Jan Eric De Castro

Mr. Ginnever
AP Biology - Period 1
September 30, 2012
Literacy Task #2
4.54 billion years ago, when Earth was made, it only contained no oxygen would have
been toxic for humans and any type of life to exist. Much of Earth was molten because of
extreme volcanic activities and frequent collisions with foreign objects. With these extreme
conditions, how did life came about? After billions of years of cooling, the Earths crust started
to become solid, allowing water and microscopic life to exist in the surface. The photosynthetic
life that formed approximately 2 billion years ago enriched the atmosphere with oxygen. But
before this, life was even more simpler. In the scientific world, The Primordial Soup model was
the most accepted and accurate prediction of how life formed. It stated that life began in a pond
or ocean to form by the combinations of chemicals from the atmosphere and some type energy to
form organic molecules, such as simple sugars and amino acids, the necessary building blocks of
life. In simpler terms, the basic building blocks of life came from simple molecule which formed
in the atmosphere (w/o oxygen). This was then energized by lightning and the rain from the
atmosphere created the "organic soup". Some of these molecules were self assembled or
polymerized into molecules similar to proteins and nucleic acids. These in turn form larger selfassembled structures such as RNA and DNA, which was the basis of the RNA World
Hypothesis. The hypothesis stated that a world filled with life based on ribonucleic acid (RNA)
predates the current world of life based on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and protein. In other
words, it states that the molecules formed from the P. Soup made up RNA and when it is first

formed, it transcribed into DNA and proteins over time. RNA, which can hold genetic
information like DNA, act as an enzyme like proteins, which may have supported cellular or precellular life.
There were many questions going around in the early 1800s on how inorganic molecules
formed organic compounds. Friedrich Whler did an experiment in an attempt to synthesize
ammonium cyanate, but accidently formed urea, an organic compound that is found in the urine
of animals. This was called The Whler synthesis, which was of great historical significance
because for the first time an organic compound was produced from inorganic reactants. This
finding went against the mainstream theory of that time called vitalism which stated that organic
matter possessed a special force or vital force inherent to all things living. The concept of
vitalism was not fully taken down until the scientists, Stanley Miller and Harold Urey proved it
wrong with an experiment in 1953. They showed that organic molecules could form in an
atmosphere that consist of water, methane, ammonia and hydrogen, with the help of energy, such
as sparks and lightning. Although the atmospheric composition was probably different from the
composition used by Miller and Urey, later experiments with more realistic compositions also
managed to synthesize organic molecules.
All living things is composed of these different essential elements: Sulfur, Phosphorus,
Oxygen, Nitrogen, Carbon, Hydrogen, and other trace elements. In turn, they make up the
organic molecules that makes up life itself, which are Nucleic Acids, Proteins, Lipids, and
Carbohydrates. Proteins are made out of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, though can
contain phosphorus and sulfur. Nucleic acids are made up of the same things, just with varying
chains and different shapes. Lipids and carbohydrates both contain carbon, hydrogen, and
oxygen. They contribute to life in their own unique way. All of these molecules contain carbon,

which is the backbone of life since it contains 4 valence electrons. Because of this, it can bond
with all of the organic elements, giving it a wide variety of results. In between the elements and
the macromolecules, there are monomers that make up the macromolecules, which are polymers.
Each macromolecules is made up of monomers, such as carbohydrates are made up of simple
sugars (monomer), proteins with amino acids, lipids with fatty acids, and nucleic acids with
nucleotides. The percentages of naturally occurring elements (SPONCH) are similar in all living
organisms, because of the element carbon. The four electrons that carbon has make hundreds of
combination and resulting to a wide diversity of life/organisms by having a certain ratio or
percentage of the naturally occurring elements that make it up. This makes a stable condition to
create life. This is why the percentages of percentages of the elements (SPONCH) are similar in all
living organisms.
As time progressed, and these molecules started to combine and started to make up the essential
building blocks of life, cells started to form, the fundamental unit of life. Cells are small compartments
that hold all of the biological equipment necessary to keep an organism alive and successful on Earth.
Every living thing is either made out of or is a cell. Cells are classified into two types: Prokaryotic and
Eukaryotic. Prokaryotic are usually unicellular bacteria, which are usually smaller than Eukaryotic cells
and contain a nucleoid, lacking a membrane bound nucleus. In the other hand, Eukaryotic cells are
multicellular plant or animal cells, that contain all of the organelles, while Prokaryotic cells do not. As
stated before, the Primordial Soup Model and the RNA World Hypothesis showed us that DNA, RNA,
and organic molecules formed through the elements that was found in the Earths atmosphere. The RNA
itself can act as a catalyst, behaving like protein enzymes, from ribozymes. Eventually, membrane bound
organelles formed in the soup, and with this primitive RNA system, it made up the first cell, a bacteria
that could grow, reproduce and evolve, showing all the properties we associate with the living state.
Starting from this point on, life started to emerge and evolve until this present day.