Simple Recipes for Prebiotic Soup: A High School or Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory

Marisol Martinez-Meeler , Nika Aljinovic and Dorothy Swain
Department of Chemistry, Santa Fe Community College, Santa Fe, NM 87508
J. Chem. Educ., 2003, 80 (6), p 665
DOI: 10.1021/ed080p665
Publication Date (Web): June 1, 2003
History, Education, and Documentation

Abstract

A lab activity demonstrating Stanley Miller‘s prebiotic soup experiments is described. This lab activity, which uses only simple, readily available materials and equipment, would be suitable for use in a high school or introductory college chemistry class. The activity starts by asking students to consider some of the debated issues surrounding research into the chemical origins of life on Earth. It continues by having the students set up a simple apparatus that sends an electrical spark through a mixture of methane, ammonia, and water. The experiment concludes (the following week) by having students analyze their reaction products and design their own variation on the experiment.

Keywords (Audience):

High School / Introductory Chemistry

Keywords (Domain):

Biochemistry

Keywords (Pedagogy):

Hands-On Learning / Manipulatives

Keywords (Subject):

Amino Acids
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  • Received: August 03, 2009

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