Introduction to Environmental Engineering and Scienc

Abstract

This chapter begins with a section on units of measurement. Engineers need to be familiar with both the American units of feet, pounds, hours, and degrees Fahrenheit as well as the more recommended International System of units. Both are used in the practice of environmental engineering. Next, two fundamental topics, which should be familiar from the study of elementary physics, are presented: the law of conservation of mass and the law of conservation of energy. These laws tell us that within any environmental system, we theoretically should be able to account for the flow of energy and materials into, and out of, that system. The law of conservation of mass, besides providing an important tool for quantitatively tracking pollutants as they disperse in the environment, reminds us that pollutants have to go somewhere, and that we should be wary of approaches that merely transport the