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Dept. of Crop & Soil Sciences 116 ASI Building University Park, PA 16802-3504
Phone: +1-814-865-6541 Fax: +1-814-863-7043 David Sylvia, Department Head

Crop and Soil Sciences > Degree Programs and Courses > Soil Science Courses > Soils 597D

SOILS 597D - Analytical Techniques for Soil Ecosystem Measurements

Instructor: Dr. Ephaim Govere
Credits: 2
Semester Offered: Fall
Texts:
Prerequisites:
Syllabus: PDF

Course Description

SOILS 597D is a two-credit advanced quantitative laboratory experimentation course that is designed to give you a deeper understanding of modern analytical instruments and the background theory and principles underlying chemical measurements of plant and soil solids and extracts, water and wastewater, fertilizers, microbial biomass, biosolids, and geologic materials. As such, the course has both a laboratory and lecture component. In the lectures you will learn the chemical or physical principles exploited during the measurement, how the instrument actually makes the measurement and some of the techniques used to increase accuracy, precision, sensitivity, selectivity, and measurability. In the laboratory, you will put the theory and principles into practice by performing various experiments designed to provide examples of the usefulness of selected instruments or techniques in a way that will enable you to understand and operate a wide range of other related instruments. Thus, while the experiments will illustrate some of the applications of the instruments, you will be expected to develop a deep understanding of each method, with its strengths and limitations that goes beyond the simple manipulation of the dials and knobs to obtain a result on a particular instrument. Students are encouraged to integrate the course activities into their current or planned research to make learning a meaningful experience. Experiments are carried out in the Soil Research Cluster Laboratory (SRCL) in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences (CSS) which is a multi-function, multi-user analytical laboratory that provides common and cutting edge analytical instrumentation in the areas of soil chemistry, fertility, physics, pedology, and hydropedology.