Question

Miller synthesised simple amino acids from

• A. methane, ammonia, oxygen, nitrogen
• B. hydrogen, methane, ammonia, water vapour
• C. ammonia, methane, carbon dioxide, oxygen
• D. hydrogen, oxygen, water, nitrogen

Answer 1

The correct option is B hydrogen, methane, ammonia, water vapour

In 1953, Stanley Miller, an American scientist, tried to recreate similar conditions in laboratories which were thought to be present on primitive Earth.

The experiment used a sterile glass flask which contained water vapour, methane, ammonia and hydrogen, the major components of the earth’s primitive atmosphere. A pair of electrodes were inserted to provide an energy source. This flask was connected to another smaller glass flask half filled with water. Upon heating the smaller flask, the water vaporizes to fill the large flask with water vapour. The electrodes provided continuous electrical sparks in the gas mixture to simulate lightning.

When the gas mixture was cooled, the condensed water made its way into a U-shaped trap at the base of the apparatus. After some days the solution in the trap was collected. They found that it contained amino acids which are essential to make proteins in living cells.