CHM 100 CC: CHEMISTRY IN CONTEXT

How can radiation both cause and treat cancer? What is green chemistry and how can it be used to minimize environmental impact? How do scientists determine 800,000 years of temperature data from ice core samples? What caused the hole in the ozone layer and how do scientists determine how big it is? All of these questions can be answered using fundamental chemical principles. Chemistry is involved in almost every aspect of our everyday lives, from the air we breathe and water we drink, to the reactions that power our cars and provide energy to our homes. This course will present fundamental chemical principles in the context of real-world issues with an emphasis on issues related to the environment, such as air quality, ozone layer depletion, water consumption, energy, and climate change. Students will evaluate the concepts of risk assessment and global sustainability so that they can learn how scientific data is applied in the real world to issues concerning health and well-being of individuals, local communities, and the wider ecosystems that sustain life on this planet.