120 likes | 332 Views
Precambrian Era. Simple life starts in the oceans. 4,600,000,000 years ago to 570,000,000 years ago 85% of Earth’s History. The Earth Forms. 4.6 BYA. A molten Earth forms. Surface cools, forming the crust Oldest rock found in Western Australia
E N D
Precambrian Era Simple life starts in the oceans 4,600,000,000 years ago to 570,000,000 years ago 85% of Earth’s History
4.6 BYA A molten Earth forms Surface cools, forming the crust • Oldest rock found in Western Australia • primitive atmosphere forms from volcanic eruptions (No Free oxygen gas). • Oceans form (from water vapor released in eruptions & maybe comets) 4.3 BYA
3.5 BYA Oldest fossils of bacteria (prokaryotes). • Simple & small with no nucleus
Miller/Urey Experiment (1953) • Tried to create life from a simulated primitive atmosphere. • Instead created complex molecules, but no cells.
What does it mean to be living? • Be able to reproduce • Uses energy • Composed of one or more cells • Contains genetic information
Where did Life Start? • Oceans(nutrient rich, possibly with complex molecules) • Ice(opportunity for organization) • Meteorites(rich with building blocks of life)
First Cells? complex molecules (RNA) replicating inside coacervates (similar to cell membrane).
3.0 BYA Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) evolve • creates energy from photosynthesis • giving off oxygen gas (beginning to form the atmosphere of today). • Form large stromatolites (below)
1.5 BYA • Eukaryotes (complex, larger, single celled organisms) evolve from prokaryotes (bacteria).
630 MYA • Multicellular organisms evolve with soft bodies Species include: jelly fish; coral stalks; segmented worms; algae