Chemical Evolution of Life: Synthesis of Simple Compounds: Primitive earth had an abundance of elements like nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon and oxygen. These elements combined with one another and with other elements to form simple compounds. Therefore, carbon was found as dicarbon, cyanogen. methane and metal carbides. Oxygen did not occur in the free state because the reduced substances immediately combined with it to form oxides. Nitrogen existed in combination with metals to form nitrites. Hydrogen combined with oxygen, nitrogen and carbon to form water, ammonia, methane and cyanamide which all existed in the gaseous state due to high temperature. Water … Continue reading Steps of Chemical Evolution of Life