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chapter 1
– some models go out to 6 billion years, it is hard make a rule for a definitive
starting point of planet formation
Chemical conditions of the early Earth
• Earth’s early
atmosphere (when life
first appears in the fossil
record) most likely
consisted of:
– CO2, H2O, CO, H2, N2, and
small amounts of NH3,
H2S, and CH4
– note the lack of O2
Chemical conditions of the early Earth
• Four requirements for the current
model for chemical evolution of life
were likely met in the early Earth
1. little or no free oxygen
2. abundant energy sources
• volcanism, thunderstorms, and
bombardment with particles and
radiation from space
• especially important is more UV
radiation than today
– the sun was hotter, producing more
UV light
– the Earth had no ozone layer to
filter out most of the UV light
coming in
Chemical conditions of the early Earth
3. chemical building blocks of water, dissolved
mineral ions, and atmospheric gases
4. time – there was plenty of time before the first
traces of life from 3.8 bya
Chemical conditions of the early Earth
– microspheres can grow, divide, and maintain internal chemistry different from their
surroundings
• stromatolites are
rocklike structures
made up of layers of
bacteria and sediment
• in some areas
stromatolites are still
being formed today
First life, however it came to be