2020 Faculty Courses School of Science Undergraduate major in Earth and Planetary Sciences

Introduction to Earth Sciences

Academic unit or major: Undergraduate major in Earth and Planetary Sciences
Instructor(s): Kenji Ohta / Junichi Nakajima
Class Format: Lecture (Zoom)
Media-enhanced courses: -
Day of week/Period (Classrooms): 7-8 Mon (I123) / 7-8 Thu (I123)
Class: -
Course Code: EPS.A205
Number of credits: 200
Course offered: 2020
Offered quarter: 2Q
Syllabus updated: Jul 10, 2025
Language: Japanese

Syllabus

Course overview and goals

Evolution of the Earth and planets is learned through geophysics and earth material sciences.

Course description and aims

At the end of this course, students will acquire the basic knowledge to learn solid state Earth and planetary sciences.

Keywords

Earth, plate, crust, mantle, core, tide, earthquake

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	General introduction and plate tectonics	To investigate the characteristic topography on the Earth's surface
Class 2	Earth's materials and phase transition 1~ mantle	To investigate the structure of the Earth's mantle and constituent minerals in each layer.
Class 3	Earth's materials and phase transition 2~ core	To investigate the structure of the Earth's core and constituent materials in each layer.
Class 4	Earth's materials and phase transition 2~ core	To investigate the structure of the Earth's core and constituent materials in each layer.
Class 5	Magmatism (igneous rocks)	To investigate the creation process of igneous rocks.
Class 6	Interaction between atmosphere, ocean, and solid Earth (sedimentary rocks)	To investigate the creation process of sedimetary rocks.
Class 7	Collision of continents (metamorphic rocks)	To investigate the creation process of sedimetary rocks.
Class 8	Introduction of planetary material science	To investigate the structure, constituent materials, and tectonics of terrestrial planets.
Class 9	Evolution of the Earth-Moon system: Ocean tide	The ocean tide is determined from the balance between the centrifugal and gravitational forces in the Earth-Moon system.
Class 10	Magnetic fields of the Earth and planets	Magnetic field observations of the Earth and planets are explained with fundamental dynamo theory.
Class 11	Plate tectonics: relative and abolute motions	Determination of the plate motion is studied.
Class 12	Fracture of rocks and fault formation	Applying fundamental elastic theory, fracture of rocks and formation of faults are studied.
Class 13	Propagation of seismic waves: Fundamental theory	Various seismic waves and their propagation are studied.
Class 14	Earthquakes	Seismo and volcanotectonics are studied.

Study advice (preparation and review)

To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.

Textbook(s)

None

Reference books, course materials, etc.

Materials necessary for the class will be given.

Evaluation methods and criteria

Score is determined with tests and several reports on the subject related to the lecture.

Related courses

EPS.A202 ： Introduction to Earth and Planetary Sciences
EPS.L202 ： Laboratory in Earth and Planetary Sciences (petrology)
EPS.B201 ： Mathematics for Physics A (EPS course)
EPS.B210 ： Mathematics for Physics B (EPS course)
EPS.A332 ： Volcanology
EPS.A331 ： Earth Materials
EPS.L331 ： Experiments in Earth Material Science
EPS.A336 ： Dynamics of the Earth and Planet

Prerequisites

Physics and mathematics in the first grade should be understood.