2020 Faculty Courses School of Science Undergraduate major in Earth and Planetary Sciences
Inorganic Chemistry (EPS course)
- Academic unit or major
- Undergraduate major in Earth and Planetary Sciences
- Instructor(s)
- Tetsuya Yokoyama / Makiko Haba / Takeshi Ohno
- Class Format
- Lecture (Zoom)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - Intensive
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- EPS.B211
- Number of credits
- 200
- Course offered
- 2020
- Offered quarter
- 4Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jul 10, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
Materials in the universe, from stars to our bodies, are all composed of various elements. This course focuses on the understanding of the structure of atoms and the nature of elements that produced the diversity of materials constituting the earth and planets. The course also covers analytical techniques that provide useful geochemical data including classical and recent ones.
Course description and aims
At the end of this course, students will be able to understand:
1) the fundamental knowledge about inroganic chemistry and analytical chemistry that are required for studying earth and planetary sciences
2) the structure of atoms and nature of elements
3) distribution of elements in various earth's materials
4) analytical techniques for geosciences
Keywords
Atoms, Molecules, Nature of elements, Elemental abundances, Analytical chemistry
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
Before coming to class, students should read the course schedule and prepare for the topics with handouts and references.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Structure of neclei | Understanding of elements, atoms, and atomic mass |
| Class 2 | Wave–particle duality | Understanding of black-body radiation and photoelectric effect |
| Class 3 | Schrödinger equation | Derive Schrödinger equation for hydrogenic atom |
| Class 4 | Atomic orbital | Understanding of electronic structure of atoms |
| Class 5 | Electron configuration of multielectron atoms and periodic table | Understanding of the principle of the periodic table |
| Class 6 | Atomic radius and ionization energy | Understanding of the electron configuration and the size of atoms |
| Class 7 | Structure of molecules | Understanding of valence-bond theory and molecular orbital theory |
| Class 8 | Hybrid orbital | Understanding of sigma-bond, pi-bond, and sp3, sp2, and sp hybrid orbitals |
| Class 9 | Crystals | Understanding of Bravais lattices |
| Class 10 | Geochemical classification of elements | Understanding of lithophile, siderophile, chalcophile, and atomosphile elements |
| Class 11 | Distribution of elements | Understanding of partition coefficients |
| Class 12 | Gravimetric analysis and volumetric analysis | Understanding of analytical techniques for gravimetric and volumetric analyses |
| Class 13 | Chemical separation | Understanding of ion exchange chromatography and liquid-liquid extraction |
| Class 14 | Spectroscopic analysis and mass spectrometry | Understanding of atomic absorption spectroscopy, atomic emission spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry |
Study advice (preparation and review)
Textbook(s)
Handouts will be provided during the class
Reference books, course materials, etc.
P.W. Atkins "Atkins' Physical chemistry 10th edition" Oxford University Press
F.A. Cotton, G. Wilkinson, P.L. Gaus, "Basic Inorganic chemistry, 3rd edition" Wiley
Y. Sano, Y. Takahashi "Geochemistry" Kyoritsu Shuppan (In Japanese)
Evaluation methods and criteria
Students will be assessed on their understanding of basic inorganic chemistry and analytical chemistry that are required for studying earth and planetary sciences.
Students' course scores are based on final exam (100%).
Related courses
- EPS.B202 ： Thermodynamics (EPS course)
- EPS.A330 ： Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry
- LAS.A101 ： Earth and Space Sciences A
- LAS.A102 ： Earth and Space Sciences B
Prerequisites
No prerequisites