Let Environmental Chemistry Enrich Your Curriculum Carlo Parravano State University of New York, Purchase, NY 10577 The upsurge of concern in the late 1960's for enrironmental ~ r o b l e m sled to rhe development of a considerable numherof courses in environmental chemistry. Our response to this interest was to develop a one-semester course in environmental students who have had afullvear of - ~ ~ -chemistrvfor ~ college-level, introdLCtory chemistry. The lecture pokion of the course emphasizes the application of traditional chemical principles (thermodynamics, kinetics, acid-base equilihria, behavior of gases, oxidation-reduction) to the topics of air and water chemistry. The course also examines the effects of foreign suhstances on living systems. The laboratory deals with techniques for monitoring air and water quality. I n the intervening years, lecture and laboratory material from the upper-level environmental chemistry course has been woven into the general chemistry course for students majoring in the sciences. The net effect has been a general chemistry course that heightens a student's interest in chemistrv..allows for inteeration of rieorous lahoratorv exer" cises using "real" samples, and involves frequent discussions of technology and contemporary social issues a t a depth that permits an effective appreciation of them and provides a loeical. . scientific framework in which to treat them. The make-up of our general chemistry class is very heterogeneous: there are some highly motivated science majors while other students are fulfilling a requirement and have little apparent a priori interest in chemistry. Building the .. course around a scientific framework in which many principles are illustrared with "real world" appli
