3 credits
Spring 2026 Lecture Upper Division
The course focuses on the chemical processes involved in the formation and evolution of our solar system and our planet. The course includes discussion of nucleosynthesis and chemical abundances, the origin and composition of various planetary objects and their constituent materials, and the distribution and cycling of elements within and between different Earth systems, including the solid Earth, atmosphere, and oceans.
Learning Outcomes1Understand the cosmochemical model for solar system formation.
2Become familiar with the inventory of planetary materials in our solar system and understand their characteristics.
3Understand what causes the first order distribution of elements in different parts of the Earth and other planetary bodies.
4Apply principles of thermodynamics and reaction kinetics to predict the physical and chemical characteristics of Earth and planetary materials.
5Understand how chemical exchange between the solid earth, biosphere, and ocean-atmosphere affect the evolution of the Earth system.
6Analyze laboratory data to gain insight geochemical and cosmochemical processes.
7Identify outstanding questions in the primary cosmochemistry and geochemistry literature and propose what new observations, data, and/or models could be used to address these questions.
Prerequisites
Restrictions
made by Purdue students.