Climate Applications for the College Mathematics Classroom

Mathematics lies at the heart of our scientific understanding of climate. This book presents a timely collection of problems and modules that enable instructors to help students engage critically with climate-related topics while deepening and strengthening their mathematical skills. Each activity is carefully curated to provide the necessary scientific background and context, making it easier to integrate climate applications into the classroom. Many exercises foster meaningful connections between data and mathematical theory. The book is organized into two parts. Part 1 features problem sets arranged by course, allowing instructors to quickly locate material aligned with subjects such as college algebra, calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations. Highlights include analyzing solar panel costs through logarithmic models in precalculus, exploring carbon cycle dynamics using matrix-vector multiplication in linear algebra, and finding bifurcations in a differential equation model of tropical cyclones. Part 2 presents eleven in-depth modules for instructors who wish to consider climate applications more extensively. In addition to student-facing materials, each module includes dedicated instructor notes that outline the relevant scientific background, highlight key climate insights, and suggest possible pathways through the content, ranging from multi-day lesson plans to guided student projects. Supplementary resources for the book, including datasets, code, and solutions, are available at www.ams.org/bookpages/clrm-79.