Chemistry 110: Pollutants in the Environment

Three lecture and three laboratory hours a week. 1 unit. [FSNC]
Prerequisite: none (high school chemistry is desirable).

Dr. Chris Stevenson (cstevens@richmond.edu)
GSC C-209, 289-8635

Course Description

This course is designed for a non-science major. We explore chemical principles in the context of technological and societal issues with an environmental theme, such as global warming, water quality, energy sources, and waste management. As we discuss various issues, key chemical concepts are included on a need-to-know basis.

This course fulfills the Natural Sciences Field of Study general education requirement. The following description is from the University of Richmond undergraduate catalog.

Fields-of-study courses introduce students to some of the primary fields, or sets of related disciplines, within which scholars group phenomena for study. These courses are intended to familiarize students with the kinds of questions raised by scholars within each of these groupings, and with the methods by which scholars try to answer such questions.

Natural Science courses, in particular, are concerned with the physical universe from subatomic to cosmic levels of organization. They can cover anything from inanimate forces to living systems. Through the generation and testing of hypotheses regarding repeatable, measurable, and verifiable phenomena, natural scientific inquiry is one of our major means of understanding the world in which we live.

The Natural Science Field of Study courses should answer the following sorts of questions: Did the course familiarize you with the kinds of questions asked by scholars who use scientific approaches in their work? Did it familiarize you with some of the methods they use to answer such questions? Did it give you a solid foundation for understanding the kinds of knowledge being generated by scientists?

This course also satisfies a science requirement for the Environmental Studies major. Click here for more detail on the requirements for an ENVR degree. Chemistry and biology majors/minors interested in the behavior of chemical pollutants in the environment are encouraged to take the more advanced Environmental Chemistry course.