AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Vitalism suggested that an organic molecule such as urea cannot be synthesized solely from inorganic sources. It was believed that synthesis of urea required a living organism or some part of a living organism, such as a kidney.

Detailed explanation-2: -Urea disproved the theory of vitalism by showing that biological materials can be produced from regular mechanical materials. Friedrich Wohler conducted experiments, in which he produced Urea from inorganic materials.

Detailed explanation-3: -Friedrich Wöhler was a renowned German chemist who is best known the synthesis of urea, an organic compound, from ammonium cyanate, an inorganic salt, thus disproving the theory of ‘vitalism’, that organic substances can only be produced from living things.

Detailed explanation-4: -Falsification of theories: the artificial synthesis of urea helped to falsify vitalism. Urea was discovered in urine in the 1720s and was assumed to be a product of the kidneys. At that time it was widely believed that organic compounds in plants and animals could only be made with the help of a “vital principle”.

Detailed explanation-5: -What piece of experimental evidence used urea to falsify the theory of vitalism? The formula or urea showed that it was made from carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Urea was extracted from kidneys, showing that it was produced in living organisms.