Chapter 15 Objectives

Biology and Society: Has Life Been Created in the Lab?

1. Explain how and why scientists are creating artificial life.

Major Episodes in the History of Life

2. Identify the sequence and timing of the major events in the evolution of early life, ending with the movement of the first life onto land.

The Origin of Life

3. Distinguish between spontaneous generation and biogenesis.

4. Describe the four stages of the hypothesis for the origin of life on Earth. Explain how natural selection would have affected these first pre-cells.

Prokaryotes

5. Describe the relative abundance of prokaryotes on Earth and the many ways they affect humans and ecosystems.

6. Describe the structure, function, and reproduction of prokaryotes.

7. Compare the types of nutritional diversity used by prokaryotes.

8. Compare the two groups of prokaryotic cells—bacteria and archaea. Describe three specific extreme environments in which members of archaea are found.

9. Describe the many ways that bacteria harm and benefit humans and ecosystems.

10. Explain how bacteria have been used as biological weapons and for bioremediation.

Protists

11. Describe the two main processes that explain how eukaryotic cells evolved.

12. Describe and compare the four main categories of protists, grouped by lifestyle. Explain how these different groups impact our lives.

Evolution Connection: The Origin of Multicellular Life

13. Explain how multicellular life evolved from unicellular life.