Holy Cross Mathematics and Computer Science
MONT 104N -- Modeling the Environment
Note:
I will make every attempt to keep the information on this page current.
Any changes after the start of the semester will also be announced in class.
Syllabus and Schedule
-
Course syllabus (.pdf)
- Detailed course schedule,
to end of semester, updated on October 11
- Natural World Cluster Common Events:
- Purgatory Chasm Field Trip, Saturday, September 15
- Black Inscription, week of October 15. We will be having a presentation from some
of the creators of the performance piece during our class time; I expect some tickets to the evening
performances on October 17 or 18 will also be available for interested students from our seminar.
- Chocolate and Coffee Tasting Social, Wednesday, November 28, 7 pm, Loyola Ballroom.
Information and Announcements
- Final exam for this class will be given at the scheduled time for MWF 9:00am classes -- Thursday, December 13,
at 8:00am. Review sheet for final exam; and solutions for the mathematical
practice questions, plus answers for review questions
from our textbook.
- I have decided to cancel Problem Set 7, originally scheduled to be due on Friday, December 7. Get started
reviewing for the final instead.
Examples, Class Notes, Etc.
Assignments
Notes: In the following assignments,
- "GB" means They Say, I Say by Graff and Birkenstein
- "MW" means our main mathematical text, Modeling the World
- For class on Wednesday, August 29 (and maybe part of Friday, August 31),
please bring your Frankenstein short essays and be prepared to read them
aloud to the class as a way to introduce yourself.
- As one of the continuing assignments for the class, you will maintain
a notebook or journal where you will record summaries and comments about news articles
you have read. These should connect in some way with the main themes of this course and
the Montserrat Natural World Cluster. I will be collecting these once or twice
during the semester and returning them with comments (first collection will be
Friday, October 5). Some sources to consult for these:
- Environmental News Network (www.enn.com)
- National Geographic (www.nationalgeographic.com)
- BBC News (www.bbc.com/news/science_and_environment)
- Science (www.sciencemag.org) -- more technical, original research (access through HC library page)
- Nature (www.nature.com) -- more technical, original research (access through HC library page)
- New York Times (www.nytimes.com) -- requires a subscription (or search through HC library page)
- Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com) -- requires a subscription (or search through HC library page) -- for a very conservative, pro-business slant on things
- Science Daily (www.sciencedaily.com/news/top/environment) -- but be aware that this site just republishes
press releases made by others; no independent content or editorial oversight.
- First paper assignment. Note: this is in
two stages, with the first stage due on Friday September 7, and the second
stage due on Monday, September 17. You're more than welcome to discuss ideas
for either stage of the paper and/or discuss drafts in progress during office hours. Sources:
You might also find this interesting:
article
from slate.com of interest regarding the use of the "Franken-" prefix in the word "Frankenfood."
- Discussion 1 group writeups due on Wednesday, September 19.
- Individual Problem Set 1: Chapter 1 Problems/5,7,8,9,10,14, due: in class on Friday, September 21.
- Individual Problem Set 2: Chapter 2 Problems/1,3,5,9,14, due: in class on Friday, September 28.
- Individual Problem Set 3: Chapter 4 Problems/5,6,8, due: in class on Friday, October 5. (This one is very short because
the first collection of your news journals is also due this day.)
- Individual Problem Set 4: Chapter 5 Problems/3,4,5,6,7,12 (use a spreadsheet) due: in class on
Friday, November 2.
- Individual Problem Set 5: Chapter 6 Problems/4,6,12 (Note: in part (a) ``by decade'' means that the bins for the histogram should correspond to the decades 1970 - 1979, 1980 - 1989, 1990 - 1999, 2000 - 2009. You will probably want to construct that histogram by hand. You can use GoogleSheets to do part (b) where the histogram will be a different one--there the bins will correspond to ranges of the amount of oil spilled). Chapter 7 Problems/4, 7. due: in class on Friday, November 9.
- Second essay assignment, due by 5:00pm on Friday, November 16.
- Information about group oral presentations, classes on November 30, December 3, December 5.
- Individual Problem Set 6: Chapter 7 Problems/8 parts a, b, 12; Chapter 8 Problems/6, 9. due:
no later than 5:00pm on Friday, November 30.
Related Links
- Note: The Greek phrase appearing next to the heading of this page is one traditional rendering of
the reported inscription over the entrance to Plato's Academy in Athens
(founded about 387 BCE). It means (roughly) Let no one ignorant of geometry enter.
This is a reflection of the foundational role of geometry in Plato's ideas about knowledge and education.
Downloading Information
The links for assignments and other handouts shown above with the notation
(.pdf file) lead to documents in PDF format. To read and print these, you
will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader (or some equivalent document reader
software) installed on your computer.
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Last modified: December 13, 2018