Life in the Universe (4th Edition)
4th Edition
ISBN: 9780134089089
Author: Jeffrey O. Bennett, Seth Shostak
Publisher: PEARSON
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Textbook Question
Chapter 7, Problem 1RQ
Why do we expect the elements of life to be widely available on other worlds? How does the requirement of organic building blocks further constrain the prospects of habitability?
Expert Solution & Answer
To determine
The reason to expect the elements of life to be widely available on other worlds and also requirement of organic building blocks and the way in which they constrain the prospects of habitability.
Answer to Problem 1RQ
Every start system has at least some amount of all elements used by life and the nature of formation of solar system is also the reason to expect elements of life in other worlds and requirement of basic organic building blocks constrain the prospects of habitability in other worlds.
Explanation of Solution
The basic environmental requirement of life is the presence of atmosphere where humans can breathe, abundant surface water that is drinkable, combination of surface pressure and temperature and some set of chemical elements from which cells are formed.
The four basic chemical elements that make up
The reason to expect the presence of elements of life on other worlds is that all the other worlds are formed through the same process of accretion of gases and condensation sameas Earth.
All chemical elements except hydrogen and helium were produced by stars. Therefore they are present everywhere.
The most important element, such as, oxygen, nitrogen and carbon are also the third, sixth and fourth most abundant element in the universe while all the other heavy elements are quite rare compared to helium and hydrogen but they are also present in every star system.
Hence, every start system has at least some amount of all elements used by life and the nature of formation of solar system is also the reason to expect elements of life in other worlds.
According to nebular theory of formation of solar system, the planets were formed by the process of condensation of gas in the solar nebula when solid particles condensed and these particles then accreted into planets, comets, moons and asteroids.
As long as condensation and accretion occur, there is always a possibility to find elements in other worlds.
The chemical elements are not the only thing which makes the life habitable other requirements such as water, atmosphere and, combination of surface pressure and temperature are the basic requirements which constraints the prospects ofhabitability.
One more important requirement is the presence of these elements in molecules that are used as building blocks of life; most of the organic molecules are created by some chemical reactions on the surface or somewhere deep in the oceans and some molecules are created by heat and pressure.
Chemical reactions would likely occur only on worlds with atmospheres or oceans. Therefore, requirement of basic organic building blocks constrain the prospects of habitability in other worlds.
Conclusion:
Thus, every start system has at least some amount of all elements used by life and the nature of formation of solar system is also the reason to expect elements of life in other worlds and requirement of basic organic building blocks constrain the prospects of habitability in other worlds.
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Chapter 7 Solutions
Life in the Universe (4th Edition)
Ch. 7 - Why do we expect the elements of life to be widely...Ch. 7 - How does the strength of sunlight vary with...Ch. 7 - Under what conditions does it seem reasonable to...Ch. 7 - Why is a liquid medium important for life? Why...Ch. 7 - Summarize the three major environmental...Ch. 7 - Why do the Moon and Mercury seem unlikely to be...Ch. 7 - Why is Venus so much hotter than Earth? How does...Ch. 7 - Why does Mars seem such a good candidate for life?Ch. 7 - Briefly discuss the possibility of life on Jupiter...Ch. 7 - With regard to habitability, how do the cases of...
Ch. 7 - What characteristics make some of the large moons...Ch. 7 - Briefly describe the prospects for habitability of...Ch. 7 - Describe and distinguish between space missions...Ch. 7 - For a few of the most important past, present, or...Ch. 7 - On the smallest moon of Uranus, my team discovered...Ch. 7 - New spacecraft images show lakes of liquid water...Ch. 7 - We are pumping water for our new Moon colony from...Ch. 7 - I was part of the first group of people to land on...Ch. 7 - We sent a robotic airplane into the atmosphere of...Ch. 7 - On a moon of Neptune, we discovered photosynthetic...Ch. 7 - We deposited bacteria (from Earth) that get energy...Ch. 7 - The drilled sample showed no signs of life on...Ch. 7 - We cut holes in the frozen surface of a methane...Ch. 7 - The drilled sample from Mars brought up rock that...Ch. 7 - Oxygen and carbon are (a) rarer than almost all...Ch. 7 - On an asteroid that is twice as far as Earth from...Ch. 7 - Compared to liquid water, liquid methane is (a)...Ch. 7 - Frozen lakes often have liquid water beneath their...Ch. 7 - Temperatures on Mercury are (a) always very hot;...Ch. 7 - On Venus, liquid water (a) does not exist...Ch. 7 - The reason Venus is so much hotter than Earth is...Ch. 7 - Life is probably not possible in Jupiters...Ch. 7 - Which of the following are you most likely to find...Ch. 7 - The Cassini spacecraft (a) flew past Pluto; (b)...Ch. 7 - Bizarre Forms of Life. Discuss some forms of life...Ch. 7 - Making a Living. Consider various methods by which...Ch. 7 - Solar System Tour. Based on the brief tour in this...Ch. 7 - Galileo Spacecraft. In 2003, scientists...Ch. 7 - Greenhouse Effect. The text (in Chapter 4) makes...Ch. 7 - Prob. 41IFCh. 7 - Understanding Newtons Version of Keplers Third Law...Ch. 7 - Understanding Newtons Version of Keplers Third Law...Ch. 7 - Earth Mass. The Moon orbits Earth in an average...Ch. 7 - Jupiter Mass. Jupiters moon Io orbits Jupiter...Ch. 7 - Pluto/Charon Mass. Plutos moon Charon orbits Pluto...Ch. 7 - Mission to Pluto. The New Horizons spacecraft took...Ch. 7 - Planetary Missions. Visit the web page for one of...
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