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2026 (Current Year) 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 / Makiko Haba / Akira Ishikawa
Class Format
Experiment
Media-enhanced courses
-
Day of week/Period
(Classrooms)
Class
-
Course Code
EPS.L203
Number of credits
001
Course offered
2026
Offered quarter
3Q
Syllabus updated
Mar 5, 2026
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 learning effectiveness, students should consult the relevant sections of the textbook and handouts and complete preparation and review for each class, following the study time standards set by the University’s academic regulations.

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

Assessment will be based on the experimental notebooks submitted after each experiment and the final report, with attendance at each session also included in the evaluation.

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