Modeling the carbon cycle of the anthropocene part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Heather Stoll, ETH Zurich
Students use an Excel sheet to complete forward and inverse models of changes in carbon distribution between atmosphere, ocean and the biosphere from 1751 to the present and several centuries into the future. The model is given as a mostly complete package, into which students input emissions data in various sensitivity tests.

An Assessment of Hillslope Stability Using the Factor of Safety part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Laura Moore, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
In this homework assignment students are asked to consider the balance of forces on a hill slope using the Factor of Safety.

The Changing Geographic Distribution of Malaria with Global Climate Warming part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Mary Savina, Carleton College; Kendra Murray, The University of Arizona
In this exercise, students analyze climate data to find areas in the southern United States that are now close to having conditions in which the malaria parasite and its mosquito hosts thrive and then attempt to forecast when areas might become climatically suitable.

Introduction to Microsoft Excel part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Dave Hirsch, Western Washington University
This assignment walks students through the creation of an Excel spreadsheet, step by step. It includes fills, references, formulas, and charts.

Kohler Curves part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Swarndeep Gill, Pennsylvania Western University - California
An assignment teaching students about Kohler curves that enhances their quantitative skills.

Using a Mass Balance Model to Understand Carbon Dioxide and its Connection to Global Warming part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Bob Mackay, Clark College
Students explore the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide over the past 40 years with an interactive on-line model.

What is the fate of CO2 produced by fossil fuel combustion? part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Paul Quay
A box model is used to simulate the build up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere during the industrial era and predict the future increase in atmospheric CO2 levels during the next century.

Estimating Exchange Rates of Water in Embayments using Simple Budget Equations. part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Keith Sverdrup, National Science Foundation
Simple budgets may be used to estimate the exchange of water in embayments that capitalize on the concept of steady state and conservation principals. This is especially true for bays that experience a significant exchange of freshwater. This exchange of freshwater may reduce the average salt concentration in the bay compared to seawater if it involves addition of freshwater from rivers, R, and/or precipitation, P. Alternatively, it may increase the average salt concentration in the bay compared to seawater if there is relatively little river input and high evaporation, E. Since freshwater input changes the salt concentration in the bay, and salt is a conservative material, it is possible to combine two steady state budgets for a bay, one for salt and one for water, to solve for the magnitude of the water flows that enter and exit the bay mouth. Students will make actual calculations for the inflow and outflow of water to Puget Sound, Washington and the Mediterranean Sea and compare them to actual measured values.

Atmospheric Vertical Structure and the First Law of Thermodynamics part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Anthony Hansen, Saint Cloud State University
This set of homework problems is intended to help students begin to discover the importance and utility of conservation principles derived from the First Law of Thermodynamics and provide a first step in evolving from the p-V diagrams the students have seen in their physics coursework toward the thermodynamic diagrams used in meteorology.

Three-Point Problem by Simultaneous Linear Equations part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
William Frangos, James Madison University
Students are introduced to the use of linear algebra in an intuitive and accessible way, through classroom activity and homework set. The familiar three-point problem is cast in terms of three dimensional analytic geometry, fostering understanding of mathematical models for simple geometric forms.