The Chemistry of Water

Strawberry Creek Water Quality, Fall 1996

The Environmental Chemistry Laboratory Sections of the Fall 1996 Chemistry 1A class are evaluating the water quality of Strawberry Creek. Their mission is to determine if the Creek could be used as a drinking water supply in case of emergency, and if not, what problems would have to be resolved before it could be used as drinking water. Samples of the Creek water were taken during the week of September 2 and coliform analyses performed. Analysis of the water samples for general water quality parameters such as pH, alkalinity, conductivity, common anions and cations, was carried out in the following weeks. The class data is now available.

Maps of Strawberry Creek:

Zone 1: Eucalyptus Grove to Sather Gate, Tuesday morning lab
Zone 2: North Fork, Monday afternoon lab
Zone 3: Sather Gate to the Women's Faculty Club, Wednesday afternoon lab
Zone 4: Botanical Garden, Tuesday afternoon lab
Campus Map: A map of the entire campus

Download the Anza.practice data file here.

Water Quality Data Collected by the Fall '96 Environmental Chemistry Sections:

To download the Excel data file for a particular zone, click on the zone you are interested in . In order for the download to work, your browser must be configured so that Excel 5.0 is a helper application. Click here for instructions on configuring Netscape.

Field Data: Conductivity, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen

Lab Data: Coliform bacteria, anions, cations, pH and alkalinity

More information on Strawberry Creek:

History and Geology: From the Strawberry Creek Management Plan
Campus Surface Water Quality: The Office of Environment, Health, and Safety's Web page

Other questions about Strawberry Creek background information? Send mail to John Allman at the UC Berkeley Office of Environment, Health, and Safety.

Water Quality Data for Strawberry Creek after a Rainfall:

North Fork of Strawberry Creek
South Fork of Strawberry Creek

Due Dates for Assignments in Module #1

Item Due	Date
pH and Alkalinity appendix	Friday, Sept. 20
Ion chromatography appendix	Friday, Sept. 20
AA spectroscopy appendix	in lab, week of Sept. 30
Final Report on Strawberry Creek	in lab, week of Oct. 7

Detailed description of assignments:

pH and Alkalinity:
(3 points) In your own words (see handout on plagiarism), describe the concepts of pH and alkalinity (about a page).
Ion chromatography:
(3 points) In your own words (see handout on plagiarism), describe how ion chromatography works (about a page).

pH and Alkalinity: (3 points)	In your own words (see handout on plagiarism), describe the concepts of pH and alkalinity (about a page).
Ion chromatography: (3 points)	In your own words (see handout on plagiarism), describe how ion chromatography works (about a page).

NOTE: Both of the above assignments are due on the same day.

AA spectroscopy: (4 points)	In your own words (see handout on plagiarism), describe how atomic absorption spectroscopy works (about a page).
Final Report on Stawberry Creek: (55 points)	See pp.91-94 in the lab manual for detailed instructions on the final report. Include the one-page assignments on IC, AA, and pH and alkalinity as appendices, after making corrections suggested by your TA.
Data Entry Grade: (5 points)	Five points are allotted to the Data Entry Grade. You will receive all of these points if you enter your data on time into the computer and complete all the analyses in the module. If you have to be reminded about data entry or if you forget to check your coliform tests or do not complete other analyses, some or all of these points will be deducted from your grade. There is no reason why every student shouldn't get these 5 points!

Total number of points for the Strawberry Creek lab is 70.

E-Chem Homepage / Lab Schedule / Lead in Oakland City Parks / Pesticides in Fruits and Vegetables / Office Hours / Class Mail List / Announcements