first organisms on earth - autotrophs or heterotrophs?

[mistero]

Were the first organisms on earth autotrophs or heterotrophs?

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[klutzy1987]

Were the first organisms on earth autotrophs or heterotrophs?

They were anaerobic heterotrophs.

 

[gtdoc01]

.

 

[achilles2]

They were anaerobic heterotrophs.

x2

I kept getting this one wrong and saying anaerobic chemotrophs =/

 

[doc3232]

x2

I kept getting this one wrong and saying anaerobic chemotrophs =/

Actually weren't the heterortophs chemotrophs? If that makes sense.
What did the heterotrophs "feed" on if not chemicals.

 

[achilles2]

Actually weren't the heterortophs chemotrophs? If that makes sense.
What did the heterotrophs "feed" on if not chemicals.

That was my logic as well however the pratice test did not seem to agree =/ I am still a bit confused on this fact as well...


Similar to the question that said, all enzymes are proteins, which is false because of ribozymes however, the pratice question disagreeed and stated that all enzymes were proteins.....



One thing is certain: The first cells, often called primitive heterotrophs (for they needed outside, organic sources for nourishment), somehow had to find enough energy to continue living and organizing themselves. They presumably did so while floating on or near the ocean surface, absorbing the acid and base molecules in the rich broth of the early organic ocean. This extraction of energy via the capture and chemical breakdown of small molecules—called fermentation—is still employed on Earth today by unicellular microbes (mostly yeast) in beer casks while changing grain into alcohol, in bread dough when exposing starch to limited amounts of water, and in commercial methods to improve the flavor of tea, tobacco, and cheese. But the primitive heterotrophs couldn’t have fed indefinitely on the organic matter from which they originated. After all, the continual passage of time brought irreversible changes in the environment.

http://life3.beyondgenes.com/