Question

According to the Urey-Miller experiment, depicted above, what likely provided the free energy that allowed inorganic molecules to react to form organic precursors to life on Earth? A) Bond energy within the methane B) Lightning within the atmosphere C) Latent heat as water evaporated D) Kinetic energy of free nitrogen molecules

Answer 1

B. Lightning within the atmosphere

Step-by-step explanation:

The Urey-Miller experiment is an experiment that simulated the conditions that were present in the primitive atmosphere as hypothesized by the chemo-synthetic theory of origin of earth.

The early atmosphere was hypothesized to be anaerobic with gases like methane, nitrogen, water vapour, etc. The dissolution of these gases in puddles that form when it rained led to the formation of chemical soup. The chemical soup eventually gave rise to the first set of pre-cell biological molecules.

The energy that drove the reaction within the chemical soup were heat energy (from the hot earth surface), ultraviolet rays and lightning within the atmosphere.

The correct option is B.

Answer 2

B. Lightening within the atmosphere

Step-by-step explanation:

The Miller-Urey experiment provided the first evidence that organic molecules needed for life could be formed from inorganic components.

Miller and Urey's experiment suggested how mixture of the organic compounds necessary for life could have arisen from simpler compounds on a primitive earth

The Miller-Urey experiment was immediately recognised as an important breakthrough in the study of the origin of life. It was received as confirmation that several of the key molecules of life could have been synthesised on the primitive Earth in the kind of conditions envisaged by Oparin and Haldane.

Miller, along with his colleague Harold Urey, used a sparking device to mimic a lightning storm on early Earth. Their experiment produced a brown broth rich in amino acids, the building blocks of proteins