
Concept explainers
Almost all of the oxygen gas in today’s atmosphere is present as a result of
- a. outgassing from volcanoes.
- b. aerobic respiration.
- c. endosymbiosis.
- d. photosynthesis.

Introduction:
There was no oxygen gas in the primitive atmosphere, so the cells must have metabolized the organic molecules anaerobically. Thus, anerobic bacteria were the earliest cells. Simpler molecules such as water, and carbon dioxide would still be very abundant. Eventually, some cells evolved the ability to utilize the energy of sunlight to carry out the synthesis of high energy complex molecules from simpler molecules releasing oxygen as a byproduct. The emergence of this new method introduced significant amount of oxygen into the atmosphere for the first time.
Answer to Problem 1MC
Correct answer:
Almost all of the oxygen gas in today’s atmosphere is present as a result of photosynthesis. Therefore, option (d) is correct.
Option (d) is given as “photosynthesis”.
Explanation of Solution
Justify reason for the correct statement:
Water based photosynthesis converts carbon dioxide and water to energy-containing molecules of glucose which releases oxygen as a byproduct. This oxygen denotes the significant amount of free oxygen present in the today’s atmosphere.
Hence, option (d) is correct.
Justify reasons for the incorrect statements:
Option (a) is given as “outgassing from volcanoes”.
Outgassing from volcanoes produces hydrogen sulfide. Hence, it is a wrong answer.
Option (b) is given as “aerobic respiration”.
It is utilization of oxygen to break down the food molecules for the release of energy. Thus, this process utilizes and decreases the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere. Hence, it is a wrong answer.
Option (c) is given as “endosymbiosis”
The theory of endosymbiosis proposes the origin of eukaryotic organelles such as chloroplast and mitochondria. Hence, it is a wrong answer.
Hence, options (a), (b), and (c) are incorrect.
Majority of oxygen available in the today’s atmosphere is present as a result of photosynthesis.
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Chapter 18 Solutions
Biology
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