Pomona College Chemistry 106, Environmental Chemistry

POMONA COLLEGE CHEMISTRY 106, ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY

Catalogue Copy for the Course (previously Chemistry 6)
Chemistry 106. Environmental Chemistry. Mr. Oxtoby, Mr. Steinmetz. An examination of environmental systems such as the atmosphere and the oceans from a molecular perspective. The course will critically examine chemical sources of environmental pollution and the means for remediation of these problems. Prerequisites: Chemistry 1a,b or 51 or permission of the instructor. Spring.

The purpose of this very simple Web page is to provide information about the course, most material distributed in the course, and links to important sources of information, Information will be provided as it becomes available.

HANDOUTS

course syllabus

questionnaire

reading and homework assignments

problem sets and assignments distributed in class

Problem Set I (hydrology)
Problem Set II (water chemistry)
Problem Set III (atmospheric chemistry)
Problem Set IV (atmospheric chemistry)
Problem Set V (review of thermodynamics and kinetics)
Problem Set VI (radiation chemistry in the stratosphere)
Problem Set VII (2006 version, catalytic cycles involving ozone)
[Problem Set VII (pre 2006 version, catalytic cycles involving ozone)]
Problem Set VIII (2006 version, ozone and fluorocarbons)
Problem Set IX (2006 version, redox chemistry in the troposphere)
Problem Set X (vLD, Ch. 4, Problems 1, 3, 5) (smog)
Problem Set XI (vLD, Ch. 4, Problems 8, 9, 11) (smog remediation and engines)
Problem Set XII (acid rain)
Problem Set XIII (vLD, Chapter 6, Problems 1, 2, 3, 7) (aerosols)
Problem Set XIV (greenhouse warming)
Problem Set XV (chemistry in the hydrosphere)
Problem Set XVI (soil chemistry and organic pollutants)

papers and reports

miscellaneous

composition of natural waters (* used on 7 March)
structures of silicate minerals in cif and pdb format
cif files are best read by Mercury, an excellent freeware program provided by the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre.
pdb files can be read by most modeling programs and Web utitlties such as Chime.
- framework minerals
  alpha quartz (hexagonal): cif and pdb
  albite fledspar (triclinic): cif and pdb
  orthoclase feldspar (monoclinic): cif and pdb
  microcline feldspar (triclinic): cif and pdb
- sheet minerals: micas and clays
  muscovite: cif and pdb
  illite: cif and pdb
  kaolinite: cif and pdb
  pyrophyllite: cif and pdb
- amphiboles, double-chain silicates
  actinolite: cif and pdb
  hornblende: cif and pdb
- pyroxenes: single-chain silicates
  jadeite (jade): cif and pdb
- ring silicates
  tourmaline: cif and pdb
  beryl: cif and pdb
- orthosilicates
  pyrope garnet: cif and pdb

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

The course course syllabus lists the books on reserve for the course at the Seeley G. Mudd (Pomona Science) Library. An effort has been made to use Chemistry Departmental library funds for the purchase of books in the area of environmental chemistry. Address any recommendations for purchases to Professor Steinmetz (wsteinmetz@pomona.edu). Professor Steinmetz maintains MolData, a critically assembled annotated bibliobraphy of sources of chemical data on the WWW. Of particular value to Chemistry 106 is the Environmental Chemistry page of MolData.

last updated, 28 Feb. 2006, WES