Ecotoxicology (4 cr)

Objectives (course unit)

After completing this course student:
- knows the classes of inorganic and organic pollutants and their fate in the environment
- understands the relationship between chemical and biological environment
- can evaluate and anlyse the ecotoxicological risks and consequences to the environment
- understands REACH and can implement it in practise
- knows the basic concepts and research methods in ecotoxicology and can use them in practise

Content (course unit)

environmental pollutants, release, transport, effects and fate of environmental pollutants in organisms, principles of toxicology, ecotoxicology and environmental toxicology, ecotoxicity tests and their interpretation

Prerequisites (course unit)

Basic Chemistry, Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Environmental Chemistry or corresponding courses

Exam schedules

Open book exam at the end of the course.

Evaluation methods and criteria

The course consists of lectures and discussions,assignments,daily tasks, group work, laboratory exercise (1 cu) and exam. Together these form the course grade as follows:
Individual assignments (3 / accepted) 15%; “Daily” tasks 15%; Group work (compulsory) 15%; Exam (compulsory)35%; Laboratory exercise 20%
The course grade is calculated as a weighted average from the grades of each task. The exam will be an open book exam.
This course is offered for students from TUT as well, as a 3 credits course without the laboratory exercise.

Teaching methods

Contact teaching,self study,discussions, assignments, summary report/essay,laboratory exercise, exam and seminar presentations

Content scheduling

The course has the following main topics:
Basic concepts and research methods in toxicology, chemical and biological interactions, chemical hazardous to the health and the environment, environmental-based health problems, threshold values and their role, risk analysis

Assessment criteria - fail (0) (Not in use, Look at the Assessment criteria above)

Student did not participate the exam and/or the laboratory exercise, or student participate the exam and laboratory exercise, but the achieved competence is insufficient. This means that the student is not familiar with the basic concepts related to the subjects discussed during the course.

Assessment criteria - satisfactory (1-2) (Not in use, Look at the Assessment criteria above)

Student participated in the exam and laboratory exercises.
Overall the achieved competence is sufficient but narrow.
Student shows throughout the course (assignments, classroom discussions, laboratory exercises and exam) that:
-is familiar with the basic concepts and phenomena related to the subjects discussed during the course:
-can solve model exercise correctly
-has the basic skills in performing a laboratory exercise related to ecotoxicological testing
-has basic skills in reporting the results of the testing

Assessment criteria - good (3-4) (Not in use, Look at the Assessment criteria above)

Student participated in the exam and laboratory exercise.
Overall the achieved competence is structural.
Student shows throughout the course (assignments, classroom discussions, laboratory exercises and exam) that:
-is fluent in the basic concepts and phenomena related to the subjects discussed during the course
-can solve model exercise and new exercises correctly
-student is clearly motivated and interested in the subjects discussed
-has sufficient skills to be able to perform independently a laboratory exercise related to ecotoxicological testing
-the reporting of the results shows that the student can apply the theoretical knowledge in explaining the results of testing, though

Assessment criteria - excellent (5) (Not in use, Look at the Assessment criteria above)

Student participated in the exam and laboratory exercises.
Overall the achieved competence is wide.
Student shows throughout the course (assignments, classroom discussions, laboratory exercises and exam) that:
-is fluent in the basic concepts and phenomena related to the subjects discussed during the course
-can solve model exercise and new exercises correctly, shows creativity in solving tasks
-student is clearly motivated and interested in the subjects discussed
-has sufficient skills to be able to perform independently a laboratory exercise related to ecotoxicological testing
-the reporting of the results shows that the student can apply the theoretical knowledge in explaining the results and can think about alternative solutions