Year:12/13
Department:Lancaster Environment Centre
Level:Part I
Learning Hours:80
Credit Points:8
Weight:0.2
Course Convenor:Dr SJ Lane
Status:Live
Assessment Rules
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CMod description
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This
module follows up the foundation course Numerical Skills for Environmental
Sciences I and provides a more complete understanding of the numerical skills
required for studying environmental science. The course will consist of
lectures and workshops which will cover environmental case studies in greater
detail.
Curriculum Design: Outline Syllabus
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Lecture Outline
Lecture 1 (SJL)
Algebra: this most essential of numerical skills often causes great difficulty and impedes progress in other areas of numerical work. Here we concentrate on the components of equations (constants, variables, operators) and how to manipulate them into more useful forms.
Lecture 2-3 (SJL)
Simultaneous and quadratic equations: extracting values for parameters from a series of related equations; factorisation; roots. Introducing concepts of model calibration. Practicing your algebra!
Lecture 4-5 (SJL)
Basic Trigonometry: Sine, Cosine, Tangent. Degrees and radians; The right angled triangle; Oscillatory behaviour and Periodicity; Seasonal variation; Exercises based on environmental examples, e.g. atmospheric CO2 data.
Lecture 6 (SJL)
Environmental data handling and statisitcs.
Lecture 7-9 (AC)
Differentiation : Notation; Basic definition; Rates of change; gradient;
Lecture 10 (AC)
Area under a curve: trapezium rule; Simpson's Rule
Lecture 11-12 (AC)
Integration: Notation; Basic definition; Inverse of differentiation.
Lecture 13 (AC/SJL)
Revision lecture.
Lecture 14 (AC/SJL)
Free for revision
Lecture 15 (AC/SJL)
Module Test
Practicals/Workshops
1-4 (SJL/AC) Supervised paper exercises on material from the lectures.
Curriculum Design: Pre-requisites/Co-requisites/Exclusions
back to topENV111 is a pre-requisite. Not intended for students with A-level Maths
Educational Aims: Subject Specific: Knowledge, Understanding and Skills
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The module follows up the foundation module (ENV 111) in this subject and is designed to give undergraduate students a fuller grounding in the numerical skills required for studying environmental science. The course will consist of lectures and workshops, which will cover environmental case studies in greater detail. Environmental examples from other ENV modules are employed throughout the course
Learning Outcomes: Subject Specific: Knowledge, Understanding and Skills
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Learning outcomes
:
On completion of this module a student will be able to:
Generic Outcomes
Describe the basic principles of calculus
Solve simple differential equations
Apply the generic skills learnt here to numerical problems encountered in other courses
Subject Specific Outcomes
Apply the concepts outlined in the generic outcomes to environmental examples including radioactive decay, atmospheric pressure scale height and chemical kinetics. Curriculum Design: Select Bibliography
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Recommended texts and other learning resources
:
There are no recommended books since all books on the subject are designed for more specialist audiences.
However, the following texts can be useful to the course if read with discretion:
Booth, D.J. 1998. Foundation Mathematics, Addison-Wesley
Bradbury, I., Boyle, J., Morse, A. 2002. Scientific principles for Physical Geographers. Prentice Hall / Pearson Education. ISBN 0-582-36936-3.
Hornberger, G.M., Raffensperger, J.P., Wilberg, P.L., Eshleman, K.N. 1998. Elements of Physical Hydrology. John Hopkins University Press / Wiley. ISBN 0-8018-5857-7.
Jones, A., Duck, R., Reed, R. and Weyers, J. 2000 Practical Skills in Environmental Science, Prentice Hall.
James, G. 1996. Modern Engineering Mathematics, Addison-Wesley
Lane, S.J. and Chotai, A., 2006. Course handout and web resources
