Test your knowledge of theories about the origin of living beings with the 10 questions Next. Also check the comments after the feedback to answer your questions about the topic.
question 1
The origin of life attributed to a creator being is:
a) spread only by monotheistic religions such as Christianity.
b) presented only in the Holy Bible, which has God as the creator of man and the universe.
c) a conception with a mythical/religious basis observed in different civilizations.
d) a hypothesis little adhered to in society.
Correct alternative: c) a conception with a mythical/religious basis observed in different civilizations.
The claim that life is the creation of one or more higher entities is advocated by many people based primarily on mythic/religious narratives.
Christianity, for example, is a monotheistic religion that preaches the existence of a God who created the universe and everything in it. In Greek mythology, the creation of man is attributed to the titans and in Chinese mythology, humanity was created by the goddess Nüwa.
question 2
According to the theory of abiogenesis, the first beings that appeared on the planet would have been:
a) generated by the development of an activated complex in inanimate matter.
b) spontaneously generated from an “active principle” contained in non-living matter.
c) generated by the joining of conglomerates and favorable conditions.
d) individually generated by a superior entity.
Correct alternative: b) spontaneously generated from an “active principle” contained in non-living matter.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle was one of the main advocates of abiogenesis, which advocated the emergence of life from nonliving matter with an “active principle” or “vital force” present.
This theory was used for a long time to explain the appearance of worms in people, who would have consumed food with this force, and also the appearance of insects in garbage.
Learn more about Abiogenesis.
question 3
Review the statements:
I. A living being is originated from a preexisting living being.
II. The experiments by Redi, Needham-Spallanzani and Pasteur prove the emergence of living beings through the reproduction of existing beings.
III. Despite being an accepted theory, it has not been possible to demonstrate how the first living being appeared.
These statements strengthen the theory of the origin of life called:
a) Chemical evolution
b) Abiogenesis
c) Biogenesis
d) Panspermia
Correct alternative: c) Biogenesis.
Biogenesis is a theory about the origin of life that admits that a living being can only originate from a preexisting living being.
Redi's experiment, using raw meat in open and closed jars, identified that in the open jars larvae emerged from the contact of flies with the meat.
Spallanzani's experiment countered the results of Needham's studies by seeing that vials hermetically sealed after go through a long heating, to the point of eliminating all the organisms in the nutritive broth, they would not give rise to beings alive.
Pasteur's experiment also used heated nutritious broths, which when in contact with the air proliferated microorganisms.
Although this theory through experiments proves that a living being comes from an existing living being, it was not possible to demonstrate the emergence of the first living being.
Learn more about Biogenesis.
question 4
Panspermia is a theory that:
a) states that changes in the primitive atmosphere triggered the emergence of life on the planet.
b) explains the emergence of life on Earth through the Big Bang.
c) claims that life arose off the planet and was brought in by meteorites and comets.
d) explains the origin of life through coacervados.
Correct alternative: c) states that life arose off the planet and was brought in by meteorites and comets.
According to the Panspermia hypothesis, also called the cosmogenic theory, the origin of life on Earth lies outside the planet and was brought through meteorites and comets, containing resistant fragments/bodies, such as spores, that developed due to favorable conditions of the planet.
question 5
The theory of chemical evolution, defended by Oparin and Haldane, admits:
I. Emergence of cells
II. Protein Synthesis in Primitive Oceans
III. Formation of coacervates
IV. combination of molecules
The logical order of these occurrences is:
a) IV; III; II; I.
b) II; III; IV; I.
c) III; IV; II; I.
d) IV; II; III; I.
Correct alternative: d) IV; II; III; I.
combination of molecules
According to the theory, the gases from the primitive atmosphere when hit by electrical discharges (rays and lightning) and solar radiation reacted and formed very simple molecules.
Protein Synthesis in Primitive Oceans
The simple organic molecules carried into the primitive oceans evolved into more complex molecules. This gradual increase in organic molecules has turned the seas into a “nutritious soup” of amino acids and proteins.
Formation of coacervates
Organic molecules in primitive seas began to agglomerate to form structures known as coacervates. In coacervates there were exchanges with the external environment and internal chemical reactions. These structures were separated from the middle and some joined to form more complex coacervates.
Emergence of cells
The first cells, although there is no consensus on their appearance, should be simple structures delimited by a membrane and the interior had nucleic acids.
question 6
Note the image below which represents the experiment carried out by the Italian physician Francesco Redi. Next, describe the experiment and what theory the scientist's result proves.
Reply:
Francesco Redi, Italian physician, seeking to understand how larvae appeared in decomposing food performed an experiment that consisted of leaving a piece of meat in a container covered with gauze and another open.
Redi observed that as the meat decomposed the flies were attracted, but only managed to enter the open container and, later, the appearance of larvae in the material was observed.
This experience led Redi to find that the larvae observed came out of eggs laid in the flesh by flies and after some time also turned into flies.
According to the information exposed, the result of this experience reinforces the hypothesis that a living being can only be formed from a preexisting living being, according to the biogenesis theory.
Learn more about Redi experiment.
question 7
(PUC-SP) Consider the following events related to the origin of life:
I — Appearance of the fermentation process.
II — Formation of coacervates.
III — Appearance of photosynthesis and aerobic respiration processes.
IV — Establishing the balance between heterotrophs and autotrophs.
The logical order in which these events occurred is:
a) I - II - III - IV.
b) I - II - IV - III.
c) II - I - III - IV.
d) II - III - IV - I.
e) IV - III - II - I.
Correct alternative: c) II - I - III - IV.
Formation of coacervates.
Reactions with gases from the primitive atmosphere caused by electrical discharges gave rise to simple organic molecules, which evolved to become more complex and agglomerated to form the coacervate.
Appearance of the fermentation process.
According to the heterotrophic hypothesis, the first living beings did not produce their own food, but consumed the organic molecules from the environment and acquired energy through the fermentation process, producing carbon dioxide and alcohol.
Appearance of photosynthesis and aerobic respiration processes.
Mutations in the first living beings developed the ability to carry out photosynthesis, harnessing carbon dioxide and the Sun's light energy, and producing more complex molecules and oxygen gas.
Establishing the balance between heterotrophs and autotrophs.
The establishment of balance between heterotrophs and autotrophs is the result of a long process, about billions of years.
question 8
(UFPB) On our planet, what distinguishes living from non-living matter is the presence of chemical elements (C, H, O, N) that, together with others, form organic substances. Living beings are formed from very simple and specific levels to the most complex and general. In an increasing order of complexity, these levels have the following sequence:
a) biosphere, ecosystem, community, population, organism, system, organ, tissue, cell, molecule.
b) molecule, cell, tissue, organism, organ, population, community, ecosystem, system, biosphere.
c) molecule, cell, tissue, organ, organism, population, community, system, ecosystem, biosphere.
d) molecule, cell, tissue, organ, system, organism, population, community, ecosystem, biosphere.
e) biosphere, community, population, ecosystem, system, organ, organism, tissue, cell, molecule.
Correct alternative: d) molecule, cell, tissue, organ, system, organism, population, community, ecosystem, biosphere.
Molecule: union of atoms of chemical elements that represents the forming unit of substances.
Cell: structural and functional units of living beings.
Tissue: union of similar cells that perform certain functions together.
Organ: formed by a grouping of tissues.
System: formed by a grouping of organs to carry out vital functions to an organism.
Organism: highly organized structure that defines the individual form of a living being.
Population: grouping of individuals of the same species.
Community: grouping of living beings that interact with each other within an ecosystem.
Ecosystem: set of communities that inhabit and interact in a given space.
Biosphere: layer of the Earth that brings together all existing ecosystems.
question 9
(Enem/2012) In certain places, fly larvae, created in cooked rice, are used as bait for fishing. Some breeders, however, believe that these larvae arise spontaneously from cooked rice, as advocated by the spontaneous generation theory.
This theory began to be refuted by scientists in the 17th century, based on the studies by Redi and Pasteur, who experimentally showed that
a) living things can be created in the laboratory.
b) life originated on the planet from microorganisms.
c) the living being comes from the reproduction of another pre-existing living being.
d) vermiform beings and microorganisms are evolutionarily related.
e) worms and microorganisms are generated by the matter existing in cadavers and in nutritional broths, respectively.
Correct alternative: c) the living being comes from the reproduction of another pre-existing living being.
The studies by Redi and Pasteur contributed to the development of the theory of biogenesis, that is, that a living being comes from the reproduction of another pre-existing living being.
In Redi's experiment, for example, the access of a living being to the studied food caused life forms, such as larvae, to be developed. When flies did not have access to food, no living beings were observed.
question 10
(Enem/2002) The numbered areas in the graph show the approximate volume composition of gases in the Earth's atmosphere, from its formation to the present day.
Considering only the atmospheric composition, isolating other factors, it can be stated that:
I. Fossils of aerobic beings older than 2.9 billion years cannot be detected.
II. Large forests could have existed approximately 3.5 billion years ago.
III. The human being could have existed for approximately 2.5 billion years.
It is correct what is stated in:
a) I, only.
b) II, only.
c) I and II only.
d) II and III only.
e) I, II and III.
Correct alternative: a) I, only.
As aerobic beings need oxygen to breathe, fossils with this characteristic could not be detected prior to 2.9 billion years.
Assertion II is incorrect, as in that period there was no oxygen in the atmosphere that would favor the development of large forests.
Statement III is also wrong since the amount of oxygen in the period mentioned was still very little.
Get more knowledge with the contents:
- Origin of life
- Biogenesis and Abiogenesis
- creationism
- Evolution theory
- Exercises on Evolution