Undergraduate Course: Environmental Chemistry Level 10 (CHEM10048)
Course Outline
| School | School of Chemistry |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This is a 20-credit Senior Honours lecture course on aspects of environmental chemistry. Its content provides examples of the application of chemistry principles and knowledge to the description and quantification of the chemistry of the environment and of the consequences of some of the human perturbations to it.
The Level 10 version of this course is a compulsory requirement for Senior Honours BSc students on degrees in Chemistry with Environmental & Sustainable Chemistry, but can be taken by Senior Honours BSc students on any Chemistry degree programme.
The course comprises of individual component lecture courses and associated tutorials or workshops.
|
| Course description |
Overall, the course covers examples of the chemical processes occurring naturally in Earth's atmospheric, aquatic and soil environments; the impacts of human perturbations to these processes on historic, contemporary and future timescales; and simple quantification of the partitioning and movement of chemical components through environmental media.
The course content includes the following:
- the chemical composition and evolution of Earth's atmosphere in comparison with other selected planetary bodies
- qualitative and quantitative physical structure and chemical composition and processes in Earth's atmosphere
- chemical rationalisation of issues of current atmospheric concern (for example stratospheric ozone depletion, ground-level ozone production and urban air pollution)
- the nature, properties and evolution of soils and sediments
- the distribution and behaviour of metal and organic contaminants in soils and sediments
- the chemical equilibrium approach to speciation in aquatic systems and interpret speciation diagrams
- the distribution of, and exposure to, natural and manmade radionuclides in the environment
- the use of radionuclides as tracers of environmental processes
- the integration of environmentally meaningful laboratory data (e.g. octanol-water partition coefficients) into a quantitative treatment of the distribution, reactions and inter-phase transfer of environmental contaminants.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | Students MUST NOT also be taking
Environmental Chemistry Level 11 (CHEM11041)
|
Other requirements | Must include a weighted average of Grade D or higher in Chemistry 3A and Chemistry 3B, at the first attempt; or with the permission of Head of School. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Show an understanding of chemical processes occurring naturally in Earth's atmospheric, aquatic and soil environments; the impacts of human perturbations to these processes; and simple quantification of the partitioning and movement of chemical components through environmental media.
- Apply this chemical knowledge to explain issues in environmental chemistry.
- Develop responses to problems and issues in aspects of environmental chemistry.
- Apply a set of numerical skills for solving problems in environmental chemistry.
- Demonstrate a professional approach to autonomy and time-management in relation to self-study.
|
Reading List
Recommendations on further reading will be provided by the individual lecturers.
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Note-taking skills
Numerical data interpretation and analysis
Unseen problem solving skills
|
| Keywords | environmental chemistry |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Mathew Heal
Tel: (0131 6)50 4764
Email: |
Course secretary | Mr Craig Smith
Tel: (0131 6)50 4710
Email: |
|
|
University Homepage