How does the Miller-Urey experiment fall short of demonstrating that life can arise from inorganic molecules?

Question

Question 11 options:

A)

It recreates the conditions that existed at the earth's beginning, but no molecules form as a result.

B)

It doesn't show how multicellular organisms developed from unicellular organisms.

C)

It doesn't show a leap between a collection of amino acids and a single-celled organism.

D)

It doesn't provide evidence of the formation of amino acids.

Answer 1

The correct answer is:

C) It doesn't show a leap between a collection of amino acids and a single-celled organism.

The Miller-Urey experiment successfully demonstrated that amino acids could be formed from inorganic precursors under conditions thought to resemble those of early Earth. However, it does not address the subsequent steps required to go from simple organic molecules (like amino acids) to more complex structures, such as proteins, and ultimately to the first single-celled organisms. This gap in the understanding of how life could arise from inorganic materials is a key criticism of the experiment.