Origins - Formation of the Universe, Solar System, Earth and Life from Coursera

What's inside

Syllabus

Origin of the Elements, the Solar System and the Planets

In the first module of Origins Jim Connelly and Henning Haack go through the evolution that resulted in the Solar System with the planets that we know today. Jim will tell you about how the elements of the periodic table were formed. Without these elements there would be no Solar System, no planets and no life at all. We have added a couple of more videos that we hope you will also find interesting. One gives you an introduction to Geological time. Videos 1.7-1.9 deals with some of our most interesting meteorites from the collections at the Natural History Museum of Denmark. Much of the evidence for the theories presented in Module 1 has been obtained from meteorites.

The early Earth and origin of life

In this module we are going to have a look at our own planet, just after it formed. Emily Pope will introduce you to the most important geological principles and processes that characterize our Earth. This should make it easier for you to understand how we use geology to reconstruct the evolution of our planet and the life forms that inhabit it. With such tools in hand, Emily will take you on a tour back in deep geological time and tell you about the earliest evolution of our planet and the oldest evidence for life on Earth. We will also take you on a trip to Greenland where Minik Rosing will show the rocks in which he found the oldest evidence for life on Earth.

Origin of the microbial world / The Cambrian Explosion and Exceptional Preservation

In this module Jan Audun Rasmussen and Danny Eibye-Jacobsen will show you how life evolved during the first 4 billion years since the creation of the Earth. As you will see, it is very challenging to study the oldest life forms of our planet. During this enormous time span – which covers about 80% of the Earth’s history – microbial life slowly evolved to form a crucial component of the biosphere. Toward the end of the period the deepest foundations of the different groups of animals evolved. All of the life forms surrounding us today can be traced back to this time.

Transition from Microbial to Macrobial Life: Snowball Earth and the Ediacara Biota / Eukaryotic Evolution and the Phylogeny of All Life

In this module, we take a closer look at how the physical and biological conditions that made the Cambrian Explosion possible arose. In the first lectures Svend Stouge will tell you about the dramatic consequences of climate changes seen toward the end of the Precambrian. Geological evidence supports the idea that the Earth was completely covered in ice during periods that we, for obvious reasons, refer to as Snowball Earth. In the remaining lectures Martin Sørensen will tell you about one of the most significant building blocks of life on Earth – the cell – and how the early bacterial cells evolved and became capable of forming the huge variety of life that we see today. Martin Sørensen will also show how different evolutionary trends of cells resulted in six major organism groups, of which several gave rise to multicellular life.

Origin of the marine Cambrian and Palaeozoic Evolutionary Faunas / Diversity in deep time / Origin of predation and the Mesozoic Arms race

In module 5, Arne Thorshøj Nielsen and Jan Audun Rasmussen will show you how the higher life forms, particularly the marine animals, evolved in the oceans, after the sudden appearance of a hard skeleton in many different animal groups during the Cambrian Explosion 540 My ago. You will be introduced to the changing major evolutionary faunas through time, and also see how clever strategies to kill or avoid being killed, major extinction events and many other factors controlled the evolution that eventually resulted in the modern marine faunas.

Oxygenation and Animals

In module 6 Tais Wittchen Dahl will take a detailed look at one of the most important factors controlling the evolution of life - oxygen. In the previous lectures you have already heard that the oxygen levels have changed in the past. Tais will show you what the mechanisms behind changes in global oxygen levels are and what are the most important consequences. One of the amazing possible consequences was that during the Carboniferous, dragonflies had wing spans of up to 75 cms! Higher oxygen levels not only allowed for the evolution of higher life forms, it may also have limited the size of insects and predatory fish, and ultimately furthered the evolution of intelligent life. Without the increase in oxygen, it would be impossible for us to understand the lectures in this course!

Origins and Early Development of Plants / The Origin and Diversification of Flowering Plants

In module 7, we will have a closer look at the biggest source of oxygen – the plants. Up till now we have heard a lot about the evolution of higher life forms in the oceans. While evolution took a giant step forward in the oceans, the continents remained totally barren for another approx. 100 million years. Vivi Vajda from the Lund University in Sweden and Gitte Petersen will tell you how the plants began to inhabit the terrestrial environment, thus paving the way for other life forms living on land. Land plants have managed to adapt to a very different environment, with new challenges and possibilities. Some of the early plants have survived as fossils – whereas others are still alive. Some of these living fossils will be presented in the videos. We will also have a close look at the biggest group of plants – which has evolved in close collaboration with insects, birds and even some mammals – the flowering plants.

The Evolution of Insects and their Role in Terrestrial Ecosystems

In module 8, Lars Vilhelmsen will take a close look at the insects which account for more than 50% of today’s biodiversity and biomass. Part of the story behind the success of the insects is their remarkable adaption to a wide range of environments. Insects mastered powered flight early in their evolution, and also developed highly specialized relationships with land plants almost from the start. Different insects feed on almost everything: various plant parts, nectar, blood from vertebrates, or other insects. Other remarkable types of specializations are found in social insects that act as a single organism, capable of performing highly complex tasks, such as farming.

Colonization of the continents and the Origin of the Dinosaurs and Birds/Mass Extinction Events and Their Causes

In module 9, we will explore how vertebrates colonized dry land. Jesper Milàn will tell you about how this happened and give you examples of some of the first vertebrates that gradually adapted to a life on land. In the following lecture Gilles Cuny will tell you about how the early primitive vertebrates evolved into the highly diverse groups that we see today. He will show you many interesting examples of our distant relatives and discuss many of the processes, which we believe controlled their evolution and diversification. One of the important factors driving evolution is mass extinction events. Gilles will introduce you to the topic and Bent Lindow will give you a detailed look at mass extinction events. What were the causes, what happened and what were the consequences? Many questions remain unanswered but one thing is certain – mass extinctions have had a great impact on the evolution of life on Earth. Without mass extinctions life would have evolved in a completely different way and humans, like most other recent species, would not be here.

Origin of Recent Climate Change / The Molecular Clock

In module 10, we will tell you about two very different topics – recent climate changes and the molecular clock. Michael Houmark will tell you about the changes in global climate over the past 50 million years. During this period the warm temperatures in the Eocene were gradually replaced by the much lower, present day temperatures. Michael will show you how much better records of sea level, temperature, CO2, volcanic activity, and continental drift in the recent past allow us to piece together a detailed picture of these dramatic changes in Earth’s climate. Our records of recent climate change also allow us to better understand the processes controlling the climate on short, medium, and long time scales. Ole Seberg will tell you about the molecular clock. This is a new technique, which has significantly improved our understanding of the evolution of life on our planet. Looking at molecular data of present species, we can not only determine how closely the species are related to each other, we can also estimate the age of their common ancestors.

Primate Origins and Evolution / Human Origins and Evolution

Finally, we have come to the evolution of the primates – the group to which humans belong. Bent Lindow tells you about the evolution of primates, leading up to the early humans. Bent will also introduce you to a web-based exercise called “The Human Animal” (http://snm.ku.dk/english/school_services/human_animal/). In this exercise you will explore skulls of living as well as extinct hominids. Apart from the exercise itself the “Human animal” includes some background reading material and some interesting videos. Included is footage from the dissection of a dead chimpanzee from a Danish Zoo; do not watch this if you think it will make you uncomfortable. In order to do the exercise you need a computer with a mouse (since you need to measure distances in 3D between different parts of the skulls that you will be studying). It will not run on iPads and iPhones. Finally, Tom Gilbert will tell you about how the early modern humans (Homo sapiens) managed to colonize almost every land mass of our planet. Although many details of our own evolution still remain obscure, recent advances in genomics have given us a much better understanding of how extant humans colonized the entire planet after leaving their original home in Africa.

Modern Diversity

In the last set of lectures we will look at the modern biodiversity. There is an enormous difference between the biodiversity of different types of habitats on our planet – from the equator to the arctic, from deserts to rainforests, and from isolated islands like the Galapagos to large continents. Jon Fjeldså will take you on a trip around the planet and give you many interesting examples of these variations. He will explain how we can use them to get a better understanding of how evolution works. This concludes the Origins course. Thank you for following it, we hope it has enhanced your understanding of how life evolved and diversified on our planet, and that it will inspire you to see natural phenomena in a new light.

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Explores the origin of the elements, the Solar System, and the planets, which is standard in geology and astronomy curricula

Taught by PhDs and professors who are active in research and development in their respective fields

Examines the origin of life and the evolution of microbial life, which is a core topic in biology

Develops an understanding of the transition from microbial to macroscopic life, which is a key concept in evolutionary biology

Provides a comprehensive overview of the origin and evolution of marine Cambrian and Palaeozoic Evolutionary Faunas

Investigates the impact of oxygenation on the evolution of life, which is a topic of growing interest in biology

Covers the origins and early development of plants, which is a fundamental topic in botany

Examines the evolution of insects and their role in terrestrial ecosystems, which is a core topic in entomology

Explores the colonization of the continents and the origin of the dinosaurs and birds, which is a popular topic in paleontology

Investigates the causes and consequences of mass extinction events, which is a critical topic in evolutionary biology

Provides an overview of recent climate change and the molecular clock, which are topics of current interest in biology

Traces the evolution of primates, including human origins and evolution, which is a topic of fascination for many learners

Explores modern diversity, which is a vast and complex topic that is essential for understanding the natural world

Reviews summary

Engaging origins course for science enthusiasts

Learners say this course is largely positive, delivering engaging assignments and teaching by knowledgeable experts. Covering a wide range of topics related to the origins of the universe, solar system, Earth, and life, this course offers a thorough overview that may be difficult to follow for complete beginners.
Despite some drawbacks, including occasional difficult exams and accents that may be hard to understand, learners generally appreciate the course's wide scope and engaging content.

Knowledgeable instructors who are experts in their fields

"I personally was very engaged by this course and the instructors."

"The course is good. Very informative. But some of the scientific term is too hard for student without those specific knowledge background. Would be perfect if those scientific term was explained in details."

"It has been a wonderful learning experience with all the professors at University of Copenhagen."

Comprehensive coverage of a wide range of topics

"A lot of time and trouble has been invested into this course, and that can clearly be seen."

"Great course for intermediate or beginner with prior experience, with some advanced concepts included."

"Excellent course! This is covering a HUGE amount of science, so the brushes used are obviously very broad, but I would really love to have the option of taking a full degree using this as a general guideline, perhaps studying four of the topics each year, and going into much greater depth."

Well-produced course with engaging content

"Excellent course materials and presentations."

"I love universe. but hard to find course of cosmophisyque. thank you for giving us this class free. internet will change my learning"

"Excellent course. Excellent instructors, all."

Exams may be difficult and frustrating

"to not be able to present reasoning for an answer is very frustrating"

Some instructors have accents that may be difficult to understand

"Loved this course although because of deafness found some things difficult to understand because of some lecturers' accents."

"A couple of the lecturers have accents which can be difficult to understand if you are not that way inclined, but there are real time transcripts which are adequate"

May be challenging for beginners and those without a science background

"The scope of this course is extremely ambitious and much of it is very interesting. Unfortunately it is also very technical and some lecturers found it hard to make the technicalities accessible to a layperson such as myself."

"I think the course structure could be made easier to follow."

"However, I personally struggled to keep up with the torrent of information that was presented, especially given my lack of background in this area."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Origins - Formation of the Universe, Solar System, Earth and Life with these activities:

Review the basic principles of geology

Show steps

Reviewing the basic principles of geology can help you understand the content of the course more thoroughly.

Browse courses on Geology

Show steps

Read the relevant chapters in a geology textbook.
Take practice quizzes on geology concepts.
Review your notes from previous geology courses.

Practice identifying different rock types

Show steps

Practicing identifying different rock types will help you understand the content of the course more thoroughly.

Browse courses on Rocks

Show steps

Collect different types of rocks.
Use a rock identification key to identify the rocks.
Take practice quizzes on rock identification.

Watch videos on the history of life on Earth

Show steps

Watching videos on the history of life on Earth can help you understand the content of the course more thoroughly.

Browse courses on Evolution

Show steps

Find videos on the history of life on Earth.
Watch the videos.
Take notes on the videos.

Six other activities

Expand to see all activities and additional details

Show all nine activities

Create a timeline of the major events in the history of life on Earth

Show steps

Creating a timeline of the major events in the history of life on Earth can help you understand the content of the course more thoroughly.

Browse courses on Evolution

Show steps

Research the major events in the history of life on Earth.
Create a timeline of the events.
Write a brief description of each event.

Read The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

Show steps

Reading The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin can help you understand the content of the course more thoroughly.

Show steps

Read the book.
Take notes on the book.
Discuss the book with other students.

Build a model of a cell

Show steps

Building a model of a cell can help you understand the content of the course more thoroughly.

Browse courses on Cells

Show steps

Gather materials.
Build the model.
Write a report on your model.

Compile a list of resources on the history of life on Earth

Show steps

Compiling a list of resources on the history of life on Earth can help you understand the content of the course more thoroughly.

Browse courses on Evolution

Show steps

Search for resources on the history of life on Earth.
Compile a list of the resources.
Write a brief description of each resource.

Volunteer at a natural history museum

Show steps

Volunteering at a natural history museum can help you understand the content of the course more thoroughly.

Browse courses on Evolution

Show steps

Find a natural history museum to volunteer at.
Contact the museum and ask about volunteer opportunities.
Volunteer at the museum.

Participate in a study group for the course

Show steps

Participating in a study group for the course can help you understand the content of the course more thoroughly.

Show steps

Find a study group to join.
Attend study group meetings.
Participate in discussions.

Career center

Learners who complete Origins - Formation of the Universe, Solar System, Earth and Life will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Paleontologist

As a Paleontologist, you will explore the evolution of organisms and the history of life on Earth. The Origins course can help prepare you for this career by offering you a comprehensive overview of the history of life on earth, from early microbial life to the evolution of humans. The course will provide you with an understanding of how organisms have changed over time and the factors that have influenced their evolution.

See salaries and explore the career path for Paleontologist

Cosmologist

As a Cosmologist, you will study the origin and evolution of the universe. The Origins course at the University of Copenhagen can help you prepare for this career by giving you a comprehensive overview of the formation and evolution of the universe. The course will provide you with an in-depth knowledge of the cosmos and the laws of physics that govern it.

See salaries and explore the career path for Cosmologist

Ecologist

As an Ecologist, you will study the interactions between organisms and their environment. The Origins course from the University of Copenhagen will provide you with a comprehensive overview of the history of life on earth and the processes that have shaped it. This knowledge will be essential for understanding the complex interactions between organisms and their environment and the challenges facing the planet today.

See salaries and explore the career path for Ecologist

Exobiologist

As an Exobiologist, you will search for life on other planets. The Origins course from the University of Copenhagen will provide you with a comprehensive overview of the formation and evolution of the universe, the solar system, and the earth. This knowledge will be essential for understanding the potential for life to exist on other planets and the techniques that can be used to search for it.

See salaries and explore the career path for Exobiologist

Astrophysicist

As an Astrophysicist, you will apply the methods of physics to the study of the universe. The Origins course at the University of Copenhagen can help you prepare for this role by giving you a comprehensive overview of the formation and evolution of the universe. The course will provide you with an in-depth knowledge of the cosmos and the laws of physics that govern it.

See salaries and explore the career path for Astrophysicist

Anthropologist

As an Anthropologist, you will study human culture and behavior. The Origins course from the University of Copenhagen will provide you with a comprehensive overview of the evolution of humans and the development of human culture. This knowledge will be essential for understanding the diversity of human cultures and the challenges facing humanity today.

See salaries and explore the career path for Anthropologist

Geophysicist

As a Geophysicist, you will investigate the physical properties of the earth. The Origins course from the University of Copenhagen can help you prepare for this role by giving you a deep understanding of the earth's formation and the processes that have shaped its structure and composition. The course will also provide you with an understanding of the physical processes that occur in the earth's interior and on its surface.

See salaries and explore the career path for Geophysicist

Planetary Geologist

As a Planetary Geologist, you will investigate the composition and structure of planets and moons. The Origins course from the University of Copenhagen can help you prepare for this role by giving you a broad understanding of the formation and evolution of the solar system. The course will provide you with an in-depth knowledge of the processes that have shaped the planets and moons in our solar system and the techniques used to study them.

See salaries and explore the career path for Planetary Geologist

Micropaleontologist

As a Micropaleontologist, you will investigate the fossil record of microscopic organisms. The Origins course from the University of Copenhagen can help prepare you for this career by providing you with a comprehensive overview of the history of life on our planet and the processes that have shaped it. The course will also provide you with an in-depth understanding of the fossil record and the techniques used to study it.

See salaries and explore the career path for Micropaleontologist

Geologist

As a Geologist, you will investigate natural resources, the composition of the earth, and the effects of natural disasters. The Origins course from the University of Copenhagen can help you prepare for this role by giving you a deep understanding of the earth's formation, the elements that comprise it, and the evolution of life on our planet.

See salaries and explore the career path for Geologist

Geochemist

As a Geochemist, you will conduct research into the chemical composition of the earth's rocks, minerals, and soils. The Origins course from the University of Copenhagen can help you prepare for this role by providing you with a deep understanding of the earth's formation and the processes that have shaped its composition. The course will also provide you with an understanding of the chemical processes that occur in the earth's interior and on its surface.

See salaries and explore the career path for Geochemist

Research Scientist

As a Research Scientist, you will conduct research in a variety of scientific fields. The Origins course from the University of Copenhagen will provide you with a comprehensive overview of the history of life on earth and the processes that have shaped it. This knowledge will be essential for understanding the broader context of your research and for making connections between different fields of science.

See salaries and explore the career path for Research Scientist

Science Educator

As a Science Educator, you will teach science to students of all ages. The Origins course from the University of Copenhagen will provide you with a comprehensive overview of the history of life on earth and the processes that have shaped it. This knowledge will be essential for effectively teaching science to students and inspiring them to pursue careers in science.

See salaries and explore the career path for Science Educator

Museum curator

As a Museum Curator, you will oversee the collection, preservation, and display of artifacts and specimens. The Origins course from the University of Copenhagen will provide you with a comprehensive overview of the history of life on earth and the processes that have shaped it. This knowledge will be essential for understanding the significance of the artifacts and specimens in your collection and for effectively communicating their importance to the public.

See salaries and explore the career path for Museum curator

Science Writer

As a Science Writer, you will communicate complex scientific concepts to the public. The Origins course from the University of Copenhagen will provide you with a comprehensive overview of the history of life on earth and the processes that have shaped it. This knowledge will be essential for accurately and engagingly communicating the latest scientific discoveries to the public.

See salaries and explore the career path for Science Writer