COURSE OUTLINE:

Week 1,2

PART A:
THE ATMOSPHERE
  • Atmosphere
  • Gas laws
  • Light
  • Ozone
  • Smog
  • Acid rain
Week 3

PART B:
CLIMATE AND ENERGY
  • Greenhouse effect
  • Global warming
Week 4,5

PART C:
THE HYDROSPHERE

  • Solution chemistry
  • Water pollution
Week 6

PART D:
THE LITHOSPHERE
  • Pesticides

Text:

Baird, Colin, and Cann, Michael, “Environmental Chemistry” (New York: W.H. Freeman and Company, 2005).

This textbook gives a good, comprehensive introduction to the topic of environmental chemistry, and it will be greatly helpful in explaining the material we will cover in class. A good source for those who are interested either in exploring certain topics in somewhat greater depth, or in reading about special topics not included in the course text, is “Chemistry of the Environment,” second edition (San Diego: Academic Press, 2002) by Bailey, Clark, Ferris, Krause and Strong.

I also encourage you to explore the various links on the links page of this web site, and also the various scientific literature available.

Course web site:

http://www.physics.ucsb.edu/~lgrace/chem123

Assignments:

We will play a game based on a computer simulation.

There will be four homework assignments. Due dates (in class) are:

PLEASE NOTE: Any changes to these dates will be announced in class. Late homeworks will not be accepted. In case of emergency, please speak with Dr. Grace.

Tests:

There will be unannounced quizzes.
Midterm: Monday, August 27 , in class.
Final: Thursday, September 13, in class.

Grading:

Your grade will be based on participation in class (15%), homework (20%), quizzes (15%), midterm (20%) and final (30%). Please note that the (unannounced) quizzes and participation add up to 30% of your grade.

Office hours:

Dr. Grace: Thursday, Friday, 11:00 a.m. – noon; DURING FINALS WEEK: Monday, Tuesday, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
room 1630 Broida
or by appointment, (805) 893-4293 or lgrace@physics.ucsb.edu.

Danny Chagolla: Tuesday, Wednesday, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
room 3649A PSB-N
or by appointment, (805) 893-4913 or dchagolla@chem.ucsb.edu.