In 1953, Stanley Miller and Harold Urey built a model of Earth's early

atmosphere by mixing gases that were thought to have been there. They

exposed the gases to an electric current to simulate lightning. The liquid that

condensed during the experiment contained amino acids.

What was the significance of their results?

A. Miller and Urey showed that lightning was necessary for life to

form on Earth.

B. Miller and Urey showed that spontaneous generation was

possible.

C. Miller and Urey showed that inorganic compounds could combine

to form the building blocks of living cells.

D. Miller and Urey showed that all life evolved from a single common

ancestor.

Answer: C. Miller and Urey showed that inorganic compounds could combine to form the building blocks of living cells.

Explanation:

The Miller and Urey were the two scientists who created the atmospheric conditions that were expected to be present on primitive earth. They demonstrated that several organic compounds have been formed spontaneously from the inorganic compounds like water, ammonia, methane and others.

The exposure of mixture of inorganic compounds by the lightening lead to the formation of organic molecules like amino acids which are the building blocks of life. This was similar to the penetration of earth atmosphere by UV radiation producing the organic compounds from inorganic molecules.