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In addition to biology, evidence drawn from many different disciplines, including chemistry, geology, and mathematics, supports models of the origin of life on Earth. In order to determine when the first forms of life likely formed, the rate of radioactive decay can be used to determine the age of the oldest rocks (see optional problems C and D, below) exposed on Earth’s surface. These are found to be approximately 3.5 billion years old. The age of rocks can be correlated to fossils of the earliest forms of life. A. The graph compares times of divergence from the last common ancestor based on the fossil record with a "molecular time" constructed by comparing sequences of conserved proteins to determine a mutation rate (after Hedges and Kumar, Trends in Genetics, 2003). Explain how such a molecular clock could be refined to infer time or the evolution of prokaryotes. B. Using a molecular clock constructed from 32 conserved proteins, Hedges and colleagues (Battistuzzi et al., BMC Evol. Biol. 2004) estimated the times during which key biological processes evolved. A diagram based on their work is shown. Connect the time of the origin of life inferred from this diagram with the age of the oldest fossil stromatolites and the age of the oldest exposed rock to show how evidence from different scientific disciplines provides support for the concept of evolution. Evaluate the legitimacy of claims drawn from these different disciplines (biology, geology, and mathematics) regarding the origin of life on Earth. The oldest known rocks are exposed at three locations: Greenland, Australia, and Swaziland. The following application of mathematical methods provides essential evidence of the minimum age of Earth.
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