Which term specifically contrasts with Biogenesis by describing life arising from nonliving matter?

Which term specifically contrasts with Biogenesis by describing life arising from nonliving matter?

• A. Abiogenesis
• B. Endosymbiosis
• C. Panspermia
• D. Photosynthesis

Answer: (A)

How life begins: whether it comes from nonliving matter or from preexisting life. Abiogenesis is the term that describes life arising from nonliving matter, a concept that envisions simple chemicals and molecules organizing into more complex, self-replicating systems that eventually become living. This contrasts with biogenesis, which holds that life comes from existing life. The other options refer to different ideas: endosymbiosis explains how certain organelles in cells originated from intimate relationships between separate organisms; panspermia suggests life originated elsewhere in the cosmos and was brought to Earth; photosynthesis is the process by which organisms convert light energy into chemical energy, not a description of the origin of life. So abiogenesis is the best fit for describing life arising from nonliving matter.

How life begins: whether it comes from nonliving matter or from preexisting life. Abiogenesis is the term that describes life arising from nonliving matter, a concept that envisions simple chemicals and molecules organizing into more complex, self-replicating systems that eventually become living. This contrasts with biogenesis, which holds that life comes from existing life. The other options refer to different ideas: endosymbiosis explains how certain organelles in cells originated from intimate relationships between separate organisms; panspermia suggests life originated elsewhere in the cosmos and was brought to Earth; photosynthesis is the process by which organisms convert light energy into chemical energy, not a description of the origin of life. So abiogenesis is the best fit for describing life arising from nonliving matter.