Certificate of Achievement
has completed the following course:
Geological processes, habitable environments, and life on Earth are intrinsically linked. This course built our planet from the ground up and assessed the possibilities for where life may have first arisen and tracked its evolution. It covered topics including from dust to a planet, the Late Heavy Bombardment, the composition of the Earth, the Earth’s movements, the geological record, the origins of life, the earliest life, multicellular life and mass extinctions.
3 weeks, 3 hours per week
Louisa Preston
Astrobiologist, geologist, author and UK Space Agency Research Fellow
FutureLearn
Transcript
Learning outcomes
- Explore the key stages of the Earth's formation
- Describe the implications of the Late Heavy Bombardment for life on Earth
- Summarise the different theories as to how life arose on the Earth
- Investigate geological process that shape the Earth
- Explain how the geological record can help read Earth's timeline.
- Describe the oxygen revolution that enabled us to come to exist
- Summarise the history of life from the Cambrian Explosion to today
- Investigate extinction-level events on earth and other planets
Syllabus
Week 1: The formation of the Earth
- From dust to a planet
- The Late Heavy Bombardment
- The origins of life on the early Earth
Week 2: How the Earth works
- What is the Earth made of?
- The Earth’s movements
- The geological record
Week 3: The history of life
- The earliest life
- Multicellular life
- Mass extinctions
Issued on 19th January 2025
The person named on this certificate has completed the activities in the transcript above. For more information about Certificates of Achievement and the effort required to become eligible, visit futurelearn.com/proof-of-learning/certificate-of-achievement.
This certificate represents proof of learning. It is not a formal qualification, degree, or part of a degree.