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100
Level Courses & Introductory/ First Year Tutorials
NS
195
POLLUTION AND OUR ENVIRONMENT
Dula Amarasiriwardena
This course will explore environmental
pollution problems covering four major areas:
the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the biosphere, and
energy issues. Several controversial topics, including
acid rain, automobile emission, ozone layer depletion,
mercury, lead and cadmium poisoning, pesticides, solid
waste disposal, and problems of noise and thermal pollution,
will be addressed. We will emphasize some of the
environmental issues affecting our immediate community,
as well as those in Third World nations. We will
also do several project-based labs, gain understanding
of scientific methodology, and learn how to write scientific
research reports.
Students are expected to engage
in scientific inquiry and to view their investigations
in broader context, gain a clear sense of the scientific
process, and develop quantitative, oral and written
communication skills. Class participation, satisfactory
work on the required problem sets, literature critiques,
and class projects are required for evaluation.
Class will meet for one hour and twenty minutes twice
a week and one afternoon per week for lab or field trips.
Enrollment limit is 15. This course is designated
as a first year tutorial course.
Student active science pedagogy:
Group Projects Research Projects, Problem
Based Learning, Primary Literature and Writing (including
free writing on an environmental issue topic, and writing
project reports).
Some examples of class projects:
Usually these are multiple week project
labs which encourage cooperative learning and team effort
and foster appreciation of the rewards of learning environmental
science/chemistry in context. Most of these projects
have a field and laboratory component. Students
work in small teams and the instructor serves as both
a consultant and a partner. Field investigation
skills, sample collection, laboratory environmental
chemical analysis, and data analysis skills are emphasized.
Students are expected to write a manuscript-style project
report and present their findings orally to the class.
A sample of students' projects either
based on authentic discovery projects or projects stemming
from primary literature analysis:
- Investigation of acid mine drainage
effects in a local mine site ¨Davis Mine, Rowe,
MA
- Study of water quality in Quabbin
Reservoir watershed
- Analysis of trace minerals in
bottled water and local tap water
- Determination of trace elements
and phosphates, nitrates/nitrites in various stages
of waste water treatment
- Water quality study in Mill River,
North Amherst, MA
- Soil lead and arsenic content in a local apple
orchard previously sprayed with lead arsenate pesticide
A sample of students' projects either
based on authentic discovery projects or projects stem
from primary literature analysis:
- The effect of cattle feedlot
proximity and weather on concentration of nitrogen
(as nitrate) in a nearby stream
- Characterization of compost using
diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy
- Preliminary analysis of leachate
at the Montague (Massachusetts) Municipal Landfill,
Massachusetts for pH, conductivity, temperature, coliform
bacteria and trace contaminants as indicators of water
quality
- Testing downtown Manhattan for
radon
- Lead concentrations in three
soil core samples
- The effects of dioxin from bleached
paper mill wastes on fish The effects of acid
rain on the Taj Mahal
- Agroforestry as a solution to
Sahelian desertification
- The Middle Eastern water crisis:
Sources, problems and policy options
- The effects of "Desert
Storm's" oil fires and oil spills on the Persian
Gulf
- Environmental impacts of [the
uranium mining and milling industry] is this one industry
or two? If two should read impacts of uranium mining
and the milling industry on on the San Juan Basin
region
- A comparison of the effects of
power plants among fish, shellfish, aquatic life and
their eco-systems
- Pollution in the Rhine river
- The Minamata pollution clean-up
project: artificial and natural remediation work
- Pollution, safety, and waste
management in the photo processing industry
- The environmental costs of the
US military: Focusing on Westover Air Force Reserve
Base, Chicopee, MA.
- Innovations in water softening
technology
- Hold your breath: The danger
of chemical warfare
- Meltdown: Effects and ramification
of nuclear wastes and contamination
- A study of ozone and seasonal
thinning of the ozone layer
NS
202 CHEMISTRY I In
this course we will learn the fundamental chemical concepts
of composition and stoichiometry, properties of matter,
atomic structure, bonding and molecular structure, chemical
reactions, and energy changes in chemical reactions.
Considerable time will be devoted to learning the use
of the periodic table as a way of predicting the chemical
properties of elements. We will also emphasize
application of those chemical principles to environmental,
biological, industrial and day-to-day life situations.
No previous background in chemistry is necessary, but
a working knowledge of algebra is essential both because
students will be expected to develop skill in solving
a variety of numerical problems and because it is essential
for understanding some of the subject matter.
In the laboratory, basic skills
and techniques of qualitative and quantitative analysis,
as well as use of novel chemical instrumentation, will
be emphasized. We will also do two project-based
labs, learn to understand the scientific methodology,
and learn how to write scientific research reports.
Class will meet for one hour and twenty
minutes three times a week, and laboratory will meet
one afternoon per week. Chemistry I is the first term
of a two-term course in general chemistry.
Student active science pedagogy:
Group Discovery Projects, Authentic
Inquiry, Problem Based Learning, Writing Manuscript-Style
Reports
Some examples of class projects:
Investigation
of acid mine drainage chemistry in a local mine site
¨Davis Mine, Rowe, MA. This multi-week project
has a field and laboratory component. Here students
work in teams and laboratory tasks are rotated among
team members each week. This environmental chemistry
project emphasizes field sampling and testing methods,
sample preparation approaches, standard preparation
skills, spectrochemical analytical methods (atomic absorption
and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, uv-visible
spectrometry) and data analysis skills. We have
been investigating the acid mine drainage (AMD) chemistry
of streams associated with the Davis mine and the nearby
watershed for the past eight to ten years as part of
a regularly occurring project-based lab experiment in
this chemistry class. The resulting database allows
students to compare their own data with what was collected
previously. Students are expected to write their
own manuscript-style project report at the end of the
investigation. The project helps students to understand
the concepts of chemistry (i.e., stoichiometry, chemical
equilibrium, pH concepts, transition element chemistry
and spectrochemical principles) discussed in the class
in broader context and to bring their own interdisciplinary
interests into the chemistry class.
Colors Back and Forth:
Chemical equilibrium and color chemistry. This is a
small group, guided inquiry project on LeChatelier's
principle and spectrochemical changes. A manuscript-style
lab report is expected at the end of this activity.
This project also prepares students to explore a lab
activity on chemical equilibria with middle school students
in our annual Day in the Lab activity. Preparing
for this teaching activity and later guiding the middle
school students through the lab and responding to their
questions, helps students develop increased confidence
in working with important concepts like chemical equilibrium.
Traditionally, students are excited about this project
and volunteer to participate in the Day in the Lab activities.
NS
203 CHEMISTRY II
This is a continuation of Chemistry
I; the principles and concepts examined during the previous
term will be further considered and applied to more
sophisticated systems. Topics will include chemical
thermodynamics, nuclear chemistry, chemical equilibrium,
acid-base equilibria and their applications, complex
ion equilibria, solubility, oxidation-reduction reactions,
electrochemistry, and reaction rates. We will
also emphasize application of these chemical principles
to environmental, biological, industrial and day-to-day
life situations. Problem sets will be assigned
throughout the semester. The laboratory will consist
of two project-based labs and some laboratory exercises.
Basic laboratory skills, chemical instrumentation techniques,
and the use of computers in the chemistry laboratory
will be emphasized.
Class will
meet for one hour and twenty minutes three times a week
and one afternoon a week for lab. Prerequisite:
successful completion of Chemistry I and its laboratory
or permission of the instructor.
Student active science pedagogy:
Group Discovery Projects, Authentic
Inquiry, Problem Based Learning, Primary Literature,
and Writing
Some examples of class projects:
Indoor
radon measurements in local community: This
community-based project coincides with our in class
discussion of nuclear chemistry and radioactivity. Again,
this discovery project applies the important radiochemical
principles discussed in the class to a "real world"
issue. Here, the radiochemistry of radon, the concept
of half-life, nuclear decay principles, radiation effects,
and gamma spectroscopy are explored.
The chemistry of New England snow, and
The effects of nitrogenous wastes on a
local stream near a cattle farm These
two examples of class projects apply our in-class discussions
of chemical equilibria, buffers and pH concepts, and
acid rain chemistry to "real world"
investigations. Students are highly encouraged
to incorporate their interdisciplinary interests into
the project. Related primary literature on these
topics is discussed in class and students are expected
to include information from these sources in the introduction
sections of their write-ups. We emphasize use of spreadsheet
software for data and statistical analysis and graphing.
Students are expected to write a manuscript-style project
report as their end-of-the-term paper.
300 LEVEL COURSES Advanced Course
NS 359
Research in Nutrition and Pollution
A co-taught interdisciplinary advanced
research course
With Alan Goodman (Professor
of Biological Anthropology)
The focus of this research course is
on understanding nutrition, pollution and related problems
via the chemical analysis of calcified tissues: bone,
dentine and especially enamel. This research-based
course emphasizes teamwork, assignments, critical analysis
of primary literature and also writing as . Tooth
enamel calcifies during the prenatal period and the
first decade of life and is then essentially inert.
Thus, enamel's chemical composition may reflect conditions
during early development. Because enamel and dentine
grow somewhat like trees (they also have growth rings!),
one may use them as a mirror facing back in time.
Our inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS)
and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer
(LA)-ICP-MS are intensively used in this course.
The first part of this course is an
introduction to analytical techniques, examination
of the development and chemistry of hard tissues and
consideration of the problems of metal pollution and
elemental nutrition in the past and present. Some
of the specific research questions we
expect to address in this class include an evaluation
of the degree to which LA elemental concentrations correlate
with values obtained from solution chemistry, the relationship
between elemental (zinc, iron, strontium etc.) nutrition
and enamel and dentine elemental concentrations, and
lead levels in prehistoric teeth and bone from Egypt,
Mexico, and the US.
The main purpose of this course is
to involve students in research. Thus, students
almost immediately begin to work in small groups on
projects such as those mentioned above. Some students
choose to continue their projects through the summer
and next academic years as Division III projects or
independent research projects. This course is
funded in part by a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical
Institute.
Student active science pedagogy: Advanced
Research Course
Semester-long Interdisciplinary Research
Projects, Writing and Oral Presentations
NS
366
Environmental Chemistry
Chemistry plays a vital role in understanding
pollution problems and our environment. This course
will explore several current environmental topics with
strong components in chemistry. We will put special
emphasis on environmental concerns in the hydrosphere,
soils, and atmosphere. Topics will include the chemistry
of natural waters, water pollution and wastewater treatment,
toxic heavy metals and their complexation properties
in soils, and inorganic and organic pollutants in the
atmosphere. We will also put emphasis on learning environmental
chemical analysis methods and instrumentation in environmental
monitoring. These include inductively coupled plasma-mass
spectrometry (ICP-MS) in trace metal analysis, infrared
techniques in characterization of pollutants, and chromatographic
methods for separation and identification of contaminants.
We will also look at sampling and preservation methods,
sample preparation, and elemental speciation techniques
used in environmental sample analysis. This class is
particularly recommended for Division II and III students
with interests in environmental issues. Class will run
in seminar format.
Student active science pedagogy:
Authentic Environmental Chemistry Research
Projects, Field Research, Team Work, Environmental Chemical
Analysis, Writing and Oral Presentations
Read: Teaching analytical atomic spectroscopy advances in an environmental
chemistry class using a project-based laboratory approach: investigation of lead
and arsenic distributions in a lead arsenate contaminated apple orchard, Dulasiri Amarasiriwardena, Anal Bioanal Chem (2007)
388:307–314
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-007-1189-z
NS333
Analytical Chemistry:
The recent advances in analytical chemistry
and instrumentation play a major role in many interdisciplinary
sciences including environmental science, biology, agriculture,
geology, and in many health science fields. This course
will cover those advances in analytical atomic spectroscopy
(atomic absorption spectroscopy, inductively coupled
plasma-mass and atomic emission spectroscopy - ICP-MS,
ICP-AES), analytical molecular spectroscopy (infrared,
UV-visible), electrochemistry, and chromatographic and
other separation techniques and associated instrumental
methodologies. We will also look at sampling and preservation
methods, sample preparation, elemental and speciation
techniques used in environmental and biological sample
analysis. We will complete two issue-oriented, project-based
field/lab projects that will introduce the participants
to hands-on experience in modern analytical instrumentation
and development of novel analytical techniques to solve
analytical problems encountered in diverse scientific
fields. We will also read primary literature papers
on current directions in analytical chemistry and the
recent developments in instrumentation. Evaluation is
based on class and laboratory participation, successful
completion of lab and project reports, problem sets
and the final project report and class presentation.
Student active science pedagogy:
Strong components in Analytical Method
Developments, Team Work, Instrumental Analysis, Writing
and Oral Presentations.
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