.com.au
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The Problems of Classifying Extinct Species

Our biological classification scheme is used not just for todays living things, but for all the extinct species we know from fossils.
For a fossil such as the skeleton shown below, there is no problem classifying it. An expert in anatomy can probably decide on its groupings all the way down to Genus, and even assign it a species name.
There are problems classifying an organism from its fossils alone: modern classification relies on cell structures at some taxons. In most fossil imprints the cell details have not been preserved. the new DNA technologies and biochemical analysis which are so useful for finding relatedness among living organisms, cannot be used on most fossils because the organic chemicals have not been preserved in fossilization.
For other fossils though, especially if they are very small and very ancient, exact classification is impossible without DNA samples and well-preserved cellular imprints. Clear cellular imprints are very rare, and DNA samples do not survive fossilization at all, except in a few rare cases of animals being preserved by freezing for a few thousand years, but not for millions of years despite the Jurassic Park scenario.
This is a life-size sketch of Hallucigenia, a bizarre animal whose fossils are known from the famous Burgess Shale deposit in western Canada. It lived over 500 million years ago, and its 7-part body plan defies classification because it doesnt seem to relate to any creature alive today.
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Worksheet 4 Fill in the blanks. Check answers at the back. The branch of Biology which deals with classification is called a)......................................... Some reasons for classifying are; to bring some b).................................................. to help c)........................................................... by giving uniformity of names to help the study of life by placing organisms in groups which have d)................................. ........................................................ to show how organisms are e)........................................... in an evolutionary sense. The criteria used to classify organisms are usually f)............................................... features, because these do not usually g)........................... during an organisms life. Also, structures are usually the result of h)........................................... Classification based on structural features is called a i)........................................................... classification, while a Cladistic scheme is based on j)............................................................... relationships. Modern technologies, especially k)............................................and l)........................ sequencing are useful in determining relatedness for Cladistic schemes. The classification hierarchy has 7 main levels, or m)............................. The most general level is Kingdom, then come n)..................................., o).........................., Order, p).........................., q)............................. and finally r)................................... Extra taxons can be added between the main levels using prefixes (s)................ (below) and t)..................... (above). To name a species, you use the u)........................ and v).............................. names. If 2 species have the same genus name they must be very w)............................................................... The definition of a species is based on x)......................................., so if 2 organisms naturally produce y)............................... & ............................ offspring then they are the same species. Classification keys are always z)................................................... which means to split in two. The classification system is arbitrary and subject to changes. For example, originally a 2 kingdom system was used because everything was thought to be either aa)................................. or ab)........................................... In the 20th century, improved knowledge resulted in a switch to a 5-kingdom scheme: as well as plants and animals there were the kingdoms of ac)................................., (which are procaryotic), ad)................................................ (single-celled eucaryotes) and ae)................................................ It is likely that this will change again in the future, since it is already recognized that the kingdom Monera should be split into af).................................................. and ag).......................................................
Dichotomous Key Exercise Use the information given on page 17 about the Five Kingdoms of living things to construct a dichotomous key.
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CONCEPT DIAGRAM (Mind Map) OF TOPIC

Some students find that memorizing the OUTLINE of a topic helps them learn and remember the concepts and important facts. Practise on this blank version.
LIFE on EARTH
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St Josephs Catholic College SL#804465 8. The Endosymbiotic Hypothesis is a proposal for the formation of the first: A. procaryotic cells. B. photosynthetic cells. C. eucaryotic cells. D. cells capable of aerobic respiration. 9. The Endosymbiotic Hypothesis is supported by which of the following pieces of evidence? A. Mitochondria contain their own DNA & ribosomes. B. Cells regularly envelop and eat smaller cells. C. Fossils of cells in conjugation have been discovered. D. Mitochondria can live independantly outside of their host cell. 10. It is thought that the correct sequence of certain events in the history of life was: A. sexual reproduction, eucaryotic cells, multicellular. B. eucaryotic cells, multicellular, sexual reproduction. C. eucaryotic cells, sexual reproduction, multicellular. D. multicellular, sexual reproduction, eucaryotic cells. 11. If you were to study an extensive fossil deposit, and work your way down through the layers, you might expect the fossils to show a trend: A. of increasing complexity. B. of greater resemblance to modern life. C. of decreasing diversity. D. of younger and younger ages. 12. A cell like the one shown: A. may have lived when the Earth was anoxic. B. may have been the first type to appear on Earth. C. evolved from procaryotic ancestors. D. could be a member of the Archaea. 13. The realization that the Archaea are very different to other procaryotes has come mainly from: A. use of the electron microscope to study the cells. B. study of the extreme habitats in which they live. C. discovery of fossil cells from 3 billion years ago. D. study of their biochemical pathways and DNA. 14. You would be unlikely to discover methanogen cells living in: A. the intestines of a goat. B. the soil in your garden. C. the mud of a swamp. D. the sediments under the sea floor. 15. The group known as thermoacidophiles are best described as: A. chemosynthetic autotrophs. B. autotrophic decomposers. C. photosynthetic heterotrophs. D. chemosynthetic eucaryotes.
Practice Questions
These are not intended to be "HSC style" questions, but to challenge your basic knowledge and understanding of the topic, and remind you of what you NEED to know at the K.I.S.S. principle level. When you have confidently mastered this level, it is strongly recommended you work on questions from past exam papers. Part A Multiple Choice 1. Which of the following was probably NOT a common gas in the atmosphere on Earth 4 billion years ago? A. Carbon dioxide B. Oxygen C. Methane D. Ammonia 2. Louise Pasteurs famous gooseneck flask experiment of 1862 proved that:: A. life could begin spontaneously from contact with air. B. organic compounds could not have been produced naturally on the primitive Earth. C. a nutrient broth will rot after contact with air. D. the theory of spontaneous generation was wrong. 3. In the Urey-Miller experiment: A. organic molecules were produced from inorganic. B. living cells were produced from non-living chemicals. C. microsphere membrane structures were made artificially D. complex inorganic molecules were produced. 4. The technology that has allowed us to accurately measure the age of rocks, fossils and the Earth itself is: A. radio-isotope studies. B. electron microscope. C. the principle of superposition of fossils D. DNA sequencing 5. A precursor to the formation of the first living cells was probably: A. formation of an oxic environment. B. formation of chemical systems capable of photosynthesis C. formation of microsphere membrane structures. D. polymerization of natural inorganic chemicals. 6. The first living cells were probably: A. aerobic, procaryotic and autotrophic. B. anaerobic, procaryotic and heterotrophic. C. anaerobic, eucaryotic and chemosynthetic. D. anoxic, eucaryotic and heterotrophic. 7. It is thought that the organisms mainly responsible for the conversion of the Earth to an oxic environment were the: A. Archaea. B. chemosynthetic autotrophs. C. early eucaryotic algae. D. cyanobacteria
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St Josephs Catholic College SL#804465 25. (5 marks) One of the most significant events in the history of the Earth was the change from an anoxic to an oxic environment. a) What does this mean? b) Identify the organisms, and the process that caused the change. c) Explain the significance of this change for the evolution of life. 26. ( 4 marks) a) What does the Endosymbiotic Hypothesis attempt to explain? b) Outline the hypothesis. c) Give a piece of evidence supporting the hypothesis. 27. ( 4 marks) Distinguish between procaryotic and eucaryotic cells, naming examples of each. 28. ( 5 marks) a) Identify the technology which has produced evidence that the living procaryotes include two fundamentally different types of life. b) i) Identify a group of organisms belonging to the Archaea. ii) Describe the habitat of the group named in (i). iii) Outline similarities between the current habitat of these organisms, and the Earth environment of the past. 29. (3 marks) It is generally assumed that life began in the oceans of the early Earth. However, there have been other suggestions. Describe one possible alternative environment in which life may have originated. Give a reason why this idea is proposed as a serious hypothesis. 30. (3 marks) Give 3 reasons to justify the existence of a biological classification system. 31. (6 marks) Compare and contrast a Morphological to a Cladistic classification scheme and give an advantage of each. 32. (2 marks) The horse and the donkey both belong the genus Equus. They can interbreed producing healthy offspring known as a mule. Mules are sterile and cannot produce offspring. Should the horse and donkey be considered as members of the same, or separate, species? Explain your answer. 33. (5 marks) Use the following list of characteristics to construct a dichotomous key for the major plant groups. Group True leaves? Veins? Seeds? Seed structure? Algae No No No Mosses Yes(simple) No No Ferns Yes Yes No Conifers Yes Yes Yes cones Angiosperms Yes Yes Yes flowers/fruits 34. (5 marks) Discuss, with reference to the 2-kingdom and the 5-kingdom schemes, the impact of changes in technology on biological classification schemes.
16. Of the following taxons which one is the most general grouping, or least specific? A. Family B. Phylum C Class D. Genus 17. A particular animals scientific name is Mus hirsutus. Which of the following animals is most closely related ? A. Mus rufus B. Volex hirsutus C. Hirsutus ascara D. Hirsutus muscus 18. In the 5-kingdom classification scheme, if an organism was described as eucaryotic, heterotrophic and multicellular, it could belong to either of TWO groups: A. plants or protists. B. fungi or monera. C. animals or monera D. animals or fungi. 19. If we were to adopt a SIX kingdom scheme for classification, the existing kindom that would have to be split up is the: A. Protists. B. Fungi. C. Monera. D. Plants. 20. The problem with classifying some extinct organisms from their fossils is that: A. we cannot be sure what habitat they lived in. B. their cell structure & DNA are not preserved. C. only hard parts, such as bones, shells, etc are preserved. D. their original body parts have been petrified.
Part B
Mark values given are suggestions only, and are to give you an idea of how detailed an answer is appropriate. 21. (6 marks) Describe the conditions on Earth 4 billion years ago, covering: a) significant physical conditions, and b) chemical composition of the atmosphere. 22. (5 marks) Give an outline of the Urey-Miller experiment, including: a) the hypothesis it set out to test. b) a basic description of what was done. c) the main results. d) what conclusion may be drawn from it. 23. ( 3 marks) a) Explain how radio-isotopes have contributed to our understanding of the history of life on Earth. b) Identify another recently developed technology and outline its contribution to our knowledge of the history of life. 24. (2 marks) Identify two major stages or processes that are believed to have occurred before the appearance of the first living cells on Earth.
Longer Response Questions
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St Josephs Catholic College SL#804465 w) closely related / similar y) healthy & fertile aa) & ab) Plant or animal ad) Protists af) & ag) Bacteria & Archaea x) reproduction z) dichotomous ac) Monera ae) Fungi
Answer Section Worksheet 1

a),b)& c) any 3 of carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia, hydrogen, nitrogen, water vapour. d) oxygen e) volcanoes f) lightning g) ultra-violet (UV) h) organic i) Urey & Miller j) & k) sugars & amino acids (organic molecules) l) outer space m) radiation n) isotopes o) half p) fossils q) related
Make a Dichotomous Key Exercise There are many correct ways to do this. Format may be Paired Statements or Flowchart Diagram. A Good key will use only structural characteristics and it will be unambiguous, and (most importantly) it WILL WORK when used. Sample Answer: 1. a) Cells are Procaryotic ........................................ Monera b) Cells are Eucaryotic ...................................... go to level 2 2. a) Organism is single-celled .................................. Protist b) Multicellular .................................................... go to level 3 3. a) Cells have chloroplasts (photosynthetic)....... Plant b) Cells lack chloroplasts .................................... go to level 4 4. a) Cells have a cell wall .................................................... Fungi b) No cell wall ............................................................... Animal
Worksheet 2
a) 4.6 BYA c) hydrophobic e) membrane g) 3.5 to 4 BYA i) organic k) chemicals m) stromatolites o) iron q) anoxic s) ATP u) Endosymbiosis w)chloroplast y) sexual reproduction aa) speeded up ac) algae ae) hard b) organic d) microspheres f) copy/duplicate/replicate h) anaerobic j) autotrophs l) cyanobacteria n) oxygen p) banded ironstone r) cellular respiration t) eucaryotic v) digest x) DNA & ribosomes z) genetic ab) multicellular ad) sponges
Practice Questions
Part A Multiple Choice 1. B 5. C 9. A 2. D 6. B 10. C 3. A 7. D 11. C 4. A 8. C 12. C 13. D 14. B 15. A 16. B 17. A 18. D 19. C 20. B
Classification Keys Exercise page 15 Insect A = Coleoptera C = Hymenoptera E = Odonata Insect B = Lepidoptera D = Diptera F = Hemiptera Part B Longer Response Questions In some cases there may be more than one correct answer. The following model answers are correct but not necessarily perfect. 21. a) There would have been a lot of volcanic activity, constantly adding volcanic gases to the atmosphere. Violent storms would have been near continuous, with a lot of lightning.. Without an ozone layer, there would have been high levels of UV radiation from the Sun penetrating to the surface. b) The atmosphere would have contained no oxygen at all, but been made up of gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, ammonia, methane, hydrogen and water vapour. 22. a) The experiment was designed to test the hypothesis that the conditions of the primitive Earth could have naturally produced organic molecules. b) Flasks were set up containing the simple inorganic chemicals thought to be present on the primitive Earth. The flasks were heated, irradiated with UV, and electric sparks simulated lightning.. After several weeks, the flask contents were analysed chemically. c) the flasks were found to contain organic chemicals including sugars and amino acids. d) Conclusion: the hypothesis is supported. Organic molecules can be produced from simple inorganic chemicals under the conditions thought to have existed on Earth 4 BYA.
Worksheet 3
a) nucleus b) membrane c) procaryotic d) electron microscope e) DNA sequencing / biochemical pathways / protein sequencing f) Archaea g) RNA / cell walls / enzymes h) 2 to 3 BYA i) methanogens j) & k) carbon dioxide & hydrogen l) mud / sediments m) gut / intestines n) anaerobic o) poisoned / killed p) thermoacidophiles q) volcanic hot springs r) volcanic vents s) chemot) hydrogen sulfide u) produce all the food v) habitats w) ocean x) volcanic y) zeolites z) concentrated
Worksheet 4
a) Taxonomy c) communication e) related g) change i) Morphological k) DNA m) taxons o) Class q) Genus s) subu) Genus
b)order / organization d) similar characteristics f) structural h) evolution j) evolutionary l) protein n) Phylum p) Family r) Species t) superv) species
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keep it simple science 23. a) Because radio-isotopes decay, their radiation levels decline in a predictable way. This allows rocks & fossils to be accurately dated. Thus we have an accurate time scale for the history of the Earth & its life. b) DNA sequencing. This can determine similarities & differences in the DNA of different species and is a measure of how closely related they are in an evolutionary sense. 24. 1. Production of organic molecules, which are the building blocks of living cells. 2. Formation of microspheres from fatty lipid molecules. These act like membranes... necessary to form the first cells. 25. a) The change from an environment without any free oxygen gas (anoxic), to one with free oxygen (oxic). b) The cyanobacteria, carrying out photosynthesis, released the oxygen. c) When the Earth became oxic, many of the previously dominant anaerobic organisms became extinct, and it opened up opportunities for the evolution of cells using aerobic cellular respiration. 26. a) Explains the evolution of the eucaryotic cells from procaryotic ancestors. b) A larger procaryotic cell ate a smaller one, but failed to digest it. The small cell survived inside the larger one, and evolved to become an organelle such as mitochondrion or chloroplast. c) Mitochondria and chloroplasts contain their own DNA and it is bacterial-type. This suggests these organelles were once separate procaryotic cells. 27. Eucaryotic cells have a true nucleus and other membranebound organelles. Examples include all plants & animals. Procaryotic cells lack organelles, except non-membrane structures such as ribosomes. They have a nuclear region but no true nucleus. Examples are the bacteria, cyanobacteria and the Archaea.
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St Josephs Catholic College SL#804465 30. Classification: 1. brings some order and organization to the chaos of millions of different species. 2. helps communication by giving every species a unique name agreed by all. 3. places organisms into groups of similar types, making it easier to understand evolutionary relationships. 31. Both classification schemes place organisms into similar groups, and try to show the relationships between them. Morphological systems used cell & body structures as their criteria. This has the advantage of being relatively easy to study and observe. Cladistic systems attempt to place organisms into groups according to their evolutionary relatedness. This has the advantage of producing true family trees that help us understand the history and evolution of life. 32. They must be considered as separate species. The definition of a species is that 2 organisms are the same species if they can interbreed and produce healthy, fertile offspring. Since the mule is sterile, the conditions of the definition are NOT met, so horse & donkey are not the same species. 33. (Many correct answers possible) 1. a) Do NOT have veins......................................... level 2 b) Have veins ..........................................................level 3 2. a) Have simple leaves ......................................... Mosses b) No leaves .......................................................... Algae 3. a) Produce seeds ..................................................... level 4 b) Do not produce seeds ..................................... Ferns 4. a) Seeds produced in cones ........................ Conifers b) Seeds produced in flowers/fruits........... Angiosperms 34. When the classification scheme was first developed it seemed that all life was either plant or animal, so a 2-kingdom system was used. Later technologies, especially the electron microscope which revealed details of cell structures, and improved biochemical analysis, led to the realization that : there are 2 totally different cell types... procaryotes & eucaryotes. the Fungi are not plants, but a totally different life form. unicellular organisms are fundamentally different to multicellular, regardless of being plant-like or animal-like at the cell level. The result was a change to the 5-kingdom system, recognising Animals, Plants, Fungi, Protists & Monera as being fundamentally different.
28. a) Evidence for this has come from study of biochemical pathways, protein, DNA & RNA sequencing, and chemical analysis of cell parts such as cell walls. This has shown that the mainstream procaryotes (e.g. bacteria) are distinctly different to the Archaea. b) i) Methanogens ii) Anaerobic muddy sediments under swamps, wetlands, oceans. iii) Their current habitats may be similar to those they occupied 3 BYA... i.e. anaerobic, lots of organic molecules available. 29. Life may have originated in zeolite clay sediments. Zeolites have a chemical ability to attract organic molecules and to catalyze chemical reactions such as polymerization, which is essential for life to get started.
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KISS Notes Life On Earth

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keep it simple science

St Josephs Catholic College SL#804465

Preliminary Biology Topic 3

but first, an introduction...

The Variety of Life on Earth

whales are exactly unlike worms...

jellyfish are not like spiders...

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CONCEPT DIAGRAM (Mind Map) OF TOPIC

Theories of Origins of Life

Technologies that help us Understand

The Early Earth

Science & Culture

Origins of Life on Earth

History of Life on Earth Technolgies to Study Procaryotes

Other Possible Environments in Which Life Began

Changes to the System?

Preliminary Biology Topic 3 copyright 2005-2007 keep it simple science

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1. THE ORIGINS OF LIFE ON EARTH

Chemicals First, Then Cells

The Urey-Miller Experiment

Spontaneous Generation of Life

Electric spark simulates lightning

Condenser cools vapours back to liquids

Ocean Flask began with pure water

Closed flask remains sterile... no microbes grow in it.

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Significance of the Urey-Miller Experiment

Technologies That Help Us Understand

Life From Outer Space?

0 half-life half-life half-life

Mercury Earth & Moon Sun

Other planets? Jupiter Other stars?

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Photo by Jeremy Henderson

WHEN COMPLETED, WORKSHEETS BECOME SECTION SUMMARIES

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2. THE HISTORY OF LIFE ON EARTH

First autotrophs... chemosynthetic bacteria

Other chemicals may be trapped inside

Preliminary Biology Topic 3 copyright 2005-2007 keep it simple science

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PHOTOSYNTHESIS (in cyanobacteria) CARBON DIOXIDE + WATER GLUCOSE + OXYGEN

WATER + CARBON DIOXIDE 6H2O + 6CO2

GLUCOSE + OXYGEN C6H12O6 + 6O2

AEROBIC RESPIRATION (in all living things)

Preliminary Biology Topic 3 copyright 2005-2007 keep it simple science

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Evolves to become an Animal cell

Evolves to become a Plant cell

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