NATURAL SCIENCE I: ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT CORE-UA 203 Section 010 Spring 2015 Monday and Wednesday 0930 1045 Silver 207 Professor Michael D. Ward Department of Chemistry Brown 554 (Molecular Design Institute) E-mail: mdw3@nyu.edu 1
1. Course Description This course explores the scientific foundations of current environmental issues and their implications for public policy. The syllabus is divided into sections that each examines a current environmental theme in depth. The first sections investigate the composition of the atmosphere and the chemical processes that cause air pollution, ozone depletion, and global warming. Moving to the study of water, the course explores the properties of this unique solvent and the effect of various aqueous pollutants. The course also includes an investigation of energy from chemical reactions, our continuing reliance on fossil fuels, and the potential of alternative energy sources. The laboratory experiments are closely integrated with the lecture topics and provide hands-on explorations of central course themes. Throughout the course we also will examine how scientific studies of the environment are intimately connected with political, economic and policy concerns. 2. Course Learning Objectives Your learning objectives for the course: Acquire knowledge of foundational concepts, processes, and terminology of chemistry. Develop skills in problem solving and use of quantitative reasoning. Understand the methods of scientific investigation, including the roles of experiments and computer simulations. Evaluate new advances in our understanding of environmental science as reported by news media. Examine the economic, societal, and policy aspects of environmental issues. Learn to use evidence and critical thinking to make informed decisions about complex environmental challenges. 3. Teaching Staff The course is staffed by three talented and dedicated graduate students, who will be a valuable resource for you during the semester. Meetings with individual instructors can be arranged by appointment. Laboratory Instructors: Veronica Murphy Section: 013 Section: 014 Anna Powers Section: 011 Section: 012 Lizheng Zhu Section: 015 Section: 016 vlm244@nyu.edu Thu 1:00 PM 2:40 PM Thu 3:00 PM 4:40 PM ap1468@nyu.edu Thu 9:00 AM 10:40 AM Thu 11:00 AM 12:40 PM lz505@nyu.edu Wed 3:00 PM 4:40 PM Wed 5:00 PM 6:40 PM 4. Course Materials There are two required texts for the course that are available in the NYU Bookstore: Catherine H. Middlecamp et al., Chemistry in Context: Applying Chemistry to Society, 8 th Edition (Boston: McGraw Hill, 2014) It is important that you obtain the 8 th Edition of the textbook. You also will be able to obtain a code to access McGraw-Hill s online learning system called CONNECT. Laboratory Manual for Energy and Environment You are also required purchase safety glasses from the NYU bookstore. Many of the laboratory sessions require you to use chemicals that are potentially damaging to your eyes, so SAFETY GLASSES ARE 2
ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED DURING THESE LABS. If you do not bring your safety glasses when required, you will not be permitted to perform the lab experiment and will not receive credit for that week s lab. Please ask for safety glasses at the bookstore and not safety goggles, which are used for majors-level Chemistry Department courses. Finally, you will be provided with additional readings, videos, and websites throughout the semester that further explore the environmental topics in the course syllabus. 5. Electronic Resources All course materials (announcements, homework instructions, additional readings, etc.) will be posted on NYU Classes under Natural Science I: Energy, Section 010. NYU Classes can be accessed using the ACADEMICS TAB on your NYU Home page: https://home.nyu.edu/academics. You are welcome to use McGraw-Hill s online learning system, CONNECT https://connect.mheducation.com/class/m-ward-spring-2015-core-ua-203--section-010 A PIN number (purchased with the textbook or separately online) is necessary to register for the site. Through CONNECT, you can access an online version of the textbook, assignments, and LearnSmart, an adaptive learning program that reinforces key concepts presented in the textbook. The LearnSmart function also can be used as a self-guided, non-credit practice on your own. 6. Lecture and Laboratory Schedule The readings listed in this schedule are based on Chemistry in Context, 7 th Edition. Additional readings will be posted on the course site and announced in class. Laboratory dates and topics are in italics. Date Lecture Topic Reading Laboratory Project 1 M Jan 26 Course Introduction THE AIR WE BREATHE 2 W Jan 28 The Air We Breathe Ch. 1, pp. 16 30 Jan 28&29 No Lab 3 M Feb 2 Chemical Principles Ch.1, pp. 30 42 4 W Feb 4 Air Pollution Science and Policy Ch.1, pp. 42 49 Feb 4&5 Lab 1: Math Review THE OZONE LAYER 5 M Feb 9 Atomic Structure Ch. 2, pp. 64 71 6 W Feb 11 Molecules and Light Ch. 2, pp. 71 79 Feb 11&12 Lab 2: Properties of Air 7 M Feb 16 The Ozone Layer Ch. 2, pp. 80 86 8 W Feb 18 Ozone Depletion Science and Policy Ch. 2, pp. 86 101 Feb 18&19 Lab 3: Properties of Light CLIMATE CHANGE 9 M Feb 23 Earth s Climate & Greenhouse Ch.3, pp. 106 116 Gases 10 W Feb 25 Carbon Emissions Ch. 3, pp. 116 133 Feb 25&26 Lab 4: Sunscreens 11 M Mar 2 Climate Change Science and Policy Ch. 3, pp. 1233 148 12 W Mar 4 What is Energy? Ch. 4, pp. 154 171 Mar 4&5 Midterm 1 Review M Mar 9 Midterm 1 (Chapters 1-3) 3
ENERGY FROM COMBUSTION 13 W Mar 11 Energy from Combustion Ch. 4, pp. 171 178 Mar 11&12 M Mar 16 No class spring break W Mar 18 No class spring break Mar 18&19 14 M Mar 23 Fossil Fuels and Biofuels Ch. 4, pp. 178 193 WATER FOR LIFE 15 W Mar 25 Water and Ions Ch. 5, pp. 198 204, 215 223 Mar 25&26 16 M Mar 30 Measuring Concentration Ch. 5, pp.212 215, 223 226 17 W Apr 1 Water Quality Science and Policy Ch. 5, pp. 204 212, 226 237 Apr 1&2 18 M Apr 6 Bottled Water TBA Lab 5: Molecular Vibrations No lab spring break Lab 6: Chemical Reactions Lab 7: Aqueous ions 19 W Apr 8 Chapter 5 wrap-up Apr 8&9 Review for Midterm 2 M Apr 13 Midterm 2 (Chapters 4-5) Date Lecture Topic Reading Laboratory Project ENERGY FROM ELECTRON TRANSFER 20 W Apr 15 Electron Transfer Reactions Ch. 8, pp. 330 343 Apr 15&16 Lab 8: Water Hardness 21 M Apr 20 Fuel Cells Ch. 8, pp. 344 352 22 W Apr 22 Solar Cells Ch. 8, pp. 352 363 Apr 22&23 Lab 9: Building Batteries 23 M Apr 27 Solar Energy - Science and Policy TBA 24 W Apr 29 Alternative Energy Sources TBA Apr 29&30 Lab 10: Solar and PV Cells 25 M May 4 What Is Our Energy Future? TBA 26 W May 6 Special Topic??? May 6&7 Review for Final Exam 27 M May 11 Review for final exam Last day of classes W May 13 Final Exam (8:00am 9:50am) 4
7. Grade Components Midterm Exam 1 15 % Midterm Exam 2 15 % Final Exam 30 % Homework 10 % In-Class Exercises 5 % Laboratory 25 % 8. Exams The course has two midterm exams and a final exam on the dates given below. Midterm Exam 1 Monday, March 9 0930 1045 Silver 207 Midterm Exam 2 Monday, April 13 0930 1045 Silver 207 Final Exam Wednesday, May 13 0800 0950 TBD Midterm Exam 1 will contain questions on material from Chapters 1, 2 and 3. Midterm Exam 2 will contain questions from Chapters 4 and 5. The final Exam will be cumulative, with an extra focus on Chapter 8. Each exam also will contain one or two questions based on the laboratory projects. If you will miss a midterm exam because of illness, you must contact Professor Ward by E-mail before the start of the exam and provide a doctor's note explaining your absence. No make-up exam will be given for the midterms. Instead, the final exam will count as 40% of your course total. Because the final exam is cumulative, this option is not advisable unless extreme circumstances prevail. The final exam is scheduled by the NYU Registrar s Office and no alternative exam date will be provided. A make-up will be given for the final exam only under exceptional circumstances that must be discussed with Professor Ward prior to the exam. In the rare cases where approval is granted, a grade of incomplete will be given for the course and the make-up will be scheduled for the Fall 2015 semester. 9. Homework Written homework assignments based on course content and/or additional readings will be made available on the NYU CLASSES site each Wednesday. All homework assignments, whether online or written, will be due at the beginning of the next Wednesday s class (9:30 AM) unless otherwise announced. Homework must be submitted on time for full credit. Late homework will not be accepted. The lowest two homework grades, including unsubmitted homework, will not be counted toward your composite homework grade. If you suffer from an illness during the course and cannot complete homework assignments beyond these two allowances, you must provide a doctor s note to Professor Ward. 10. In-Class Exercises In-class exercises will be given regularly throughout the semester. For some assignments you will work individually and for other assignments you will work in a group. Full credit is given for your best effort at answering the questions. These in-class assignments will be completed during the class in which they are given. There are no make-ups allowed for in-class assignments, but your two lowest scores will be dropped at the end of the semester. In the event that you miss three or more in-class assignments, you must provide valid, documented excuses for all absences in order to have more than two scores dropped. 11. Laboratory Sessions 5
You must be registered in a laboratory section in order to receive credit for the course. Each section has a maximum capacity of 20 students, which is determined by safety issues and availability of laboratory equipment. The section enrollment cannot be increased. If you are not appropriately registered for a laboratory section, you will be required to drop the course. The laboratory sessions will be held in Silver 202 and will begin on February 4 & 5. There are no laboratory sessions during the first week of class. Lab Section Day and Time Instructor Section 011 Thu 9:00 AM 10:40 AM Anna Powers Section 012 Thu 11:00 AM 12:40 PM Anna Powers Section 013 Thu 1:00 PM 2:40 PM Veronica Murphy Section 014 Thu 3:00 PM 4:40 PM Veronica Murphy Section 015 Wed 3:00 PM 4:40 PM Lizheng Zhu Section 016 Wed 5:00 PM 6:40 PM Lizheng Zhu Each weekly lab project is worth 50 points: Attendance Quiz Lab Assignment 10 points 10 points 30 points Attendance Credit: You are expected to arrive punctually for the beginning of the lab session. Arriving more than 10 minutes late will result in a loss of attendance credit for the session. Laboratory Quiz: Questions will be based on the introduction to the experiment in the laboratory manual. Arriving more than 10 minutes late for the lab will exclude you from taking the quiz. Laboratory Assignment: This assignment should be completed and submitted during the laboratory period by working collaboratively with your laboratory partner. Some laboratories may have a takehome component in addition to the in-lab exercises. Lab Absence Policies You are strongly advised to avoid missing any of the lab sessions. In the event, however, that you cannot attend a lab session because of serious illness you must complete the LAB ABSENCE FORM (posted on the course site) and submit it to Professor Ward within ONE WEEK AFTER the missed lab. All absences because of illness must be accompanied by a doctor s note. If you cannot attend a lab session because of a religious observance, you must complete the LAB ABSENCE FORM (posted on the course site) and submit it to Professor Ward within ONE WEEK BEFORE the missed lab. It is also good practice to E-mail your lab instructor to inform him/her of your absence. Unexcused lab absences will result in loss of credit for the lab session. Because of the logistics of using the laboratory room, no make-up labs are possible. Permission to attend another lab section to complete a lab project will be granted under only the most extenuating circumstances, subject to discussion with and approval by Professor Ward and your lab instructor in advance. Please be mindful that attending another lab section under such circumstances may be impossible owing to the aforementioned limit of 20 students per lab section. 12. Optional Weekly Reviews We recommend that you regularly monitor your own understanding of the course material throughout the semester. To that end, the course will use the LearnSmart feature in CONNECT to provide you with a 6
weekly review of how well you have understood the course content. Each week, Professor Ward will post one or two LearnSmart modules to complete (the modules are organized by textbook chapter). Each module provides you with questions that are based on the central concepts and skills that have been explained in the textbook readings and lectures for that week. For each question, you will be first asked to rate your confidence in your answer and then you will be given feedback on whether your answer is correct. At the end of the module, you will be provided with a summary score of how well you know these topics. You will not be graded on the weekly reviews, but one or two multiple choice questions on each of the exams will come directly from the LearnSmart modules. The goal of the review is to provide you with a self-assessment of your understanding. If you find that you are having difficulty with a specific topic, we strongly recommend that you take the necessary time to review it again. 7