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, revised October 31
Natural World Cluster Common Events:
- Blackstone River Walk, Saturday September 21, 11am - 1pm (rain date: Sunday, September 22) Note: Due to concerns about EEE-infected mosquitoes in this area, this event has been postponed until the spring
- Coffee House Discussion -- The Uninhabitable Earth, Tuesday, October 29, 7 - 8:00pm, Loyola Ballroom
- The Sunrise Movement, Wednesday, November 13, 7-8:30pm Hogan Ballroom.

Information and Announcements

Solutions for the midterm exam, November 1
Solutions for the final exam, December 20

Examples, Class Notes, Etc.

Why is it called the Montserrat program?
The main mathematical textbook for the course:
- ``Modeling and Data Analysis: An Introduction with Environmental Applications,'' American Mathematical Society, ISBN 978-1-4704-4869-1.
A preliminary version is also posted on the Moodle page for our course in .pdf format.
Reading/Study questions on The Uninhabitable Earth
Two recent appearances by Greta Thunberg:
- Tuesday, September 10
- Monday, September 9
Thinking about academic writing, for class 9/13. (This is the introduction to the book They Say, I Say, by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein.)
Contour map of the Greenland ice sheet (Chapter 1 project), for class 9/18.
Some examples of visual presentation of quantitative information, class on 10/2:
Mathematical modeling, class on 10/9.
Directions for using Google Sheets for linear regression (fitting a linear model to data), class on 10/11.
Hare and Lynx pelt data from the Hudson's Bay Company, class on 12/4

Assignments

Notes: In the following assignments,

"UE" means The Uninhabitable Earth
"MDA" means our main mathematical text, Modeling and Data Analysis

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. 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, due in two stages: First stage by 5:00pm on Monday, September 16; Second stage by 5:00pm on Wednesday, September 25; send both as Google Docs, or Word doc files, or .pdf files to jlittle@holycross.edu.
Chapter 1 project, group writeups due Monday, September 23, no later than 5:00pm.
Problem Set 1: From MDA, Chapter 1/5, 7, 8, 9, 16; Chapter 2/1, 2, 5 Due: Friday, September 27
Chapter 2 project, group writeups due Wednesday, October 2, no later than 5:00pm.
Chapter 3 project, group writeups due Wednesday, October 9, no later than 5:00pm.
Problem Set 2: From MDA, Chapter 2/6 (you can do the calculations for this by hand, or in a Google spreadsheet, as you prefer), 14; Chapter 4/4, 5, 6. Due: Friday, October 11.
Problem Set 3: From MDA, Chapter 4/11, 13 (you may use either Excel or Google Sheets for these; for 13, if you are not from the US, use Pennsylvania--my home state and an interesting case.); Chapter 5/3 part (a) only, 6, 7, 8, 9. Due: Friday, October 25.
Chapter 5 project, the data file for this project, and project groups. Group writeups due Monday, November 4, no later that 5:00pm.
Problem Set 4: Chapter 6/2 parts (a) and (c), 4, 6, 8 (that's the table on page 99 -- note that each row contains the length and weight data for three fish). Due: Friday, November 4, no later than 5 pm.
Chapter 6 project. Group writeups due Wednesday, November 13, no later than 5:00pm.
Problem Set 5: Chapter 7/4 (Note: In these "solve" means: find a formula for Q(n) as a function of n using the techniques described in the text and in class), 5, 7 (Note: for part (b) you will probably want to use a Google spreadsheet). Due: Friday, November 15.
Second essay. Due: Friday, November 22, no later than 5:00pm, by email to jlittle@holycross.edu
Chapter 7 project. Group writeups due Monday, November 25, no later than 5:00pm.
Second current events journal collection will be Friday, December 6
Oral presentations, December 9, 11, and 13.

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 20, 2019