Book Project: Climate Applications for the College Math Classroom
Overview
This edited collection, in development for the AMS/MAA Classroom Resource Materials Series, will provide realistic and easy-to-implement problems and modules that apply core mathematical concepts from, for example, precalculus, college algebra, calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations to problems in climate science. Any undergraduate level of mathematics is appropriate. The purpose of this collection is to lower the barriers to finding and implementing high-quality climate application problems, allowing many mathematics instructors to bring climate-related topics into the classroom.
We seek contributions of classroom material from our professional community. Contributions can take multiple forms, from shorter problems to longer modules, or a combination of the two. Joint authorship is also welcome. We envision attribution for single homework problems will be included in the introduction in aggregate, while each module will be attributed to its respective author(s) where it appears.
The scope of applications can be quite broad, encompassing topics in the series of reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. These include but are not limited to physical changes to the Earth system, the effects on ecosystems and biodiversity, extreme weather, human vulnerability, and supporting sustainable development.
Click the climate book preview to the left to see excerpts from the book.
How to Contribute Materials
First, decide whether your contribution is on the scale of a problem or a module. Some rough guidelines:
A problem may have multiple parts, but would be reasonable to assign within a single homework set or take at most half of a class session to complete.
A module may take a class or more to complete during class time or be a project or series of homework sets to complete.
Place your work in the appropriate latex template file. Please make sure it compiles.
Include bibliographic information for references (if applicable) in a separate .bib file.
Please also either write or latex solutions to your problems.
Submit each problem / module separately by clicking the button below.
Meet the Editors
Events
Drop-in consultations: Thursdays 9-10am EST
Are you pondering ideas or questions about how to contribute to the book? We would love to discuss them with you during our weekly meeting: https://stmarytx.zoom.us/j/94632918811
Join us in Indianapolis for a workshop "Exploring how climate applications tie to the undergraduate curriculum." This workshop will provide hands-on experience in applying undergraduate mathematics towards understanding components of Earth’s climate. Students and instructors of all academic backgrounds can investigate Earth’s temperature using algebra, differential equations, or data using scaffolded exercises. New problem development is also an option. Bring your curiosity and leave with exercises to incorporate into your classroom!
You can find slides here and worksheets / solutions here.
We convened at SIAM MPE24 in Portland, Oregon for a minisymposium "Connecting climate to the undergraduate curriculum (Part I and Part II)." Six speakers shared their experiences using climate applications in mathematics classrooms. In addition, participants brainstormed their own application problems.
You can find slides here.