2015-2016 Official General Catalog [Archived Catalog]
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MAT 118 - The Mathematics of Sustainability
The Mathematics of Sustainability is a liberal arts mathematics course that satisfies the SUNY General Education Requirement. Using the concept of sustainability as it relates to social, economic and environmental capitol, students will investigate relevant issues that involve applications of arithmetic, algebra, geometry and statistics. The students will learn different ways to present and interpret numerical and statistical data. In addition, they will investigate mathematical models and simulations in a variety of applications.
Prerequisite- Corequisite
Prerequisite: MAT 096 Elementary College Algebra and Trigonometry
Credits: 3
Hours
3 Class Hours
Course Profile
General Education Learning Outcomes of the Course:
Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
1. Interpret and draw inferences from mathematical models such as formulas, graphs, tables and schematics.
2. Represent mathematical information symbolically, visually, numerically and verbally.
3. Employ quantitative methods such as, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, or statistics to solve problems.
4. Estimate and check mathematical results for reasonableness.
5. Recognize the limitations of mathematical and statistical methods.
Learning Outcomes of the Course:
Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
1. Use an electronic spreadsheet.
2. Collect and critically evaluate mathematical information located on the internet and in the media.
3. Read and discuss a Community Sustainability Report Card.
4. Use sustainability indicators to create a community sustainability report card for a local community.
5. Create a frequency distribution table from a set of data.
6. Find the Mean, Median, and Mode for a data set.
7. Find the Weighted Mean and the Median from a frequency table.
8. Find Range, Interquartile Range and the Standard Deviation for a data set.
9. Create and interpret Bar Charts, Line Charts, and Pie Charts.
10. Read and interpret a variety of mathematical diagrams including contour maps, 3D graphs and flow charts.
11. Construct and interpret boxplots, stack plots, and scatter plots.
12. Collect a set of data using various sampling methods.
13. Recognize correlation and the implications regarding causation.
14. Find the equation for the line of best fit for data in a scatter plot.
15. Fit non-linear trend lines to data and make responsible predictions using the trend line equations.
16. Critically evaluate trends in data.
17. Identify a normal distribution.
18. Utilize the 68-95-99.7% rule for a normal distribution.
19. Calculate simple probabilities.
20. Discuss probabilities involved with unlikely and catastrophic events.
21. Describe relationships between large numbers.
22. Identify the domain and the range of a function.
23. Use Excel to create polynomial, rational, exponential, logistic, logarithmic and periodic functions.
24. Calculate Maximum Sustainable yield.
25. Identify Euler and Hamilton circuits in a graph.
26. Utilize various algorithms applied to the travelling salesman problem.
27. Find the critical path in a scheduling graph.
28. Use various functions to model real world phenomena such as population and investment growth.
29. Use periodic functions to model climate and predator/prey relations.
30. Discuss cost versus return for various investments.
31. Complete hands on activities using real world data.
32. Use algorithms to find solutions for various optimization problems.
33. Experiment with simple simulation applets.
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