Water

This course aims to develop an understanding of the very special chemical and physical properties of water, and from that understanding develop an understanding of the issues that humankind has encountered in the many uses of water, both those essential to life and those that have promoted the development of civilization.  We will examine the molecular structure of the water molecule and the chemical bonding that produces that structure, the hydrogen bonding that establishes the structure of collection of water molecules, the behavior of water in the gas, liquid, and solid phase, and the transitions between these phases.  We will characterize water as a solvent of exceptional power, measure the solubilities of substances in water, and evaluate the capacity of water as a cleaning agent.  We will connect these molecular characteristics to the way in which humans have used water in agriculture, transportation, industry, and the growth of urban civilization. And we will consider the public health issues and the policy issues, both local and international, that arise because of these many important uses.