CHEMISTRY 272 COURSE INFORMATION

 

Instructor: Dr. Joe Lanzafame - just call me “Joe”

 

I. Office Hours:

 

Office: 08-A256

Hours: MF 9-10 a.m. TR 10:30-12:00 p.m., or by appt.

Phone: 475 -7471 (on campus): 314-1240 (off campus)

E-mail: jmlsch@rit.edu

 

II. Goals

 

To further develop understanding of basic chemical principles and apply those concepts to water and waste water issues.  To learn how to perform contaminant testing of water samples and gain an appreciation for the significance of the test results.

 

III. Textbooks, etc.

 

1) Water and Wastewater Technology; Hammer and Hammer; Pearson/PrenticeHall; 6th edition.

2) Calculator with scientific functions (Log, ln, yx, etc.)

 

I will provide appropriate material through myCourses. I also have additional material on my personal website: www.chemgod.com

 

IV. Attendance

 

I will trust you to monitor your own attendance and to be responsible for your own homework. If you can master the material without ever attending and without doing any homework, that is fine - BUT IT RARELY WORKS THAT WAY!

 

I will suggest homework exercises and, in rare instances, collect them for a grade, but ultimately it is your responsibility to obtain as much practice as YOU need. If that means doing 3x as many exercises as I suggest, do them.

 

V. Case Study

 

In order to apply the principles learned in this class to a real-world scenario, you will be doing a case study of a water or waste water site. The site can be industrial, residential, commercial, or agricultural; the only limitation is that it must have water on site that would require some testing.  The testing required could be periodic, based on active sources of waste, but it doesn’t have to be.  For a site without active dumping, consider yourself to be the purchaser or renovator of the site who is doing a single analysis of the site.

 

The class will be divided into teams of 3-5 individuals for the case study.

 

This project will consist of 2 phases:

 

1) Proposal (25 pt) – Identify the site.  Discuss the water issues on and around the site (neighbors count, water flows!) that you intend to investigate.   The proposal need be no longer than 100 words.  The main goal is to be sure that you have chosen a suitable site that will allow you to legitimately discuss water issues.

 

Grading of the proposal will be as follows:

                        a. Grammar/syntax – 5 pts

                        b. Choice of site – 5 pts

                        c. Sophistication of proposed analysis of site – 10 pts.

                        d. Group self-evaluation – 5 pts.

 

2) In-class presentation (25 pt)

 

Each group will give a 15 minute oral presentation in class and answer questions for 5 minutes.  These presentations will be performed on Fridays beginning in week 5.

 

Evaluation of the presentations will be as follows:

                        a. Clear presentation and visuals – 5 pts.

                        b. Sophistication of proposed analysis of site – 5 pts.

                        c. Corrections to any issues from the proposal paper – 5 pts

                        d. Group self-evaluation – 5 pts.

                        e. Handling of questions from the floor – 5 pts

                        f. Asking of questions from the floor (for other group’s presentations) – 3 pts

 

 

VI. Water Testing Project

 

In order to apply CHEMICAL principles to a real world application, the entire class will design a chemical water-testing kit.  You will again break-up into teams of 3-5 people.  I will assign you a specific chemical species to test for.  You will then need to come up with a way to test for that species in a simple home test kit (like the Pro-Lab kit that I will show you in class).  Your design will need to consider the limitations on the testing: specificity of the test, accuracy of the method, etc.

 

This project will consist of 2 parts:

 

2) Term paper (50 pt)

 

The term paper should, at a minimum, include:

a) Discussion of the chemical species, including: Why it is important?  What are “good” and “bad” values for concentration?  What, if any, EPA or NYSDEC limits apply.

b) Chemical test - What is the chemical reaction?  What is the indicator?  How is concentration determined?  How specific is the reaction?  How specific is the indicator?

c) Packaging – How will you get the chemical reaction & indicator into a home testing kit?  How easy will it be to use for your “average” homeowner?

 

Term papers should be word-processed and include properly and professionally embedded references.

 

There is no length requirement, but your discussion of all topics in the paper should be complete and appropriately sophisticated. 

 

Grading of the term paper will be as follows:

a.       Grammar/syntax – 15 pt

b.      Chemical content/accuracy, specificity – 15 pt

c.       Complete analysis of home-testing issues and packaging problems – 10 pt

d.      Group self-evaluation – 10 pt

 

3) Poster session (50 pt)

 

In lieu of a final exam, you will be presenting a poster on your proposed analysis to your colleagues (and invited members of your department and mine).  This poster will be a summary of your term paper.  I will give you more complete guidelines for this later in the quarter.

 

Grading o the poster session will be as follows:

a.       Content and readability of poster – 10 pts

b.      Incorporation of corrections/comments from term paper – 10 pts

c.       Answers to posed questions – 10 pts

d.      Comments on your colleagues posters – 10 pts 

e.       Class evaluations of each other – 10 pts

 

VI. Grading

 

2 exams - 100 points each

10 quizzes/homeworks - 15 points each

Water testing Project - 100 points

Case Study – 50 pts.

Total possible points - 500

 

Quizzes will be announced ahead of time as to topic and be ten minutes in duration.

 

Grading is NOT on a curve: A>90%, B>80%, C>70%, D>60%

 

NO MAKE-UPS WILL BE GIVEN except in cases of accident or serious illness. You must be excused BEFORE the exam or quiz rather than after unless it is a true emergency situation, in which case I will make the decision as to whether or not to excuse/reschedule.

 

VII. Final thoughts

 

Chemistry is a subject that relies not only on your ability to memorize concepts, but also on your ability to apply these concepts to solving problems.  If you are having trouble, do not despair, come and see me.  I will give you as much assistance as you require.  In the end, the best way to learn is by doing as many problems as you can.

 

 

 

TENTATIVE Schedule:

 

Week of

Chapters and Topics

Events

9/1

Chapter 9  - Sampling

9/5 – Quiz #1

9/8

Chapter 2-1 through 2-4

9/12 – Quiz #2

9/15

Chapter 2-5 through 2-7

9/19 – Quiz #3, proposals due

9/22

Chapter 2-8 through 2-11

9/26 – Homework #1

9/29

Catch-up

10/01 – Exam #1

10/6

Chapter 3-1 through 3-5

10/10 – Quiz #4

10/13

Chapter 3-8 through 3-12

10/17 – Quiz #5

10/20

Chapter 5

10/20 – Homework #2, term papers due

10/22 Exam #2

10/22

Chapter 7-5 through 7-10

10/27 – Quiz #6

10/29

Chapter 7-11 through 7-17

11/02 – Quiz #7, Homework #3

11/5

 

Final Poster Session