College of Public Health
University of South Florida
Department of Environmental & Occupational Health
Syllabus
Course Name: Environmental Analytical Laboratory
Prefix & Number: PHC 6305
Sections: ref# 001
Semester: Spring, 2014
Course
Description:
This course is intended generally to enable students learn and implement techniques
used for quantitative sampling and analysis of air, water, soil and sediment
contaminants. The course is mainly a lab-based course preceded by three lectures.
Students will work on various mini-projects and submit their findings in a portfolio. A
field trip and written assignment will also be part of the course.
Credit hours:
3
Pre-Requisites:
N/A
Co-Requisites:
N/A
Location:
CPH 1122; Labs 2214, 2215 and 1213
Instructor
Information:
Instructor 1
Instructor 2
Instructor 3
Foday M. Jaward, PhD
CPH 1112
Tue, Thu, Fri 8:30 – 10:30
or by appointment
813-396-9431
fjaward@health.usf.edu
Required
Materials:
Recommended
Materials:
Course Format:
E-mail contact preferred
Course Packet
1. Fifield F W and Haines P J Environmental Analytical Chemistry, 2nd ed.
2. Hites R Elements of Environmental Chemistry
3. Manahan S E Environmental Chemistry, 8th ed.
This course will contain four interrelated components designed to provide a general
introduction to the skills and topics needed for students majoring in one of the
public health or engineering, or for students who are pursuing pre-professional
programs in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, or other health
programs.
1. Introductory Lectures. Course instructor and lab and safety office will give 3
lectures using power point presentation and also provide insights and perspectives
on the material. Safety in the lab is very paramount. Students are encouraged to ask
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University of South Florida
questions and make comments
2. Laboratory projects. This forms the core of this course. During this course,
students will practice safe laboratory procedures and protocols; implement methods
for data quality assurance/quality control; introduce students to field sampling
techniques; quantify chemical concentrations in water, air, soil and sediment using
GC/MS, UV-VIS, IR and Atomic Absorption Spec; and analyze and interpret
experimental data.
3. Literature Review/Long research paper. Environmental health issues ranging
from global to local will be researched on. The long research paper (minimum of 10
pages double spaced with 12 font and stapled) will be submitted followed by an oral
presentation. An electronic copy must be sent to my e-mail address. Safe assignment
tool will be used to check for plagiarism.
4. Field Trip
The class will visit an environmental/analytical/health facility. This will enable the
students to see some of the exercises performed in class. A field report (minimum of
3 pages double spaced with 12 font size) and oral presentation are also required.
Electronic copies must be sent to my e-mail address.
Learning Objectives:
(Objectives must be numbered)
During this course, the student will
1. Practice safe laboratory procedures and protocols;
2. Implement methods for data quality assurance/quality control;
3. Introduce students to field sampling techniques;
4. Quantify chemical concentrations in water, air, soil and sediment using GC/MS, UV-VIS, IR
and Atomic Absorption Spec;
5. Analyze and interpret experimental data.
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Assessment Strategies:
(Strategies must be numbered)
1. Lab Reports: All lab reports and quiz questions are due by the Tuesday after each lab session.
2. Laboratory activities: Students should be involved in all lab activities
3. Final presentation: End of semester
4. Long essay report and presentation: End of semester
5. Field trip: Field trip and presentation- mid-semester
This course supports the following mulitple concentration competencies.
Competency
Develop laboratory and field sampling and analyses skills, and data
analyses and interpretation skills, to answer a research hypothesis
Learning
Objectives
Assessment
Strategies
2
1-4
Describe through quality assurance/quality control techniques and
statistical methods the validity and significance of research results
3
1-3
Communicate orally and in writing research implications, methods,
results, and conclusions, demonstrated through the preparation and
defense of a thesis
4
1-5
Demonstrate the appropriate research ethics in laboratory practice, data
management, and publication of result
6
1-4
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Grading Scale and
Criteria:
Course Grading Criteria:
Laboratory activities, lab reports and final presentation: 60%
Long essay report and presentation: 20%
Quiz Questions: 10%
Field trip: 10%
Course Grading Scale:
90% and above = A
80 - 89% = B
70 - 79% = C
60 - 69% = D
Grading Policies:
GUIDELINES FOR THE FORMAT OF WRITTEN
ASSIGNMENTS
The standard for the formatting of assignments and manuscripts shall be
The American Psychological Association (APA) and the Environmental
Science and Technology (ES&T). All assignments completed for the
purposes of this course must comply with the APA and ES&T guidelines
for referencing material.
Late Assignments/lab reports
I will encourage all students to turn in their assignments, field reports
and presentation on time. All late assignments and lab reports will be
assessed a penalty of 5 points per day. Failure to complete any
assignment will not constitute an excuse for being assigned an "I" grade
in the course. Exceptions to this policy will be made only in the case of
severe illness, documented family emergency, or similar problem.
Make-up Labs and Quizzes
These are only possible with valid reasons, for example, medical/hospital
report, death of relative (death certificate required) etc.
COURSE POLICIES
Attendance:
Class attendance will be taken into consideration when evaluating students’
participation in the course. Students who miss more than three class
sessions will, in general, not get the maximum grade. Students who
anticipate the necessity of being absent from class due to the observation of
a major religious observance must provide notice of the date(s) to the
instructor, in writing, by the second class meeting.
See Institutional Policies section for Emergency Preparedness for
Academic Continuity.
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Permission to Use
Lectures:
All unauthorized recordings of class are prohibited. Recordings that
accommodate individual student needs must be approved in advance and
may be used for personal use during the semester only; redistribution is
prohibited.
Instructor Expectations:
Students are expected to actively engage in lab activities and are
encouraged to ask questions.
.
Incomplete Policy:
Field Trip Policy:
Class Participation:
COPH policy:
http://publichealth.usf.edu/academicaffairs/academic_procedures.html
Field trip is a mandatory component of this course. Students must complete
assigned activities in order to earn credit for this course. The field trip
report is due two week after the trip. Each report must be done individually.
There will also be a presentation on the field trip.
Students are expected to actively engage in class discussions and are
encouraged to ask questions. Students should keep an open mind, even
when discussing controversial viewpoints.
Dress Code:
Students must wear closed-toe shoes and a laboratory coat in the laboratory. Protective clothing may
be required for field sampling activities.
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Course Calendar
WEEK ONE – Jan. 6 to Jan. 10
Jan 8
Introduction to laboratory facilities and glassware, tour of laboratory facilities, etc.
WEEK TWO – Jan. 13 to Jan. 17
Jan. 15
Methods for sampling, sample collection, handling, preservation, storage
Development of a calibration curve
Use of laboratory and method blanks
Level of detection, experimental precision and bias, estimation
Techniques for data analysis and interpretation: simple statistics, histograms, scatter plots,
box plots, spatial plots, inference tests, analysis of variance, treatment of outliers, QA/QC
WEEK THREE – Jan. 20 to Jan. 24
Jan. 22
Safety Lectures by EHS staff
Analytical Chemistry
Data Computation
WEEK FOUR – Jan 27 to Jan. 31
Jan. 29
Processing of water, air, soil and sediment samples using various extraction techniques
(XAD resin and liquid/liquid extraction for water samples; and soxhlet extraction for air,
soil and sediment samples)
Quiz
WEEK FIVE – Feb. 3 to Feb. 7
Feb. 5
Processing of water, air, soil and sediment samples using various extraction techniques
(XAD resin and liquid/liquid extraction for water samples; and soxhlet extraction for air,
soil and sediment samples)
WEEK SIX – Feb. 10 to Feb. 14
Feb. 12
Clean-up of samples using silica, alumina and sodium sulfate
GC/MS work
WEEK SEVEN – Feb. 17 to Feb. 21
Feb. 19
Collection of water samples from Hillsborough river and storm water retention ponds
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College of Public Health
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WEEK EIGHT – Feb. 24 to Feb. 28
Feb. 26
Determination of selected PBDE congeners in water from Hillsborough River and storm
water retention ponds using liquid-liquid extraction
WEEK NINE – Mar. 3 to Mar. 7
Mar. 5
Determination of selected PBDE congeners in water from Hillsborough River and storm
water retention ponds using XAD extraction
WEEK TEN – Mar. 10 to Mar. 14
SPRING BREAK - NO CLASS
WEEK ELEVEN – Mar. 17 to Mar. 21
Mar. 19
Determination of selected PBDE congeners in Dryer Lint
Quiz
WEEK TWELVE – Mar. 24 to Mar. 28
Mar. 26
Drinking water quality and health: water treatment and chemical contaminants – Home
work Presentations
WEEK THIRTEEN – Mar. 31 to Apr. 4
Apr. 2
Quantitative determination of caffeine in beverages using combined SPME-GC/MS
method
Quiz
WEEK FOURTEEN – Apr. 7 to Apr. 11
Apr. 9
Introduction to Atomic Absorption Spec, training & quantitative determination of selected
metals
WEEK FIFTEEN – Apr. 14 to Apr. 18
Apr. 16
Site trip to an air pollution monitoring site: Active and passive samplers sampling in the
field; PM2.5 and PM10 sampling, demonstration of gas analyzer calibration and pump
flow calibration Or the Mote Analytical Lab in Sarasota
WEEK SIXTEEN – Apr. 21 to Apr. 25
Apr. 23
Introduction to IR, training & quantitative determination of selected gases (CO2, CO,
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College of Public Health
University of South Florida
HCHO, SO2, Methane)
WEEK SEVENTEEN – Apr. 28 to May. 2
Apr. 30
Final presentations
INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES
The most recent version of the Institutional Policies information can be found on the Academic Affairs
Forms page at http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/forms.html
(Fall 2011)
Student Handbook:
http://www.sa.usf.edu/dean/docs/full handbook.pdf
Student Conduct:
USF Student Rights/Responsibilities:
http://www.sa.usf.edu/srr/page.asp?id=81
USF Student Code of Conduct: http://www.sa.usf.edu/srr/page.asp?id=88
Disruption of
Academic
Process/Academic
Integrity of Students:
Disruption of the academic process and violations of the policies regarding
academic integrity will not be tolerated. Review USF policies on Disruption
of the Academic Process and the Academic Integrity of Students at:
Academic Dishonesty/
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism will not be tolerated and is grounds for failure. Review USF
Academic Dishonesty and Disruption of Academic Process Policy at:
http://generalcounsel.usf.edu/regulations/pdfs/regulation-usf3.025.pdf
Undergraduate:
http://www.ugs.usf.edu/pdf/cat1112/20112012.pdf#page=62
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College of Public Health
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Graduate:
http://www.grad.usf.edu/inc/linked-files/USF_Grad_Catalog_20112012.pdf#page=39
The University of South Florida has an account with an automated
plagiarism detection service (SafeAssign), which allows instructors and
students to submit student assignments to be checked for plagiarism. I (the
instructor) reserve the right to 1) request that assignments be submitted as
electronic files and 2) submit students’ assignments to SafeAssign, or 3)
request students to submit their assignments to SafeAssign through myUSF.
Assignments are compared automatically with a database of journal articles,
web articles, the internet and previously submitted papers. The instructor
receives a report showing exactly how a student’s paper was plagiarized.
NOTE: An institution may not release a paper to a plagiarism detection
software without the student’s prior consent unless all personally identifiable
information has been removed, such as a student’s name, social security
number, student number, etc.. Note that a paper/essay is considered an
educational record and an institution may not ask a student to waive their
rights under FERPA for the purpose of submitting papers to a plagiarism
detection software.
For more information about Plagiarism and SafeAssign, visit:
Plagiarism tutorial: http://www.cte.usf.edu/plagiarism/plag.html
SafeAssign: http://media.c21te.usf.edu/pdf/student/bbstud_subsafeassgn.pdf
Cheating Statement:
The USF College of Public Health expects students to maintain academic
honesty in all courses. By virtue of being registered in an public health
course, students agree to refrain from cheating. If cheating in any form
(academic dishonesty) is detected, appropriate action will be taken. (Refer to
USF Academic Dishonesty Policy).
Undergraduate:
http://www.ugs.usf.edu/pdf/cat1112/20112012.pdf#page=67
Graduate:
http://www.grad.usf.edu/inc/linked-files/USF_Grad_Catalog_20112012.pdf#page=39
Undergraduate
Academic Policies and
Procedures:
Special
Accommodations:
Syllabus
http://www.ugs.usf.edu/pdf/cat1112/08acapol.pdf
Students in need of academic accommodations for a disability may consult
with the office of Services for Students with Disabilities to arrange
appropriate accommodations. Students are required to give reasonable notice
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University of South Florida
(typically 5 working days) prior to requesting an accommodation.
Students with Disabilities Services: http://www.sds.usf.edu/
Students: http://www.sds.usf.edu/students.asp
Faculty: http://www.sds.usf.edu/faculty.asp
Holidays and
Religious
Observances:
http://generalcounsel.usf.edu/policies-and-procedures/pdfs/policy-10045.pdf
Emergency
Preparedness:
In the event of an emergency, it may be necessary for USF to suspend
normal operations. During this time, USF may opt to continue delivery of
instruction through methods that include but are not limited to: Blackboard,
Elluminate, Skype, and email messaging and/or an alternate schedule. It’s
the responsibility of the student to monitor Blackboard site for each class for
course specific communication, and the main USF, College, and department
websites, emails, and MoBull messages for important general information.
Student Grievance
Procedure:
Review USF Academic Grievance Policy at:
http://generalcounsel.usf.edu/policies-and-procedures/pdfs/policy-10002.pdf
Undergraduate:
http://www.ugs.usf.edu/pdf/cat1112/20112012.pdf#page=62
Graduate
http://www.grad.usf.edu/inc/linked-files/USF_Grad_Catalog_20112012.pdf#page=48
Student assistance is provided by Division of Student Affairs, Office of the
Student Ombudsman.
http://www.sa.usf.edu/ombudsman
RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS
Library Resources:
USF Library Resources and Services: http://www.lib.usf.edu/
Shimberg Health Sciences Library: http://library.hsc.usf.edu/
Shimberg Health Sciences Library Tutorials: http://library.hsc.usf.edu/
(follow links under ‘Instructional Services’ section)
Creating Citations &
Using Refworks:
http://guides.lib.usf.edu/CitingSources
Netiquette
http://eta.health.usf.edu/publichealth/standards/syllabus/Online
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College of Public Health
University of South Florida
(online communication
etiquette for online
courses):
Netiquette.pdf
Plagiarism & Safe
Assign:
See Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism Section
USF Email Accounts:
http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/eta/pdf/MyUSF_Email.pdf
Blackboard Tutorials:
http://media.c21te.usf.edu/bbstudents.html
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