Which theory proposes that early life formed from atmospheric reactions that produced organic molecules such as amino acids?

Which theory proposes that early life formed from atmospheric reactions that produced organic molecules such as amino acids?

• A. Primordial Soup Theory
• B. Panspermia
• C. Hydrothermal Vent Theory
• D. Biogenesis

Answer: (A)

Primordial Soup Theory explains how life began from simple organic molecules that formed in Earth's early atmosphere and oceans when energy from sources like lightning and UV light drove chemical reactions. This produced amino acids and other building blocks, which accumulated in the primitive oceans to form a “soup” that gradually gave rise to more complex polymers and eventually protocells. The idea is supported by experiments such as the Miller-Urey setup, which showed that amino acids can form from basic atmospheric gases under energy input similar to early Earth conditions. Other ideas place the origin of life elsewhere (panspermia), at deep-sea hydrothermal vents, or in a scenario where life arises only from existing life (biogenesis); the described scenario most closely matches the atmospheric-chemical origin of organic molecules in the primordial soup.

Primordial Soup Theory explains how life began from simple organic molecules that formed in Earth's early atmosphere and oceans when energy from sources like lightning and UV light drove chemical reactions. This produced amino acids and other building blocks, which accumulated in the primitive oceans to form a “soup” that gradually gave rise to more complex polymers and eventually protocells. The idea is supported by experiments such as the Miller-Urey setup, which showed that amino acids can form from basic atmospheric gases under energy input similar to early Earth conditions. Other ideas place the origin of life elsewhere (panspermia), at deep-sea hydrothermal vents, or in a scenario where life arises only from existing life (biogenesis); the described scenario most closely matches the atmospheric-chemical origin of organic molecules in the primordial soup.