植物生物学（BIOLOGY OF PLANTS）双语课程教案.docVIP

PAGE PAGE 126 植物生物学（Biology of Plants）双语课程教案 Botany: An Introduction In the Introduction We’ll study the following topics: Evolution of Plants Evolution of Communities The Appearance of Human Beings By the time you finish studying the introduction, you should be able to answer the following questions: What are the main factors thought to be responsible for the origin of life on Earth, and what evidence supports the hypothesis that life arose in the ocean? What is the principal difference between a heterotroph and an autotroph, and what role did each play on the early Earth? Why is the evolution of photosynthesis thought to be such an important event in the evolution of life in general? What were some of the problems encountered by plants as they made the transition from the sea to the land, and what structures in terrestrial plants apparently solve those problems? What are bioms, and what are the principal roles of plants in an ecosystem? Evolution of Plants Life Originated Early in Earth’s Geologic History The planet Earth is some 4.5 billion years old, evidence obtained by analysis of carbon particles on the earth indicate that life already existed on earth 3.85 billion years ago. Evidence of the presence of life on earth as early as 3.85 billion years ago might mean that life was eliminated and reemerged. Of the nine planets in our solar system, only one , as far as we know , has life on it. This planet Earth, is visibly different from the others. From a distance, it appears blue and green, and it shines a little. The blue is water, the green is chlorophyll, and the shine is sunlight reflected off the layer of gases surrounding the planet’s surface. History of Life The earliest known fossils from rocks in northwestern Western Australia, dated at 3.5 billion years of age. They are about a billion years younger than the earth itself, but there are few suitable older rocks in which to look for earlier evidence of life. The Chemical In the 1930s, the Russian