EVOLUTION AND THE

ORIGIN OF LIFE
If you were an astronaut and
you were to travel to a different
planet, what characteristics that
you would look for to determine
if a particular entity on that
planet is living?
CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
Cellular Complexity. All living things
are composed of either one or more cells
that are highly complex yet organized and
enclosed within membranes.
Growth and development. Living things
use energy to grow by metabolizing
compounds by cellular respiration or
photosynthesis.
Reproduction. Life continues and
traits are passed on from generation
to generation.
Irritability. All organisms are
very sensitive to different stimuli.
Homeostasis. Living things
maintain relatively constant internal
conditions.
 Identify what characteristic of life is being
described in each situation/statement.

1. Humans and animals derive energy indirectly

from the sun by ingesting food. METABOLISM
GROWTH AND
2. Replacement of the damaged cells. DEVELOPMENT
3. Some animals tend to change color and body
structure to blend with their environment. ADAPTATION
4. When it is warm, skin pores open to release
sweat as the body’s way of cooling down.HOMEOSTASIS
5. Sunflowers bend their stalks and follows the
RESPONSE TO
sun’s direction. STIMULI
EARTH’S PAST
 GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE OF THE
EARTH’S HISTORY
EARTH’S AGE SIGNIFICANT EVENT
Ca. 4.6 to 3.8 billion FORMATION OF EARTH’S
years ago CRUST AND OCEAN
 Debris from the solar system
crashed into the early Earth,
keeping its surface burning hot.
 As the bombardment
decreases, the Earth’s surface
also cooled down. Around this
time, temperature of the ocean
fell to 49° from 88°C
 EARTH’S SIGNIFICANT EVENT
AGE
OLDEST GEOLOGICAL
Ca. 3.5 EVIDENCE OF LIFE
billion years
 Sedimentary rock formations
ago
called stromatolites are strong
pieces of evidence that the first
microbes might have existed
during this time.
 EARTH’S AGE SIGNIFICANT EVENT
Ca. 3.0 billion years ago PROPAGATION OF
CYANOBACTERIA
 Ancestors of the blue green
algae may have thrived as
early as 3 bya. Photosynthesis
allowed these primitive
cyanobacteria to start
converting light energy to
chemical energy.
 Beginning of the biodiversity
on the planet.
 EARTH’S SIGNIFICANT EVENT
AGE
APPEARANCE OF THE FIRST
Ca.2.0 EUKARYOTES
billion years
 Several scientists that this
ago
cellular organelles and molecules
may have evolved from ancient
relationships between different
bacteria (endosymbiosis theory)
 EARTH’S SIGNIFICANT EVENT
AGE
THE CAMBRIAN EXPLOSION

Ca. 500  Fossil record showed evidence

that there was a drastic increase
million
in the diversity of complex faunal
years ago species during a relatively short
time span. The so-called
Cambrian explosion took place
that cause major animal phyla to
appear.
 EARTH’S SIGNIFICANT EVENT
AGE
ARRIVAL OF MODERN HUMAN
Ca.200
thousand  Paleontological evidence
suggests that modern human
years ago
might have evolved from Homo
Erectus approximately 250
thousand years ago.
 PHANEROZOIC
Influx of multicellular organisms EON
Dinosaurs rules the surface of the
Earth. MESOZOIC ERA

It is known as the chaotic eon. HADEAN EON

It is the eon in which the oldest ARCHEAN

geological evidence of life was found. EON
Eukaryotes diversified and
PROTEROZOIC
multicellular organisms appeared. EON

It is the Age of Mammals. CENOZOIC ERA

It is the arrival of modern human.

CENOZOIC ERA