Debreceni Egyetem
A környezetgazdálkodási mérnöki, illetve a természetvédelmi és vadgazda
mérnöki alapképzési (BSc) szakok képesítési követelményeinek kidolgozása, a
szakok beindítása. HEFOP- 3.3.1-P.-2004-09-0071/1.0 projekt
Course description
1. Title of the course: Environmental Chemistry and Environmental Physics, MTB60038
2. Name and title of the lecturer:
3. Name of the degree programme:
4. Type of course: compulsory (A)
5. Schedule of education: 2nd semester, 2+1C
6. Credit value of the course: 5
7. Educational objective: Understanding the principles of environmental chemistry and
environmental physics. Getting enough principal theory of chemistry and physics to
understanding and solving the environmental problems caused by either natural or
anthropological processes and to eliminating the threatening new dangers.
8. Personnel background:
Dr. habil. Imre Vágó associate professor
Prof. Dr. Árpád Zoltán Kiss full professor
Dr. Zoltán Papp assistant professor
9. Course content:
1. week: The importance of environmental physics and environmental chemistry, their
relations to other disciplines. Basic physical quantities in classical mechanics. Noise as
an environmental problem. (Measurable physical quantities, environmental effects of
noise, reduction of environmental noise).
2. week: Transport of pollutants. Physical laws govern transports and wave-motion.
Physics of the most important transport phenomena in the environment (transport in air,
groundwater flow, sea current and wave-motion, geophysical flow), examples.
3. week: Fundamentals for the treatment of radioactivity. (modes of radioactive decay,
decay law, half life, activity, etc.) Origin of radioactive isotopes occurring in the
Debreceni Egyetem
Pannon Egyetem
Debreceni Egyetem
A környezetgazdálkodási mérnöki, illetve a természetvédelmi és vadgazda
mérnöki alapképzési (BSc) szakok képesítési követelményeinek kidolgozása, a
szakok beindítása. HEFOP- 3.3.1-P.-2004-09-0071/1.0 projekt
environment. The radioactive isotopes of natural origin. Age determination by
radioactive
isotopes.
Artificially
perturbed
natural
radioactivity.
Man-made
radioisotopes. Measuring the amount of radioisotopes on the basis of detection of their
nuclear radiation.
4. week: Ionising radiation in our environment. The interaction of ionising radiation with
matter. The biological effects of ionising radiation. Physical quantities (absorbed dose,
etc.). The sources and amount of the annual effective dose to man. How do the
biological effects and the risk of death depend on the dose? Evolution of radiation
sickness at high doses. Recommended and official dose limits. Measurement of dose.
5. week: Energy and environment. Types of energy, change energy from one type to
another, efficiency. Energy for human use. World energy situation. Towards the
environment-friendly energy production: alternative energy sources, renewable energy
sources. The nuclear energy. Direct and indirect use of solar energy (wind,
hydropower, biomass, etc.) Advantages, disadvantages.
6. week: Transformation processes of the natural environment. Geochemical development
of the Earth. The chemical evolution, formation of biopolymers. Hypothesis of the
formation of life.
7. week: Conformation and structure of the lithosphere. Weathering and other
transformation processes in the lithosphere. Keynotes of the soil chemistry.
8. week: The hydrosphere. Structure and characteristics of waters. Autoprotolysis, acidbase processes, pH, oxido-reductive reactions and their role in the natural ecosystems.
The water cycle, interactions with the lithosphere and atmosphere.
9. week: Environmental chemistry of the atmosphere. Composition, structure. Principles
of the photochemistry. The effect of the components of atmosphere on the ecosystems.
Chemical reactions of the atmosphere.
10. week: Biogeochemical cycles of the chemical elements. Carbon cycle, anthropogenic
effects on the carbon cycle.
Debreceni Egyetem
Pannon Egyetem
Debreceni Egyetem
A környezetgazdálkodási mérnöki, illetve a természetvédelmi és vadgazda
mérnöki alapképzési (BSc) szakok képesítési követelményeinek kidolgozása, a
szakok beindítása. HEFOP- 3.3.1-P.-2004-09-0071/1.0 projekt
11. week: Oxygen cycle, the oxygen household of the atmosphere. Environmental
chemistry of the nitrogen cycle. Anthropogenic effects on the nitrogen cycle and its
significance in the environmental management.
12. week: Phosphor cycle and sulphur cycle in the natural ecosystems. Anthropogenic
effects and their significance.
13. week: Anthropogenic loading on the natural environment. The pollutants of the
atmosphere, hydrosphere and pedosphere.
14. week: Environmental chemistry of heavy metals. The essential and toxic heavy metals.
Environmental effects and biogeochemical cycles of the toxic heavy metals.
10. Mode of assessment during the semester: theme work, regular controls at the
seminars
11. Type of exam: oral
12. Compulsory practice related to the course: 13. Compulsory and recommended literature:
Boeker, E. and van Grondelle, R., 1995: Environmental Physics, John Wiley & Sons,
Chicester.
Clark, I.D. and Fritz, P., 1997: Environmental Isotopes in Hydrogeology, Boca Raton, CRC
Press.
Eisenbud, M., 1987: Environmental Radioactivity, Academic Press Inc.
Europe’s Environment, The Dobříš Assesment, Szerk.: Stanners, D. and Bourdeau, Ph.,
European Environment Agency, Copenhagen, 1995.
Merril Eisenbud: Environmental Radioactivity from Natural, Industrial and Military
sources, Academic Press, New York, 1997.
Kathren, R.L., Radioactivity in the Environment: Sources, Distribution and Surveillance,
Harwood Academic Publishers, New York, 1984.
Papp, Sándor: Bevezetés a környezetkémiába. Egyetemi jegyzet, Veszprém, 1999.
Debreceni Egyetem
Pannon Egyetem
Debreceni Egyetem
A környezetgazdálkodási mérnöki, illetve a természetvédelmi és vadgazda
mérnöki alapképzési (BSc) szakok képesítési követelményeinek kidolgozása, a
szakok beindítása. HEFOP- 3.3.1-P.-2004-09-0071/1.0 projekt
Papp, Sándor; Kümmel, Rolf: Környezeti kémia. Tankönyvkiadó, Budapest, 1992.
Kümmel, Rolf; Papp, Sándor: Umweltchemie. Deutscher Verlag für Grundstoffindustrie
GmbH, Leipzig, 1990.
14. Exam themes:
1. Tell the difference between sound and noise, the effect of noise to human health.
2. Tell the definition and the unit of measure for the following quantities: acoustic
pressure, threshold of audibility.
3. Tell the methods of reducing the transmission of sound.
4. Tell the physical laws of gases and fluids.
5. Describe short range and long range transport of air, tell about winds, mereorological
phenomena, complete them with examples.
6. Describe surface and groundwater transport, see currents, wave-motions, give
examples.
7. Tell shortly about the meanings of the following ideas: isotope, radiation, nuclear
radiation, ionising radiation, radioactivity, decay scheme, decay law, decay constant,
half life, activity.
8. Classify the radioactive isotopes occurring in the environment according to their origin
and tell about where and in what amount they occur.
9. Tell about the basic concept of the age determination by radioactive isotopes and
about how the amount of radioactive isotopes can be measured on the basis of
detection of their nuclear radiation.
10. Tell about the origin of the ionising radiation occurring in our environment, about
their interaction with matter, about their biological effects and about the meanings of
the ideas necessary for describing the above.
Debreceni Egyetem
Pannon Egyetem
Debreceni Egyetem
A környezetgazdálkodási mérnöki, illetve a természetvédelmi és vadgazda
mérnöki alapképzési (BSc) szakok képesítési követelményeinek kidolgozása, a
szakok beindítása. HEFOP- 3.3.1-P.-2004-09-0071/1.0 projekt
11. Tell shortly about the meanings of the following ideas: Exposure, absorbed dose,
radiation weighting factors, equivalent dose, body tissue weighting factors, effective
dose, dose rate.
12. Tell about the sources and amount of the annual effective dose to man, about how the
biological effects and the risk of death depend on the dose and about the meanings of
the ideas necessary for describing the above.
13. Outline the advantages and disadvantages of an atomic power station to a fossil fuel
power plant.
14. Expound how relates to each other burning biomass and coal in respect of CO2
production.
15. Enumerate the most important renewable energy sources, compare their advantages
and disadvantages.
16. Describe: Transformation processes of the natural environment. Geochemical
development of the Earth.
17. Tell: The chemical evolution, formation of biopolymers. Hypothesis of the formation
of life on the Earth.
18. Explain: Conformation and structure of the lithosphere. Weathering and other
transformation processes in the lithosphere. Keynotes of the soil chemistry.
19. Describe: The hydrosphere. Structure and characteristics of waters. Autoprotolysis,
acid-base processes.
20. Tell: The definition of pH, its meaning and significance in the biogechemical
ecosystems.
21. Explain: Oxido-reductive reactions and their role in the natural ecosystems.
22. Tell: The water cycle in the global systems, interactions with the lithosphere and
atmosphere.
Debreceni Egyetem
Pannon Egyetem
Debreceni Egyetem
A környezetgazdálkodási mérnöki, illetve a természetvédelmi és vadgazda
mérnöki alapképzési (BSc) szakok képesítési követelményeinek kidolgozása, a
szakok beindítása. HEFOP- 3.3.1-P.-2004-09-0071/1.0 projekt
23. Explain: Environmental chemistry of the atmosphere. Composition, structure,
chemical reactions.
24. Describe: Principles of the photochemistry. Chemical reactions of the atmosphere. The
effect of the components of atmosphere on the ecosystems.
25. Describe: The biogeochemical cycle of the carbon, anthropogenic effects on the
carbon cycle.
26. Explain: The biogeochemical cycle of the oxygen, the most important chemical
reactions with some components of the ecosystems. The oxygen household of the
atmosphere.
27. Tell: Environmental chemistry of the nitrogen cycle. Anthropogenic effects on the
nitrogen cycle and its significance in the environmental management.
28. Describe: The biogeochemical cycle of phosphorus in the natural ecosystem.
Anthropogenic effects and their significance.
29. Describe: The biogeochemical cycle of sulphur in the natural ecosystem.
Anthropogenic effects and their significance.
30. Give details on: the pollutants of the atmosphere.
31. Describe: the pollutants of the hydrosphere.
32. Explain: the pollutants of the pedosphere.
33. Give details on: Environmental chemistry of heavy metals. The essential and toxic
heavy metals and their characteristics.
34. Describe the environmental effects and biogeochemical cycles of the toxic heavy
metals.
Debreceni Egyetem
Pannon Egyetem