Session:
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Computer Modeling and Simulation in Sustainability Courses
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Paper Type:
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Panel
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Title:
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Computer Modeling in the Environmental Physics Course
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Meeting:
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2016 Summer Meeting: Sacremento, California |
Location:
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N/A |
Date:
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Time:
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8:30AM
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Author:
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Tara Peppard
Department of Physics, Cleveland State University
20166872076, t.peppard@csuohio.edu
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Co-Author(s):
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Miron Kaufman
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Abstract:
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Since 1996 we have been offering at Cleveland State University a course entitled Environmental Physics. The goal of the course is to teach the physical laws underlying environmental and sustainability issues. The students have a variety of backgrounds: ranging from physics and engineering to urban studies, law and education. The students learn to work in interdisciplinary groups. The course is, by necessity, algebra-based. To compensate, we use computer modeling extensively. It enhances the understanding of phenomena through visualizations, and it teaches students useful skills such as data analysis. For example, the students are exposed to chaos theory by analyzing the period-doubling route to chaos prevalent in population models. The diffusion of pollutants in the atmosphere and radioactive decay are taught through Monte-Carlo simulations. The Brunt-Väisälä oscillations are modeled and the stability of the atmosphere is discussed. Simulations are also performed on models of consumption such as the Hubbert model, to illustrate aspects of sustainability.
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Footnotes:
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None
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Presentation:
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sacramento_16.pptx
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