Reference no: EM133989330

Assignment:

The following paragraphs describe a scientific theory:

The primordial soup theory suggests that when the volatile gases that formed Earth's atmosphere condensed to form rain and the oceans, the liquid leeched minerals from existing rocks. Energy from the Sun, lightning, and the Earth's very hot early surface transformed these simple inorganic molecules in the water into organic molecules. This so-called "primordial soup" provided the conditions needed for the emergence and growth of life forms.

Over time, energy continued to thicken the primordial soup, combining organic molecules into more complex elements. Small, fatty droplets containing these elements formed. Called coacervates, these droplets grew and divided. In this way, organic matter that collected in shallow, warm pools of ocean water became the first life forms to emerge on Earth.

The primordial soup theory, as described above, is accepted by many scientists as the most likely explanation for the emergence of life on Earth about 3.6 billion years ago. In essence, it describes how the environmental conditions that were prevalent on early Earth provided the basis for the development of organic molecules and, eventually, complex life forms.

Suppose a team of researchers becomes the first to synthesize organic molecules out of inorganic molecules. The conditions to which they subject their samples of inorganic molecules include periods of intense sunlight and radiation followed by periods of extreme cold-temperatures near that of outer space. After many such cycles of intense energy bombardment and cold, the researchers observe the development of organic molecules.

If the findings of the researchers prove to be accurate, which features of their findings might challenge the primordial soup theory? Which aspects of the primordial soup theory would need to be adjusted in light of this new evidence? Why?