THE ORIGINS OF LIFE ON

EARTH
• How old is this planet anyway?
• Theories of Origin
• Geological and Biological
timescales
How old is this planet anyway?
– The Universe is probably ~13 billion years
old (Big Bang Theory)
– Earth is ~4.5 billion years old (begins with
cooling of crust/solidification)
– Earliest records of life ~3.5 billion years ago
– First humans (Australopithecus), 0.005
billion years ago
– Discovery of Australopithecus fossils ,
0.0000000002 billion years ago
The Fragility of Life
• Life can only exist
within temperatures
corresponding to the
boiling and freezing
point of water
• This range is a
fraction of the range
between absolute
zero (-273°C) and
the temperature of
the sun (106°C)
 How did life evolve?

• Three theories
–Creationism
–Extraterrestrial origin (Panspermia)
–Evolution
Panspermia
Theory of Evolution
 The Evolution of Man
“Mankind stood up first and got
smart later”
Stephen Jay Gould