2024 Faculty Courses School of Science Undergraduate major in Earth and Planetary Sciences
Laboratory in Earth and Planetary Sciences (geochemistry)
- Academic unit or major
- Undergraduate major in Earth and Planetary Sciences
- Instructor(s)
- Yoko Kebukawa / Romain Alexis Gilbert / Akira Ishikawa
- Class Format
- Experiment (Face-to-face)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 5-8 Tue / 5-8 Fri
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- EPS.L203
- Number of credits
- 001
- Course offered
- 2024
- Offered quarter
- 3Q
- Syllabus updated
- Mar 17, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
Geochemistry uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind geological systems. In the first half of this course, students learn basic methods of mineral separation, density measurement of rock-forming minerals, and crystallography analysis. In the second half, students learn chemical analysis of bulk-rock and rock-forming mineral.
Course description and aims
The goals are to learn methods for
1) obtaning basic physico-chemical parameters used in geoscience (e.g., rock composition, mineral density) from natural rock sampls,
2) dealing with physico-chemical parameters to understand geological systems.
Keywords
geochemistry; rock composition; mineral density; X-ray diffraction; crystallographic structure
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
To be announced in the class
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | rock pulverization, mineral separation | To be announced in the class (rock-forming minerals, mineral separation, modal compositions) |
| Class 2 | Density measurement of rock-forming minerals by densimeter | To be announced in the class (Principles of mineral density measurement) |
| Class 3 | X-ray diffraction analysis by XRD | To be announced in the class (Principles of X-ray deflection analysis) |
| Class 4 | Qualitative analysis of rock-forming minerals by SEM-EDS | To be announced in the class (Principles of SEM-EDS analysis) |
| Class 5 | Acid digestion of rocks and minerals | To be announced in the class (Fusion method of rocks and minerals) |
| Class 6 | Sample preparation of digested rock/mineral samples | To be announced in the class (Acid digestion method of rocks and minerals) |
| Class 7 | Determination of silica contents in rocks/minerals | To be announced in the class (Principles of wet chemical analysis of rocks and minerals) |
| Class 8 | Determination of major element contents (except for Si) in rocks/minerals | To be announced in the class (Principles of ICP-MS analysis) |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend a certain length of time outside of class on preparation and review (including for assignments), as specified by the Tokyo Institute of Technology Rules on Undergraduate Learning (東京工業大学学修規程) and the Tokyo Institute of Technology Rules on Graduate Learning (東京工業大学大学院学修規程), for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
Experiment manual and text are provided before the 1st day of the class.
Reference books, course materials, etc.
See Japanese texts listed above.
Evaluation methods and criteria
Check the student's comprehension by
1) lab note filed each after the class,
2) final report after the course of this class.
Related courses
- EPS.A330 ： Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry
- EPS.B211 ： Inorganic Chemistry (EPS course)
- EPS.A331 ： Earth Materials
- EPS.A201 ： Introduction to Material Sciences of Earth and Planet
Prerequisites
n/a