6 EC
Semester 1, period 1
5254ENCH6Y
In this course students will learn fundamentals of environmental chemistry, more specifically the major sources and emission pathways of chemical pollutants, the mechanisms governing their transport and fate in different environmental compartments (with a focus on organic pollutants) as well as approaches to chemical risk assessment and management. Students will learn about the different classes of chemical pollutants and how their environmental behaviour is driven by their underlying chemical structure and properties.
Topics include transport and distribution processes, and physico/biochemical reactions of compounds in the environment; bioavailability, bioaccumulation and degradation of chemicals; monitoring and non-target screening, prediction and fate modelling in environmental compartments; structure property/activity relationships; risk assessment and regulation.
The course Environmental Chemistry will consist of interactive online classes with exercises, group projects, a computer practical and a final exam. Lecturers are Dr. Antonia Praetorius, Prof. Annemarie van Wezel, Dr. Thomas ter Laak and Dr. Saer Samanipour. Two teaching assistants will support the course by assisting during the exercises and group work. Office hours will be offered once a week.
Schwarzenbach et al., 'Environmental Organic Chemistry', 3rd Ed., 2017 John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-76723-8, for detailed background reading and training questions
handouts (doc), publications (pdf)
Classes provide the basic knowledge to gain an understanding of the theory of environmental processes. Examples of these processes will be applied to one contaminant (or group of contaminants) per week as a case study. Exercises will be used to apply and practice the material .
Weekly quizzes will be used to test the understanding of the material from the previous week.
A group project will be performed in parallel to the lectures, in which students will apply the knowledge acquired in class to build up a risk assessment dossier for a chemical. The work will be presented in form of a report and a presentation to practice presentation skills.
A computer practical will be dedicated to learn how to use computer fate models for exposure predictions.
Demonstrations will be used to show how to use online tools for substance property retrieval.
|
Activity |
Hours |
|
|
Lectures |
26 |
|
|
Group work |
14 | |
| Computer practical |
4 |
|
|
Final exam |
3 |
|
|
Self study |
121 |
|
|
Total |
168 |
(6 EC x 28 uur) |
This programme does not have requirements concerning attendance (TER part B).
Additional requirements for this course:
Attendance and participation is mandatory for the group presentations on October 15th and highly recommended during the computer practical on October 1st.
Weekly quizzes take place on Monday mornings (starting in the second week) and count towards 10% of the final grade. The 5 best quizzes (out of 6) count towards the grade, so 1 quiz can be missed unexcused.
It is required that the groups meet (online) frequently to advance the group work. Teaching assistants and lecturers will be present to assist with the group project during the second half of the Thursday class and it is highly recommended that the groups work together during this time.
| Item and weight | Details |
|
Final grade | |
|
0.5 (50%) SOWISO Exam | |
|
1 (100%) Final exam (SOWISO) | |
|
0.1 (10%) Quizzes | |
|
1 (20%) Quiz 1 | |
|
1 (20%) Quiz 2 | |
|
1 (20%) Quiz 3 | |
|
1 (20%) Quiz 5 | |
|
1 (20%) Quiz 6 | |
|
0.2 (20%) Group report | |
|
1 (100%) Group report | |
|
0.2 (20%) Group presentation | |
|
1 (100%) Group presentation |
The final grade of the course is based on the results of the quizzes (10%), the group report (20%) and presentation (20%) as well as the final exam (50%).
The quizzes will be held online via Canvas in the first 10-15 minutes of the Monday class (starting in week 2). The average of the outcomes of the 5 best (out of 6) quizzes will make up the grade. One quiz can be missed unexcused.
The groups projects will be assessed based on the group report and presentation to be submitted in Week 42. A common grade will be given per group for the report and one common grade for the presentation. Each count towards 20% of the final grade.
The final exam will take place online on October 22. A resit will be held on February 2nd. More details about the exam software and permitted material will be provided at least one week prior to the exam date. A sample exam using the same software will be made available for the students to familiarize themselves with the platform in advance. Examples of previous exams with answers will be made available.
Students will be assigned to groups during the first week and work on the project over several weeks. As final outcomes of the group work the students will submit a report comprised of a risk assessment dossier of a specific chemical and present their findings to the other students during a seminar on October 15.
Exercises will be handed out during the class. The students are encourage to work on the exercises together during the class as well as to finish them at home. Solutions will be discussed in the following lecture. Exercises are not graded and do not have to be handed in. Students who want specific feedback on their exercise are welcome to submit them (but they will not count towards the course grade).
The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl
| Weeks | Subjects mondayclass | Subjects thursdayclass |
| 36 |
Introduction, risk assessment & regulation |
Legacy contaminants |
| 37 | Molecular interactions & partitioning | Sorption, bioavailability |
| 38 |
Bioconcentration, -accumulation & -magnification |
Degradation & persistence |
| 39 |
Volatilization & long-range transport |
Transport processes (kinetics) |
| 40 |
Fate modelling |
Computer practical |
| 41 |
Environmental monitoring & non-target screening |
Emissions & WWBE |
| 42 |
Emerging contaminants |
Group presentations |
| 43 | Question hour | Final exam |
The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.