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Miller Urey Experiment: Hypothesis, Steps, Conclusions, and Limitations

The Miller Urey Experiment played a crucial role in investigating the origin of life on our planet. This comprehensive guide explores the experiment’s hypothesis, step-by-step process, key findings, and limitations, shedding light on its significance in unraveling the mysteries of life’s beginnings.

Oparin-Haldane Hypothesis

The Oparin-Haldane Hypothesis, proposed by Aleksandr Oparin and J.B.S. Haldane, postulates that life didn’t spontaneously emerge on early Earth due to different environmental conditions. It suggests that life gradually evolved from chemical reactions, starting with the combination of atoms into inorganic molecules and the subsequent formation of simple organic compounds. These compounds then assembled into complex organic structures, ultimately leading to the emergence of the first cell.

Steps of the Miller Urey Experiment

The Miller-Urey experiment, conducted in 1953 by Stanley L. Miller and Harold C. Urey, aimed to simulate early Earth’s conditions and test the Oparin-Haldane Hypothesis. Here are the key steps of the experiment:

Simulating Early Earth’s Atmosphere:  The researchers recreated early Earth’s atmosphere in a closed system using a mixture of gases believed to be present during that era. They used a mixture of gases, including methane (CH4), ammonia (NH3), water vapor (H2O), and hydrogen (H2).

Introduction of Energy:  Sparks or electric discharges were introduced to simulate the energy sources on early Earth, such as lightning strikes.

Circulation and Condensation:  The gas mixture and energy were circulated continuously, mimicking Earth’s water cycle and allowing for the formation of various organic compounds.

Collection and Analysis:  Samples were collected from the closed system and analyzed using chromatography and spectrometry to identify and characterize the organic compounds formed during the experiment.

Results and Findings:  The experiment produced a variety of organic molecules, including amino acids—the building blocks of proteins —supporting the notion that early Earth’s conditions could have facilitated the synthesis of organic compounds essential for life’s origin.

Conclusions of the Miller Urey Experiment

The Miller-Urey experiment yielded significant conclusions, including:

• Organic compounds, including amino acids, can be synthesized from inorganic materials under simulated early Earth conditions.
• Basic building blocks of life may have emerged spontaneously from non-living matter.
• The experiment demonstrated the potential for diverse organic compound formation, including rare amino acids.
• External energy sources played a crucial role in facilitating chemical reactions and organic compound synthesis.
• The experiment offered insights into the chemical reactions that might have occurred in early Earth’s atmosphere.
• The findings supported the concept of abiogenesis, where life can arise from non-living matter through natural processes.
• The Miller-Urey experiment laid the foundation for further research in prebiotic chemistry and the study of life’s origins.

Limitations of the Miller Urey Experiment

 It’s important to consider the limitations of the Miller-Urey experiment, which include:

• The experiment’s simulation of early Earth’s atmosphere may not perfectly represent the actual conditions.
• The specific gases used may not accurately reflect the true composition of early Earth’s atmosphere.
• The experiment’s short duration and scale may not fully capture the complexity and length of natural processes involved in life’s origin.
• While the experiment produced organic compounds, it didn’t address the assembly of complex biomolecules or replicating systems crucial for life’s origin.

Ongoing Debates and Significance

Critics argue that the experiment oversimplifies the interconnected nature of biochemical systems and may not fully represent the processes behind life’s origin. There is an ongoing debate regarding the specific conditions and pathways leading to life’s emergence, with the Miller-Urey experiment presenting one plausible scenario. While it doesn’t address the origin of genetic information or self-replicating systems, subsequent research has refined and expanded upon its findings, leading to revised interpretations. The Miller-Urey experiment remains a significant milestone in our understanding of prebiotic chemistry and contributes to unraveling the complex puzzle of life’s origin.

In conclusion, the Miller-Urey experiment’s hypothesis, steps, conclusions, and limitations provide valuable insights into the origin of life on Earth. It serves as a foundation for further research, stimulating ongoing debates and refining our understanding of life’s emergence from non-living matter.

Learn more:

Amino Acids: Types, Functions, Sources, and Differences between Essential and Non-Essential Amino Acids

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Urey and Miller Experiment Short Notes | Evolution Class 12 Notes

Urey and miller experiment short notes.

• Life originated from chemicals through a series of chemical reaction in ocean
• Origin of life by chemical evolution was proposed by oparin and haldane
• No experimental evidence for oparin views until 1953
• In 1953, Urey and his student miller gives evidence for this chemical evolution

EXPERIMENT OF MILLER & UREY

• Miller created primitive earth conditions in laboratory
• He took CH4,NH3,H2 and Water vapor in large flask
• He created eclectic shock by using two tungsten electrodes as source of energy
• The mixture cooled in condenser and liquefied and liquid was collected another flask
• After two weeks he observed the formation of simple amino acids like glycine, alanine and aspartic acid

Similar Experiments

In 1961, Joan Oro found that amino acids could be made from hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and ammonia in a water solution. He also found that his experiment produced a large amount of the nucleotide base adenine which is one of the four bases in RNA and DNA. It is also a component of ATP, which is a major energy releasing molecule in cells.

Experiments conducted later showed that other RNA and DNA bases could be obtained through simulated prebiotic chemistry (deals with origins of life: how the first molecular building blocks of life were formed and self-assembled into replicating systems) with a reducing atmosphere (an atmosphere characterized by little or no free oxygen but contains hydrogen or hydrogen-containing compounds such as methane or ammonia – the atmospheric conditions believed to be on early Earth).

Other Important Topics

• Theories of Origin of Life Short Notes

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Miller Urey Experiment: Explanation, Criticism, Oparin and Haldane

Collegedunia Team

Content Curator

Miller Urey experiment was a simulation experiment which was done to prove the molecular evolution of life. The experiment supported the Alexander Oparin's and J.B.S. Haldane's hypothesis that putative conditions on the primitive earth favored the reactions of the chemical that synthesized more complex organic compounds from the simpler inorganic precursors. This was considered to be the most classic experiment investigating abiogenesis done by them.

Keyterms: Evolution, Earth, Hypothesis, Organic compounds, Amino acids, Methane, Ammonia, Hydrogen, Abiogenesis, Protein, Simple compounds

Also Read: Heredity and Evolution

Miller Urey Experiment: Definition

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This experiment demonstrated that a mixture of just water vapor and some simple gases like methane, ammonia and hydrogen are merely subjected repeatedly to electrical sparks over the time which resulted in chemical products including a number of amino acids . 

Amino acids are the “building blocks” from which the proteins which are essential for life are formed. Urey and Miller experimentally proved the production of simple organic compounds from other simple compounds under the specified conditions.

Miller Urey Experiment: Explanation

Miller Urey Experiment: Apparatus and Procedure

[Click Here for Previous Year Questions]

Here are the details of Miller Urey Experiment:

• The groundbreaking experiment used a sterile glass flask of 5 liters and it was attached with a pair of electrodes , to hold water (H 2 O), methane (CH 4 ), ammonia (NH 3 ) and hydrogen (H 2 ), and the major components of primitive earth. This was connected to another glass flask of 500 ml capacity and it was half filled with water. On heating it, the water vaporized to fill the larger container with the water vapor.
• The electrodes induced continuous electrical sparks in the gas mixture to simulate the lightning. When the gas was cooled, the condensed water made its way into a U-shaped trap at the apparatus's base.
• After electrical sparking had continued for a day, the solution in the trap turned into the pink color. At the end of that week, the boiling flask was removed from the experiment, and mercuric chloride added to prevent the microbial contamination.
• After stopping the chemical reaction, the scientist duo examined the cooled water collected by them to find that 10-15% of the carbon present in the system was in the organic compounds form.
• 2% of carbon went into the formation of various amino acids, including 13 of the 22 amino acids essential to make the proteins in living cells, glycine being the most abundant.
• Though the result of the experiment was the production of only simple organic molecules and not a complete living biochemical system, still the simple prebiotic experiment could, to a considerable extent, prove the primordial soup hypothesis.

Chemistry Of the Miller Urey Experiment

The components of the mixture can react among themselves to produce formaldehyde (CH 2 O), hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other intermediate compounds.

CO 2 → CO + [O] (atomic oxygen)

CH 4 + 2[O] → CH 2 O + H 2 O

CO + NH 3 → HCN + H 2 O

CH 4 + NH 3 → HCN + 3H 2

The ammonia , formaldehyde and HCN so produced react by a process which is known as Strecker synthesis to form the biomolecules including amino acids.

CH 2 O + HCN + NH 3 → NH 2 -CH 2 -CN + H 2 O

NH 2 -CH 2 -CN + 2H 2 O → NH 3 + NH 2 -CH 2 -COOH (glycine)

In addition to the above, formaldehyde and water can react by Butlerov’s reaction to produce a variety of sugars like ribose and many others.

Though later studies have indicated that the reducing atmosphere as replicated by Miller and Urey could not have prevailed on the primitive earth, still, the experiment remains to be a milestone in synthesizing the building blocks of life under the abiotic conditions and not from living beings themselves.

Before Miller and Urey: Historical Perspective

Let’s get a historical perspective of events that happened before Miller and Urey experiment was conducted:

• The explanation of the origin of life has always been an intensely debated and controversial topic for the people. During the time of the Renaissance, it was believed that life originated suddenly and out of nowhere. This hypothesis is known as the spontaneous generation.
• Later, the scientists' critical thinking began to germinate and the hypothesis was discarded. However, the unknown raised at the beginning remained diffuse.
• In the 1920s, scientists of the time used the term "primordial soup" to describe a hypothetical oceanic environment in which life probably originated.
• The problem was to propose a logical origin of the biomolecules that make life possible (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and nucleic acids) from inorganic molecules.
• Already in the 1950s, prior to the Miller and Urey experiments, a group of scientists succeeded in synthesizing formic acid from carbon dioxide. This formidable discovery was published in the prestigious magazine Science.

Oparin and Haldane

Oparin claimed that the organic compounds undergo a series of reactions to produce complex molecules. He believed that the molecules formed coacervates in an aqueous environment.

Haldane believed that the atmosphere of the primordial sea was missing oxygen, and was composed of carbon dioxide, ammonia, and ultraviolet light. This raised various organic compounds. Sea contains large amounts of organic monomers and polymers and it was previously called a ‘ hot dilute soup ’. 

He explained that the polymers and monomers acquired lipid membranes. Molecules developed and gave rise to the first living organism. ‘Prebiotic soup ’ was a term coined by Haldane.

Creating Life in the Lab

Criticism of Miller Urey Experiment

• The experiment failed to explain how proteins available were responsible for the formation of amino acids.
• Out of all scientists a few scientists have contradicted that the gases which are used by Urey and Miller are not as abundant as shown in the experiment.
• They were of the notion that the gases released by the volcanic eruptions such as oxygen, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen, argon, and carbon dioxide make up the atmosphere . Therefore, the results of the Miller and Urey experiment are not reliable.

Also Read: Reproductive Health

Things to Remember

• Complex organic molecules could have their origin from simpler inorganic molecules.
• The experiment allows us to observe how the building blocks of living organisms could have been.
• The experiment managed to experimentally verify the appearance of organic molecules and proposes a quite attractive scenario to explain the possible origin of life.

Important Questions: How do Organisms Reproduce?  

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Sample Questions

Ques. What was the main purpose of Miller and Urey experiment? (1 Mark)

Ans. The Miller and Urey experiment – Chemical Evolution of Miller and Urey experiment was a simulation of conditions on early earth testing the idea that life, or more specifically organic molecules, could have formed only by the simple chemical reactions.

Ques. What did Stanley Miller and Harold Urey do? (1 Mark)

Ans. Miller and Urey experiment. Miller and Urey performed an experiment in the year 1953 only to describe the origin of life on the earth. They were of the idea that the early earth’s atmosphere was able to produce amino acids from inorganic matter.

Ques. Where did the amino acids from the Miller experiment come from? (1 Mark)

Ans. When Bada performed an experiment of Miller-type with the addition of iron and carbonate minerals, the products were richer in amino acids. This basically suggests that the origin of significant amounts of amino acids may have occurred on the early earth even with an atmosphere which contains gases like carbon dioxide and nitrogen.

Ques. What did the experiment of Miller and Urey prove? (1 Mark)

Ans. In the year 1950, biochemists Stanley Miller and Harold Urey, conducted an experiment which demonstrated that the several organic compounds could be formed spontaneously by simulating conditions of the early atmosphere of the earth. They both found that several organic amino acids had formed spontaneously from the raw materials which were inorganic.

Ques. Which assumption did Urey and Miller make regarding conditions on the early earth? (1 Mark)

Ans. This mixture, along with some “sparks” which simulated lightning, led to the amino acids' formation. With this setup, Miller and Urey assumed that the early earth had a reducing atmosphere, which basically indicate that it had almost no oxygen and had large amounts of hydrogen

Ques. What was the conclusion of the Miller-Urey experiment? (1 Mark)

Ans. The Miller and Urey experiment proved that the organic molecules could have been synthesized under the abiotic (life-free) conditions of early earth. Organic molecules are found there where life originated. Therefore, the Miller and Urey experiment has many applications to evolution.

Ans. In Miller-Urey experiment, the experimental design consisted of the introduction of atmospheric gases which are thought to exist in the early earth into a closed chamber. Methane (CH 4 ) , Hydrogen (H) and ammonia (NH 3 ) gases were introduced into an environment containing water vapour (H 2 O) which evaporated from the water filled container of the chamber.

Primitive earth atmosphere was oxygenless, so they did not use oxygen gas. To simulate primitive lightning conditions, Miller provided the system with electric current using tungsten electrodes. After a few days Miller observed the flask contained organic compounds such as amino acids which are the building blocks of proteins. Therefore, among the options given in the question, I. Hydrogen gas, III. Methane, IV. Ammonia is correct. And II. Hydrogen is incorrect.

Thus, option C. I, III and IV is the correct answer.

Ques. Explain the miller's experiment with the help of a diagram. (4 Marks)

Ans. Stanley Miller was an American chemist who conducted one of the most exciting experiments in modern science. He and Harold C. Urey conducted an experiment to understand the origin of life. 

Miller took molecules that represent the major components of the early earth's atmosphere and put them into a closed system.

The gases used were methane (CH 4 ), ammonia (NH 3 ), hydrogen (H 2 ), and water (H 2 O). Electric current was passed through the system, to simulate lightning storms believed to be common on the early earth. Analysis of the experiment was done by chromatography.

At the end of one week, they observed that as much as 10-15% of the carbon was now in the form of organic compounds. Two per cent of the carbon had formed some of the amino acids which are used to make proteins. Thus this experiment showed that organic compounds such as amino acids, which are essential to cellular life, could be made easily under the conditions believed to be present on the early earth.

Miller Urey Experiment Diagram

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Oparin-Haldane theory

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Oparin-Haldane theory , idea that organic molecules could be formed from abiogenic materials in the presence of an external energy source—e.g.,  ultraviolet radiation —and that Earth’s primitive atmosphere was reducing (having very low amounts of free  oxygen ) and contained  ammonia  and water vapour, among other gases. The theory emerged in the 1920s, when British scientist  J.B.S. Haldane  and Russian biochemist  Aleksandr Oparin  independently set forth similar ideas concerning the conditions required for the origin of life on Earth .

Haldane and Oparin both suspected that the first life-forms appeared in the warm, primitive ocean and were heterotrophic (obtaining preformed nutrients from the compounds in existence on early Earth) rather than autotrophic (generating food and nutrients from sunlight or inorganic materials). Oparin thought that life developed from coacervates, microscopic spontaneously formed spherical aggregates of  lipid  molecules that are held together by electrostatic forces and that may have been precursors of  cells . Oparin’s work with coacervates confirmed that  enzymes  fundamental for the biochemical reactions of  metabolism  functioned more efficiently when contained within membrane-bound spheres than when free in aqueous solutions. Haldane, unfamiliar with Oparin’s coacervates, thought that simple organic molecules formed first and in the presence of ultraviolet light became increasingly complex, ultimately forming cells. Haldane and Oparin’s ideas formed the foundation for much of the research on abiogenesis that took place in later decades.

In 1953 American chemists  Harold C. Urey  and  Stanley Miller tested the Oparin-Haldane theory and successfully produced organic molecules from some of the inorganic components thought to have been present on prebiotic Earth. This became known as the Miller-Urey experiment . Modern abiogenesis hypotheses are based largely on the same principles as the Oparin-Haldane theory and the Miller-Urey experiment. Subtle differences exist, however, between the several models that have been set forth, and explanations differ as to whether complex organic molecules first became self-replicating entities lacking metabolic functions or first became metabolizing protocells that then developed the ability to self-replicate.

Long answer question. Describe the Urey and Miller experiment. - Biology

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Long answer question.

Describe the Urey and Miller experiment.

Solution Show Solution

Stanley L. Miller and his teacher Harold C. Urey provided the first experimental evidence in support of chemical evolution theory of Oparin.

1. Apparatus and Procedure:

They designed a glass-apparatus called spark-discharge apparatus. The apparatus was first sterilized and evacuated. Methane, ammonia, and hydrogen gases were pumped in the proportion of 1:2:2 into the glass chamber. A tube carrying water vapour was also connected to the chamber. The lightning effect was mimicked by the action of electric discharge in the chamber. The process of evaporation and precipitation was also stimulated by the use of heating mantle and condenser respectively. The mixture of CH 4 , NH 3 , H 2 was exposed continuously to electric discharge for several days causing the gases to interact, after which these were condensed.

2. Observation:

It was observed that the liquid collected in the U-tube turned brown.

3. Results and Conclusions:

Chemical analysis of this liquid reported the presence of simple organic compounds. (urea, amino acids, lactic acid, etc.). This experiment strongly supports that the simple molecules present in the Earth’s early atmosphere combined to form the organic building blocks of life.

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The primitive reducing atmosphere of the earth was slowly converted to the oxidizing atmosphere due to the development of ______

Methane, ammonia, and hydrogen were respectively mixed in the ratio of ______ in Urey and Miller's experiment.

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Explain Miller's Experiment ?

An experiment conducted by stanley l. miller and harold c. urey in 1953 provides evidence for the origin of life from inanimate matter. they assembled an atmosphere similar to that thought to exist on early earth [this had molecule like ammonia (nh3), methane (ch4) and hydrogen sulfide, but no oxygen] over water. they maintained the mixture of these gases just below 100 degrees c and passed sparks to simulate lightning. at the end of a weak, 15% of the carbon (from methane) had been converted to simple compounds of carbon including amino acids which make up protein molecules. it indicates the possibility of the origin of life from inanimate matter on the earth, when the atmosphere was reducing (containing no free oxygen), containing gases like methane, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, frequent lightning and enough water was present. simple amino acids which are building blocks of proteins might have given rise to complex molecules that are building blocks of cells..

What is Miller Urey experiment

The given diagram represents Miller’s experiment. Identify the labellings A, B, C, D and choose the correct option.

The correct option is a a - electrodes, b - n h 3 + h 2 + h 2 o + c h 4 , c - liquid water in trap, d - vacuum pump the image given in the question represents miller's experiment. the experiment used a sterile glass flask which contained water vapour, methane, ammonia and hydrogen. 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 got vaporised 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 and it was found that liquid water in the trap contained amino acids. so, the correct answer is option 'a'..