CHEM-462-krista_nishida-2026-09-25-12-46-48

Advanced Health Physics Laboratory

CHEM 462

Spring Semesters

Number of Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisites: CHEM 361, or equivalent

Course Details

LECTURE, Dodgen 150: Friday 12:10 - 1:00 pm

LAB – Section 1, Dodgen 101: Wednesdays & Fridays
9:10 – 12:00 pm

LAB – Section 2, Dodgen 101: Wednesdays & Fridays

1:10 – 4:00 pm

Instructor Contact Information

Instructor Name: Prof. Zachariah Heiden

Instructor Contact Information: email: zachariah.heiden@wsu.edu, phone: 509-335-0936

Office: Dodgen 250C Office hours: by appointment

Course Description

Chem 462 : Advanced Health Physics Laboratory 3 Course Prerequisite: Chem 361 or instructor permission. Focuses on the use of modern spectroscopic techniques for the analysis of radioactive materials in health physics scenarios to assess radiological hazards and utilize critical thinking to provide radiation safety recommendations. Nuclear theory, nuclear physics, radiation safety, radiation detectors, and assessment of radiological hazards in health physics scenarios. Typically offered Spring. Cooperative: Open to UI degree-seeking students.

Course Materials

Books: None required

Below is a list of textbooks you may find useful as general references. Recommended

“Contemporary Health Physics” – 2^nd Edition by Joseph John Bevelacqua (ISBN: 978-3527408245)
“Introduction to Health Physics” by Thomas E. Johnson (ISBN: 978-1929169245)
“Basic Health Physics” by Joseph John Bevelacqua (ISBN: 978-3527408238)
"Physics for Radiation Protection" by Martin (ISBN 978-3527411764)
“Fundamentals of Health Physics & Radiation Protection” by Fulmer (ISBN: 979-8989597901)
“Radiation Protection and Dosimetry” by Stabin (ISBN: 978-0387499826)
“Understanding Radiation Science: Basic Nuclear and Health Physics” by Schuler (ISBN: 978-1627341158)

Other Materials: None

Fees: None

Learning Goals, Course Objectives

Chemistry 462 is designed to advance students toward the WSU Learning Goals, especially Scientific Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Quantitative Reasoning, Communication, and Information Literacy. The goals of Chem 462 are to provide students with laboratory instruction in assessing radiological hazards, providing radiological safety recommendations, and addressing health physics scenarios as well as writing formal health physics radiation safety reports. Chem 462 focuses on the use of modern spectroscopic techniques for the analysis of radioactive materials to assess radiological hazards and provide radiation safety recommendations. The laboratory work is complemented with lectures highlighting pertinent health physics scenarios. This course will reinforce the techniques and skills that radiation workers employ in their work, and students will be encouraged to develop their lab skills in an independent manner.

**Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) [add more lines if necessary]**
Course Learning Outcomes (students will be able to:)	Activities Supporting the Learning Outcomes	Assessment of the Learning Outcomes
Acquire and improve their skills in a strategy for analyzing radioactive materials.	Laboratory Experiments 1-8	Laboratory Reports for Experiments 1-8
Acquire and improve their skills in assessing radiological hazards.	Laboratory Experiments 1-8	Laboratory Reports for Experiments 1-8
Work safely with radioactive materials.	Laboratory Experiments 1-8	Laboratory Reports for Experiments 1-8
Acquire and improve skills in the recommendation of safe radiological work based on assessment of radiological hazards.	Laboratory Experiments 1-8	Laboratory Reports for Experiments 1-8
Enhance their scientific writing through the completion of health physics radiation safety reports.	Laboratory Experiments 1-8	Laboratory Reports for Experiments 1-8
Improve their ability to be self-critical (that is, to notice inconsistencies or abnormalities in their experimental findings and to take steps to check their reliability).	Laboratory Experiments 1-8	Laboratory Reports for Experiments 1-8
Enhance their confidence in their ability to work in the laboratory.	Laboratory Experiments 1-8	Laboratory Reports for Experiments 1-8
Enhance their ability to work safely and independently in the laboratory.	Laboratory Experiments 1-8	Laboratory Reports for Experiments 1-8
Enhance their ability to work collaboratively in the laboratory.	Laboratory Experiments 1-8	Laboratory Reports for Experiments 1-8
Improve their formal technical writing skills.	Laboratory Experiments 1-8	Laboratory Reports for Experiments 1-8

**Course Schedule**

**[Please note that a WSU semester is 15 weeks + Thanksgiving/Spring Break. The schedule below does not include the break.]**
Dates	Lesson Topic	Assignment	Assessment
Week 1 [dates]	Lecture 1: Radiation Safety Scenarios	Experiment #1 – Radiation Safety Scenario (Part 1)
Week 2 [dates]	Lecture 2: Radiation Safety Scenarios & Reports	Experiment #1 – Radiation Safety Scenario (Part 2 & 3)
Week 3 [dates]	Lecture 3: Medical Health Physics Scenarios	Experiment #1 – Radiation Safety Scenario (Part 4) Experiment #2 – Medical Health Physics Scenario (Part 1)
Week 4 [dates]	Lecture 4: Medical Health Physics Scenarios & Reports	Experiment #2 – Medical Health Physics Scenario (Part 2 & 3)
Week 5 [dates]	Lecture 5: University Health Physics Scenarios	Experiment #2 – Medical Health Physics Scenario (Part 4) Experiment #3 – University Health Physics Scenario (Part 1)	DUE: Expt #1
Week 6 [dates]	Lecture 6: University Health Physics Scenarios & Reports	Experiment #3 – University Health Physics Scenario (Part 2 & 3)
Week 7 [dates]	Lecture 7: Fuel Cycle Health Physics Scenarios	Experiment #3 – University Health Physics Scenario (Part 4) Experiment #4 – Fuel Cycle Health Physics Scenario (Part 1)	DUE: Expt #2
Week 8 [dates]	Lecture 8: Power Reactor Health Physics Scenarios	Experiment #4 – Fuel Cycle Health Physics Scenario (Part 2) Experiment #5 – Power Reactor Health Physics Scenario (Part 1)
Week 9 [dates]	Lecture 9: Power Reactor Health Physics Scenarios & Reports	Experiment #5 – Power Reactor Health Physics Scenario (Part 2 & 3)	DUE: Expt #3
Week 10 [dates]	Lecture 10: Environmental Health Physics Scenarios	Experiment #5 – Power Reactor Health Physics Scenario (Part 4 & 5)	DUE: Expt #4
Week 11 [dates]	Lecture 11: Environmental Health Physics Scenarios & Reports	Experiment #6 – Environmental Health Physics Scenario (Part 1 & 2)
Week 12 [dates]	Lecture 12: Accelerator Health Physics Scenarios	Experiment #6 – Environmental Health Physics Scenario (Part 3 & 4)	DUE: Expt #5
Week 13 [dates]	Lecture 13: Accelerator Health Physics Scenarios & Reports	Experiment #7 – Accelerator Health Physics Scenario (Part 1 & 2)
Week 14 [dates]	Lecture 14: Assessing Health Physics Scenarios	Experiment #8 – Non-ionizing Health Physics Scenario (Part 1 & 2)	DUE: Expt #6
Week 15 [dates]	Lecture 15: Assessing Health Physics Scenarios	Make-up Lab Days	DUE: Expt #7
Finals Week			DUE: Expt #8

Expectations for Student Effort

For each hour of lecture equivalent, students should expect to have a minimum of one hour of work outside class. For each three hour of laboratory equivalent, students should expect to have a minimum of two hours of work outside class.

Grading

The grading scale will be administered in accordance to the policies of the WSU university registrar. There will be no exams given in this course. The student's final grade will be based on safe lab performance: experimental write-ups, a safety quiz, a safety poster, experimental accuracy, and laboratory technique. Note your class participation grade will be affected negatively by the lack of preparedness for labs and the lack of attendance.

Assignment Breakdown
Type of Assignment (tests, papers, etc)	Points	Percent of Overall Grade
Formal Lab Reports	800	80
Safety Quiz	100	10
Class Participation/ Lab Technique	100	10

Grading Schema
Grade	Percent	Grade	Percent
A	92	C	72
A-	90	C-	70
B+	87	D+	67
B	82	D	62
B-	80	F	below 62
C+	77

SAFETY QUIZ: There will be a safety quiz due at the beginning of the lab period on January 20^th, 2026. The quiz will focus on the material discussed on the first day of class and will be available on Canvas. There will be no makeups and it must be completed before you can start your first experiment.

SAFETY IN LABORATORY: You will not be permitted to begin an experiment without having read the safety instructions completely. Students will be actively preparing and handling radioactive materials.

Safety Goggles are required at all times. A pair of rubber latex gloves is strongly recommended. Report any spills at once.

No one is allowed to work alone in an unsupervised laboratory. Some experiments in this course are dangerous if not carried out properly. If you need extra time to complete an experiment, there is ample time supplied in the course schedule that it can be completed prior to the laboratory report due date. Experiments have been selected and designed to utilize all the safety precautions and equipment available to limit chemical and radiological material exposure.

LAB REPORTS: Each student is required to use a lab notebook with numbered duplicate pages. In this notebook, each student will keep a record of collected data and experimental observation. You are not permitted to use the same notebook or replicate lab reports. A template for the lab report can be found on Canvas. The reports must be written in a word processor and submitted via Canvas as a single pdf. Lab reports received via email will not be accepted. The lab report is due for each completed experiment no later than two weeks after the scheduled experiment ends on a Friday by 11:59 pm. Late lab reports will be penalized 25% per calendar day. Questions regarding a lab report or a completed experiment are welcomed and encouraged, but not the last day they are due.

LAB DATA: Students are responsible for collecting their own characterization/spectral/lab data.

LECTURES: Lectures will be presented in person at the scheduled class time in Dodgen 150.

Attendance and Make-Up Policy

Attendance is mandatory in this course. Unexcused absences will not be allowed to be made up. If you plan to be absent from the laboratory because of unforeseen or foreseen circumstances you must notify the instructors in writing explaining your situation, prior to the event. You must also give a copy of the letter to the TA. In addition, you need to arrange to make up the missed laboratory.

Academic Integrity Statement

All members of the university community share responsibility for maintaining and promoting the principles of integrity in all activities, including academic integrity and honest scholarship. Students are responsible for understanding the full Academic Integrity Statement.

You are responsible for reading WSU’s Academic Integrity PolicyLinks to an external site., which is based on Washington State lawLinks to an external site.. If you cheat in your work in this class you will:

Fail the assignment without the option for a retake.
Be reported to the Center for Community StandardsLinks to an external site..
Have the right to appeal my decision.
Not be able to drop the course or withdraw from the course until the appeals process is finished.

If you have any questions about what you can and cannot do in this course, ask me.

If you want to ask for a change in my decision about academic integrity, use the formLinks to an external site. at the Center for Community StandardsLinks to an external site. website. You must submit this request within 21 calendar days of the decision.”