Environmental Science 303 Syllabus

Spring 1998
ENVR 303,
Environmental Analysis, Part II

Dr. S.E. Van Bramer
Kirkbride 405
499-4516
svanbram@science.widener.edu 		Office Hours
Mon 9:00-9:50
Mon 2:00-3:00
Wed 9:00-9:50
Wed 4:00-5:50
Friday 9:00-9:50

Textbook

  1. Required Text:
    1. Skoog, D.; West, D.; Holler, F. Analytical Chemistry; An Introduction; Saunders: Philadelphia, PA, 1994.

  2. Supplemental Text (These books are available from the library or my office):

Cheating and Plagiarism:

Cheating and Plagiarism will not be tolerated and are grounds for FAILURE in the course. The University's policy on cheating and other forms of academic fraud will be strictly enforced. When in doubt about what is acceptable, ask the instructor. You will do some work in small groups and interaction is strongly encouraged in this setting. You, however, are ultimately responsible for the material. Working together on homework problems is acceptable, but you must reference other people's ideas. Quiz's and Exams must be your own work. You are allowed to use a calculator and a pen or pencil for quizzes and exams. No other materials are allowed. For additional information read "What is Plagiarism"

Schedule:

Lecture is scheduled for M, W 11:00 to 11:50 in KB 328. Labs are scheduled for M&W 1:00 to 4:00 in Kirkbride 415. Because we of scheduling requirements for the instrumentation used this part of the semester, some flexibility will be nessicary for the lab scheduling. It is very important that you come to lab prepared so that you are ready to use the instruments for your scheduled time slot and so that you finish in time for the next group.

A special study session is scheduled for Friday 11:00 to 12:00 in my office. I will review data proccessing and laboraotry experiments. This session is optional, but you are encouraged to attend if you have any questions.

Grading:

+/- grades are used. Your grade is based upon performance on the following. Work submitted late is subject to a penalty of 5 points each school day. It is VERY important that you stay on schedule.
  1. Lab Reports (400 pts)
    You will work in groups in the laboartory. Groups will rotate between experiments and will have scheduled instrument time. You are responsible to be prepared for lab, to be familiar with the instrumentation and to complete your work on the instrument during the time scheduled.

    When you are not busy conducting an experiment, spend your time working on laboratory data. Your ability to process experimental data and present it are an important part of this course. For each experiment you should meet with me to discuss your results prior to writing your laboartory report. You should come to the meeting with your data processed and well organized.

    Laboratory reports should be typewritten and double spaced. Figures should be labled sequentially and placed at the end of the report. Calculations may be done by hand, with a spreadsheet, or using Mathcad. If you use a spreadsheet, you must carefully document any calculations and submit a copy of the spreadsheet on disk. Your spreadsheet MUST be well organized and easy to follow.

    You will work in groups in the laboratory and you are encouraged to discuss the experiment and your data. After the laboratory is completed you are to process the data individually. Failure to comply with this will be considered cheating and is grounds for failure in the course. If you have questions about the laboratory writeup, please ask (me).

    1. (50 pts) Lead analysis of paint using atomic absorbance
    2. (50 pts) Iron analysis of drinking water with spectrophotometry
    3. (50 pts) Lead analysis of drinking water with square wave anodic stripping voltammetry
    4. (50 pts) Analysis of greenhouse gases with FT-IR.
    5. (50 pts) Anion analysis of drinking water with ion chromatography
    6. (50 pts) Analysis of nitrate in ambient air with ion chromatography.
    7. (50 pts) Calibration of a NOx Analyzer
    8. (50 pts) Analysis of organics in waste water with solid phase micro-extraction and GC/MS.

  2. Homework Problem Sets (160 pts)
    The solutions to homework problems should be your own. However, you may work together on the homework problems with the following stipulations.
    • List all students who worked together on the problem. (Failure to do this will be considered plagirism and is grounds for failure in the course.)
    • Hand in your own solutions, not a copy of someone else's work.
    • Prepare your own spreadsheets for calculations. Copying another file is not acceptable.
    • As a general guide; when you turn in your homework problem you should be able to explain your work to another student in the course, If I gave you the same question again you could work it on your own.
    • If you have any question about what is acceptable, ask. It is better to be safe than sorry.

    1. (20 pts) Chromatography Applications (Due Friday 3/21)
    2. (20 pts) Statistics with Cookies (Due Friday 3/21)
    3. (20 pts) Statistics Problem Set (Due Monday 3/24)
    4. (20 pts) Calibration Problem Set (Due Monday 3/31)
    5. (20 pts) Spectroscopy Problem Set (Due Monday 4/14)
    6. (20 pts) Standard Addition and Internal Standard Problem Set (Due Friday 4/18)
    7. (20 pts) Atmospheric Concentrations Problem Set (Due Monday 4/21)
    8. (20 pts) Calibration and QC Problem Set (Due Monday 4/28)

  3. Final Exam (200 pts)
    1. (100 pts) Take home
    2. (100 pts) In class

Office Hours:

I will be available in my office during scheduled office hours. Any changes in these hours will be posted on my office door and on the Web site. At other times I am happy to help you, if I have time. Feel free to call and make an appointment if you need extra help. You are strongly encouraged to ask questions and seek help early. This is a very challenging course, I expect that everyone will have questions on a regular basis. When you do not understand something, ask.

E-Mail:

Each student is responsible for establishing an e-mail account at the beginning of the semester. This may be done at the Academic Computing Services office, ACN room 200 (go in the north doors). As soon as you have your account send an e-mail message to me at: svanbram@science.widener.edu. This account allows you to communicate with other students in the class and send questions. I check my account often (including evenings and weekends) and will respond as soon as possible. I will frequently post information to the class via e-mail. You are responsible for checking your e- mail.

WWW:

Supplementary course material and a listing of course topics is posted on the WWW http://science.widener.edu/~svanbram. This may be accessed from any of the student computer labs on campus (ACN, Wolfgram Library, and Kirkbride 400). Any updates to the course Syllabus will be posted here. In addition the site includes; lecture notes, links to interesting sources on the Web, handouts, and reading guides. Spend some time using this site and becoming familiar with the resources available.
This page is maintained by
Scott Van Bramer
Department of Chemistry
Widener University
Chester, PA 19013

Please send any comments, corrections, or suggestions to svanbram@science.widener.edu.

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Last Updated 12/17/96