Geologic Record & Abiogenesis

Flashcards based on geologic record and abiogenesis concepts from the lecture notes.

The age of the Earth is estimated to be about __ billion years.

4.54 billion years.

The first evidence of life is carbon isotopes found in sediment dated at __ billion years ago.

3.8 billion years ago.

The Miller-Urey experiment modeled the __ hypothesis by creating amino acids.

Oparin-Haldane hypothesis.

The processes of __ involve the abiotic synthesis of RNA and proteins on early Earth.

Abiogenesis.

The __ Eon marks the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis and cyanobacteria.

Archaean.

The __ hypothesis suggests that life could have originated from extraterrestrial sources.

Panspermia.

The Great Oxygenation Event occurred during the __ Eon, leading to the saturation of oxygen in the ocean.

Proterozoic.

The process of radioactive isotopes decaying at a predictable rate is called __ dating.

Radiometric.

The first stable continents formed approximately __ billion years ago during the Archaean.

3.2 billion years ago.

Mitochondria and plastids are evidence of __, where smaller prokaryotes evolved within larger cells.

Endosymbiosis.