Students are expected to have a basic knowledge of chemistry. This includes general chemistry (generally two semesters) and a course that covers qualitative and quantitative analysis. Students should have had some experience in a chemistry laboratory, and be familar with common terms used in the laboratory (e.g., volumetric flask, pipet, titration). It is recognized that the student may be weak or unfamilar with certain aspects of chemistry covered in the course. Supplemental reading material will be available to the student so that they may review certain fundamental chemical concepts necessary to understand the course material.

This course will develop students knowledge of ...

...the basic principles involved in environmental chemical analyses, including the importance of quality assurance and quality control.

...the levels of analytes found in typical environments(Wisconsin and elsewhere), and what levels constitute a problem.

...of what is generally involved in generating water quality laboratory data, so the student can apply this information in a practical way given that they most likely will not work in a laboratory but will use or need to obtain laboratory data.

...the role of laws and regulations in dictating the procedures followed in many analyses.

Basic calculations, laboratory safety, sample preservation, gravimetric methods (e.g., solids), wet chemical methods (e.g., alkalinity titrations), instrumential methods (e.g., atomic absorption analysis of metals), and microbiological testing are covered. In addition, quality assurance is dealt with in considerable detail and an overview is given of environmental law and water quality criteria. A variety of instruments used in environmental analyses will be introduced, including ion selective electrodes, autoanalyzers, flow injection analyzers, continuous flow analyzers, UV-visible spectrophotometers, atomic absorption spectrophotometers, ion chromatographs, gas chromatographs and mass spectrometers.

The following statement indicates which of the following considerations are included in this course: economic, environmental, ethical, political, societal, health and safety, manufacturability, sustainability.

CEE 501, Water Analysis intermediate, deals largely with environmental issues. However, economic, ethical, political and health and safety issues are also discussed.

CEE: Provide education in the fundamentals of CEE. Course: deepen knowledge of environ. chem.

CEE: Provide experiences in...professionalism. Course: Develop critical reasoning skills for environ. analysis and QA/QC.

Related CEE Educational Outcomes: Outcome 2: selecting, verify an appropriate solution for a defined problem... This outcome relates to course otucome on method selection.

Outcome 3: CEE students should be able to apply the methods... and determine the accuracy/precision for making measurements...This outcome relates to the course outcome of learning why enivornmental samples are analyzed, how they are are analyzed, and how to interpret the results.

Outcome 7: CEE students should apply knowledge of...natural science (...chemistry...)...to CEE problems. this outcome relates to the course strategy of applying environmental chmeistry concepts to support analysis of environmental engineering problems. Any engineer who uses environmental data in design and decision making would likely find this course of practical benefit, but in particular it provides knowledge useful for multi-disciplinary civil and environmental engineering projects.

Outcome 8: CEE students should recognize...ethical conduct of engineering duties. This outcome is addressed through discussion of environmental law and how regulations affect environmental analyses.

CEE 501 provides information on why enivornmental samples are analyzed, how they are are analyzed, and how to interpret the results.

Three one hour examinations are given, each covering approximately one-third of the course. Each exam has equal weight in determining the final grade. Each exam typically will include some multiple choice questions, some short answer questions, some calculations and some essay questions. Questions are designed to test the students retention of basic material as well as their ability to apply the information to practical situations. Essay questions allow the student to discuss what they know about a topic or a course objective. The combinations of different types of questions allows the student to use various skills in demonstrating that they have learned the material and thus met the objectives of the course.