EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE REVIEWERS Table 1.

The major events show how life originated on

Earth since 4.5 BYA.
LESSON 1: EVOLVING CONCEPT OF LIFE BASED ON
EMERGING PIECES OF EVIDENCE

EXPLANATIONS ON THE ORIGINS OF LIFE

 Extraterrestrial Origin

The hypothesis explains that life originated on another

planet outside our Solar System. Life was then carried
WHAT ARE THESE EXPERIMENTS?
to Earth on a meteorite or an asteroid and colonized
Earth. However, this hypothesis has not been proven. 1. Francisco Redi's Experiment in 1668, he disproved
the theory of spontaneous generation. His
 Panspermia
experimental setup involved disproving spontaneous
The theory presumes that the "seed" of life exists all generation using maggots that arose in decaying meat.
over the universe and can be propagated through
2. John Needham's Experiment in 1784, challenged
space, and that life on Earth originated from those
Redi's experiment. It was common knowledge at that
seeds.
time that boiling could kill microorganisms. Needham's
 Divine Creation experiment tested whether or not microorganisms can
appear spontaneously after boiling. He concluded that
Many people believe that life was put on Earth by life in the broth was caused by spontaneous
divine forces. Creation theories are common to many generation. In actuality, he did not heat it long enough
of the world's religions and cultures. to kill all the microbes in the broth.
 Origin from Nonliving Matter 3. Lazzaro Spallanzani's Experiment in 1767, he
Scientists believe that life arose on Earth from challenged Needham's experiment. He concluded that
inanimate matter after Earth had cooled. They stated life occurred from something that entered the
that random events probably produced stable unsealed flask and that it was the one responsible for
molecules that could self-replicate. Then, natural life to grow. The results were not taken completely by
selection favored changes in the rate of reproduction, the believers of abiogenesis who even stated that
which eventually led to first cell. Spallanzani excluded air from his sealed flasks, which
they believed was needed for spontaneous generation
 Spontaneous Generation to occur.
In 1745, John Needham Published His Experiment In 4. Louis Pasteur's Experiment it was only in 1861
Support Of "Spontaneous Generation". The theory of through Pasteur's experiment that most scientists
spontaneous generation states that life arose from were convinced that spontaneous generation could
nonliving matter. not occur. Pasteur designed an experiment to test the
idea that a vital element from air was necessary for life
 The Evolution Theory
to occur. His experiment supported the theory of
The Theory of Evolution by natural selection was first biogenesis and disproved spontaneous generation, this
formulated in Charles Darwin's book "On the Origin of evidence suggests that new bacteria appear only when
Species" published in 1859. -According to the theory, they are produced by existing bacteria.
individuals with traits that enable them to adapt to
The Discovery of Cell
their environments will help them survive and have
more offspring, which will inherit those traits. In 1665, an English scientist Robert Hooke
Individuals with less adaptive traits will less frequently examined a thin slice of cork under the microscope. He
survive to pass them on. observed that the piece of cork was composed of many
tiny compartments that resembled little rooms with
surrounding walls. For teaching purposes, only Hooke
named these compartments cells. The cells that Hooke
observed were not living. He concentrated his study on
the structure, particularly the cell wall, and did not
pursue his investigation of the cell content.
In 1674, the Dutch inventor Anton van Leeuwenhoek Discovering the Cell
observed red blood cells, sperms, and a myriad of
Robert Hooke
single-celled organisms in pond water. He discovered
free cells and observed the nucleus within some red Robert Hooke coinedthe term ‘cell’ in 1665. Whilst
blood cells. observing plant cells, he marvelled at how similar they
looked to the cells in monasteries. At that time, Hooke
Another scientist, a Scottish botanist named Robert
was actually looking at the cell walls of cork cells.
Brown, made a general conclusion in 1831. He
discovered that this structure is a fundamental and
constant component of the cell.
Two Categories of Cell
In 1835, a French biologist Felix Dujardin found out that
living cells contain an internal substance. Not knowing Prokaryotic Cell
exactly what this substance was Dujardin gave it the -DNA within a cell is not separated from the cytoplasm
name sarcode. It was Bohemian physiologist, Jan -All known prokaryotes, such as bacteria and archaea,
Evangelista Purkinje, who made a thorough are single-cells
investigation of this internal material. He gave it the -are organisms whose cells lack a nucleus and other
name protoplasm, a term coined for the colloidal organelles.
substance in the cell. -Most prokaryotes are small, single-celled organisms
that have a relatively simple structure.
In 1838, Matthias Schleiden, a German botanist stated
that all plants are composed of cells. After him in 1839,
Theodore Schwann, a German zoologist concluded that Eukaryotic Cell
all animals are composed of cells. Jointly, Schleiden and -are organisms whose cells contain a nucleus and other
Schwann came out with the theory that all living things membrane-bound organelles.
are composed of cells. -There is a wide range of eukaryotic organisms,
including all animals, plants, fungi, and protists, as well
Twenty years later, in 1858, a German biologist, as most algae.
Rudolph Virchow, theorized that all living cells come -DNA is partitioned off in its membrane-bound room
from pre-existing living cells. His conclusion arose from called the nucleus
observing, dividing cells during his work.

Two Types of Eukaryotic Cell

The Discovery of Cell Plant Cell
These observations became the major components of Plant cells are eukaryotic cells with a true nucleus along
the cell theory. The cell theory states that: with specialized structures called organelles that carry
(1) all living things are composed of one or more cells. out certain specific functions.
(2) all living cells come from pre - existing cells
(3) cells are the basic units life. Animal Cell

An animal cell is a type of eukaryotic cell that lacks a

LESSON 2: CELL THE BASIC UNIT OF LIFE cell wall and has a true, membrane-bound nucleus
along with other cellular organelles.
What is a cell?
Parts and Functions of the Cell’s Organelles
A cell is the smallest unit of a living thing. A living thing,
whether made of one cell (like bacteria) or many cells Nucleus
(like a human), is called an organism. Thus, cells are the The nucleus controls all the functions inside the cell
basic building blocks of all organisms. and also carries hereditary information.
A living thing may be made of one cell (a unicellular Mitochondrion
organism) or many cells (a multicellular organism).
The Mitochondrion generate the energy necessary to
power cells.
Ribosomes LESSON 3: PERPETUATION OF LIFE

Ribosomes the site of protein synthesis in the cell. Reproduction

Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum • Reproduction is a biological process by which an

organism reproduces an offspring that is
It functions in protein folding, sorting, and
biologically similar to the organism.
transporting the proteins outside the cell to their
proper destinations. • Reproduction enables and ensures the continuity
of species, generation after generation. It is the
Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum
main feature of life on Earth.
It helps make and process lipids and helps detoxify
Two Main Forms of Reproduction
drugs and alcohol.
ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION
Golgi Body
• Is defined as the formation of new individuals
It helps process and package proteins and lipid
from the cells of a single parent. This is very
molecules, especially proteins destined to be exported
common in plants and is less common in animals.
from the cell.
• Asexual reproduction does not involve the union
Lysosomes
of gametes (sperm cell and egg cell) and it does
Break down excess or worn-out cell parts. They may be not change the number of chromosomes present.
used to destroy invading viruses and bacteria.
• The resulting offspring is similar or identical to the
Vacuoles parent and without the need for a mate, they are
able to reproduce. There are different types of
To store food, waste, and water for cells. asexual reproduction in animals.
Chloroplasts SEXUAL REPRODUCTION
Produce energy through photosynthesis and oxygen- • Sexual reproduction is the perpetuation of a new
release processes, which sustain plant growth and crop organism from two organisms with the use of
yield. gametes.
Plasma Membrane • In this process, male gametes which is the sperm
It protects a cell. It also provides a fixed environment cell fuses with a female gamete known as the egg
inside the cell. cell to form a diploid cell called zygote containing
two sets of chromosomes.
Cell walls
• Most mammals and amphibians reproduce
Provide support, strength, and protection for plants through the method of sexual reproduction.
and help plants hold their shape.

Cytoplasm
Types of Asexual Reproduction in Animals
It is responsible for cell shape, material transport like
genetic material and products for cellular respiration,  BUDDING
and storage.
Budding is another method of asexual
Centrioles reproduction where a new organism develops
from an outgrowth from the parent body known as
Play a role in organizing microtubules that serve as the a bud. These derive nutrition from the parent for
cell's skeletal system. They help determine the growth and development. Once grown, the new
locations of the nucleus and other organelles within organism detaches from the parent body. This
the cell. process is called budding. This types of
reproduction can be seen in Hydra.
• FISSION Types of sexual Reproduction in Animals

Fission a type of reproduction, which the parent • VIVIPAROUS ANIMALS

cell divides into two equal parts each containing a
Animals that give birth to offspring are called
nucleus. These are called daughter cells. The
viviparous. In viviparous animals, both fertilization, as
daughter cells are genetically and physically similar
well as the development of the embryo, takes place
to the parent cell. This type of asexual
inside the female reproductive system.
reproduction can be seen in organisms such as
amoeba, bacteria, euglena, etc. Once the fetus development is complete, the mother
delivers the baby. This condition is referred to as
• FRAGMENTATION
matrotrophy where the embryo obtains the nutrients
This type of asexual reproduction is exhibited by directly from the mother and not the yolk.
Planaria. In this, the parent body breaks into
Human beings, dogs, cats, elephants, etc are few
several pieces and each piece grows into a new
examples of viviparous animals.
individual. The detachment of the body parts is
intentional. • OVIPAROUS ANIMALS
• REGENERATION Animals that lay eggs are called oviparous. In oviparous
animals, fertilization takes place internally but embryo
In this, if a part of the body of an organism is
development takes place externally. The eggs of birds
detached, the detached part grows into a
such as hen and duck carry immature embryo in them.
completely new individual. Regeneration is
The hard shells of eggs protect them from damage.
observed in Echinoderms.
Once the fetus is matured, the egg hatches. The trait of
egg-laying animals is known as oviparity.

• PARTHENOGENESIS • OVOVIVIPAROUS ANIMALS

Parthenogenesis (PG) is an asexual reproduction in Ovoviviparous animals lay eggs and develop the
which a female can produce an embryo without eggs inside the mother’s body. The eggs are
fertilizing an egg with sperm. In Greek, it means the hatched inside the mother. Once the egg hatches,
virgin creation. Parthenogenesis occurs naturally in it remains inside the mother for a period of time
some plants, algae, invertebrate animal species and is nurtured from within but not via a placental
(including nematodes, some tardigrades, water appendage. Ovoviviparous animals are born live.
fleas, some scorpions, aphids, some mites, some Some examples of ovoviviparous animals are
bees, some Phasmatodea, and parasitic wasps), sharks, rays, snakes, fishes, and insects.
and a few vertebrates (such as some fish,
Types of sexual Reproduction in plants
amphibians, reptiles, and birds).
POLLINATION
• Vegetative Propagation
Pollination is the act of transferring pollen grains from
Vegetative Propagation is a mode of asexual
the male anther of a flower to the female stigma.
reproduction in plants where a new plant can form
Flowers must rely on vectors to move pollen. These
from the root, stem or leaf of an already existing plant.
vectors can include wind, water, birds, insects,
butterflies, and other animals that visit flowers. We call
animals or insects that transfer pollen from plant to
plant “pollinators”.
Two Ways of Pollination

Self Pollination

Self-pollination occurs when the pollen from the

anther is deposited on the stigma of the same flower
through the pollinators.

Cross-pollination

The transfer of pollen from the anther of one flower to

the stigma of another flower on a different individual
of the same species.

LESSON 4: GENETIC ENGINEERING