Question

Which of the following gives a possible sequence of organic chemicals prior to the protocell?

Options

• Water, salts, protein, oxygen

• Inorganic gases, amino acids, polypeptide, microsphere

• Inorganic gases, nucleotides, nucleic acids, genes

• Both (b) and (c)

Answer 1

Both (b) and (c)

Explanation:

• Before the protocell, a possible sequence of organic chemicals involved starting from inorganic gases, which gave rise to amino acids, polypeptides, and eventually microspheres (b).
• Also, inorganic gases led to the formation of nucleotides, which then combined into nucleic acids and genes (c).
• Thus, both pathways contributed to different classes of important organic molecules necessary for the origin of life prior to the formation of protocells.