Origins of Life on Earth Practice Test

A student investigates whether protocell-like compartments could support internal reactions. Fatty-acid vesicles are loaded with a pH-sensitive dye and then placed into a solution containing a weak acid. Over time, dye color changes inside vesicles, indicating internal pH shifts, while vesicles remain intact. Which conclusion is best supported about early protocells?

In a dehydration–rehydration cycle experiment modeling tidal pools, a mixture of nucleotides was repeatedly dried and rewetted on hot rock. After multiple cycles, analysis showed short RNA-like polymers in the dried-phase residues, while a continuously wet control produced mostly monomers. Which conclusion is best supported about conditions that may have promoted polymer formation on early Earth?