Review for MidTerm Exam

1
Review for Mid-Term Exam

• Lecture 13
• HNRS 228 - Astrobiology
• Prof. Geller

2
Overview of Chapter 1

• Life Elsewhere
• Worlds Beyond Imagination
• distances between worlds
• distances between stars
• communications between star systems
• Stuff of Life
• birth and death of stars and planets
• origin of the chemical elements
• chemistry review
• formation of solar system
• other solar systems

3
Overview of Chapter 2

• Roots of science
• Greeks and Geocentrism
• Copernican Revolution
• Copernicus, Tycho, Kepler, Galileo, Newton
• Nature of Modern Science
• What you think you know

4
Overview of Chapter 3

• What is Life
• Its properties, evolution and definition
• Cells The basic units of life
• Structure, composition, prokaryotes, eukaryotes
• Metabolism The chemistry of life
• Energy needs and sources water
• DNA and Heredity
• Structure, replication, genetic code
• Life at the Extremes
• Extremophiles and their implications

5
Chapter 4 - Rocks

• How geologists tell apart different minerals and
  rocks
• color, luster, texture
• hardness test
• scratching one against another
• diamond is hardest
• acid test
• using weak hydrochloric acid to
• streak test
• form a streak across a ceramic tile

6
Chapter 4 - Geologic Time

• Fossilization
• Reading the Rocks
• principle of uniformity
• principle of original horizontality
• principle of superposition
• principle of crosscutting relationships
• principle of faunal succession
• radiometric dating
• Geologic Time Scale

7
Chapter 4 - Geologic Time
8
Chapter 5 - Origin and Evolution of Life on Earth

• Searching for the origin
• Functional beginnings of life
• From chemistry to biology at the molecular level
• Prokaryotes and oxygen
• Eukaryotes and explosion of diversity
• Mass extinctions, asteroids and climate change
• Evolutions of humans
• Conclusions

9
Density vs. Temperature (water)
10
Biochemical Pathways
11
Chemical Beginnings
12
Molecular Features of Living Systems (continued)

• DNA
• m-RNA
• t-RNA
• Polypeptide
• Functional Protein

Transcription
Translation
Translation/Genetic Code
Conformation
13
Taylor Hierarchy of Life

• Community
• Population
• Organism
• Organ
• Tissue
• Cell
• 
  Organelles
• 
  Macromolecules
• 
  Atoms

14
Taylor Hierarchy of Ecology

• Earth
• Biosphere
• Biome
• Ecosystem
• Community
• Population
• Organisms

15
Chapter 6 - Searching the Solar System for Life

• Review Requirements for Life
• Searching for Life in Our Solar System
• Exploring the Solar System
• remotely from Earth or spacecraft, landers on
  surface, human exploration
• Biological Tour of the Solar System

16
Sample Phase Diagram
17
Nebular Condensation Chemistry
18
Planetary Summary