Chapter 15, Problem 9STP

Summary Introduction

To determine:

Consequences of use of different gases in the apparatus.

Introduction:

Scientists Stanley miller and Harold Urey were the first to show that simple organic molecules could be made from inorganic compounds. Many experiments were conducted under conditions that were similar to atmosphere of early Earth. They built a glass apparatus as shown in the given figure.

Explanation of Solution

The diagram given below shows an experimental set- up of miller and Urey’s experiment.

The glass apparatus simulated the early Earth conditions hypothesized by Oparin. The apparatus was filled with water and gases such as methane, ammonia and hydrogen (simulated gases of early Earth). The water was boiled and electric discharges were used to simulate lightning as an energy source. The resulting mixture contained a variety of organic compounds such as amino acids.

If a different mix of gases were used in the glass apparatus, it would result in different products. For example hydrogen cyanide may be formed from simple molecules. Hydrogen cyanide can react with itself to form adenine which is a nucleotide base. Other organic molecules like sugars are also formed.