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QUESTION 1

Most scientists think that life arose spontaneously from nonliving chemicals in the “primordial soup” of ancient Earth. The formation of life from the nonliving material is defined as a spontaneous generation. Stanley Miller conducted an experiment to test the hypothesis of spontaneous generation. How did the experiment of Stanley Miller support the hypothesis of spontaneous generation of living organisms?

User Ferdy
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Final answer:

Stanley Miller's experiment supported the hypothesis of spontaneous generation by demonstrating that organic compounds can be formed from inorganic molecules and energy under certain conditions.

Step-by-step explanation:

Stanley Miller conducted an experiment to test the hypothesis of spontaneous generation, which is the idea that life can arise spontaneously from nonliving matter. His experiment supported this hypothesis by demonstrating that organic compounds, including amino acids, can be formed under certain conditions from inorganic molecules and energy. Miller created a simulated environment resembling the early Earth, with boiling water representing the ocean, and added gases from the early Earth's atmosphere. By exposing the mixture to electrical sparks to simulate lightning, he found that it produced organic compounds such as amino acids and nucleotides, supporting the idea that life could have originated from nonliving matter.

User Guilherme Marthe
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Stanley Miller created an experiment where he sent an electrical charge through a flask of a chemical solution of methane, ammonia, hydrogen and water. This created organic compounds including amino acids.

The experiment supported the hypothesis that several organic compounds could be created in Earth's early atmosphere, and that several organic amino acids can be created from inorganic raw materials.
User Stefan Church
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