Chondrites provide geologists with information about the composition of the early solar system. Geologists are driven by understanding how the Earth became what it is today. Chondrites were formed at the time IntroductionChondrites are the most primitive rocks in the solar system. Chondrites are stony (non-metallic) meteorites that have not been modified due to melting or differentiation of the parent body. Chondrites form when dust and small grains originating from the early solar system accumulate to form asteroids. Chondrites account for 86% of meteorites that fall to Earth. An important diagnostic feature of chondritis is the presence of chondrules. Chondrules are millimeter-sized round inclusions made primarily of olivine and pyroxene and constitute 20–80% of the volume of most chondrites. Chondrites are important for geochemistry because they provide information about the composition and age of the early solar system, the presence of water on Earth and perhaps the origin of life. Background Chondrites were formed by the accretion of dust particles present in the early solar system that gave rise to asteroids over 4.55 billion years ago (SOURCE). These chondrite parent bodies were small to medium-sized asteroids that were never large enough to undergo planetary merger and differentiation like Earth. Further evidence of age is shown by the abundance of nonvolatile elements in chondrites, which is similar to that found in the atmosphere of the Sun and other stars in our galaxy.[10] Although chondritic asteroids never became hot enough to melt based on internal temperatures, many of these asteroids reached high enough temperatures to experience significant thermal metamorphism within the interior. T......middle of paper......carbon chains, rings and amino acids. Chondrules make up a large portion of chondrites. Millimeter-sized spherical objects originated as molten droplets in space. Most chondrules are rich in olivine and pyroxene. Chondrites also contain refractory inclusions (including Ca-Al inclusions), which are among the oldest objects to form in the solar system, particles rich in metallic Fe-Ni and sulfides, and isolated grains of silicate minerals. The remainder of the chondrites consists of fine-grained dust, which is present in the rock matrix or forms edges or mantles around individual chondrules and refractory inclusions[11]. The geological and cosmological communities generally accept that these spheres were formed by the action of a shock wave passing through the Solar System, although there is little agreement on the cause of this shock wave..[12]