Abstract:

In the 1950s, Geology became a quantitative discipline, and since then Mathematics and Statistics are essential subjects for geologists. In this paper, we present the development of scripts in Python (version 3.5.1) oriented to the teaching of mathematics, statistics and data analysis in geology. The general objective is the creation of a ‘Virtual Laboratory’ of Geomathematics in Python, known as GeoPy (Geology in Python). GeoPy is a set of scripts that configures a course for undergraduate university students to learn how to apply models and methods of Geomathematics (Mathematics and Statistics), through the analysis and solving of real geological cases and phenomena.

The project seeks to develop the following teaching objectives. First, to introduce the use of the computer as an element that helps to integrate mathematical and statistical skills into the field under study: Earth sciences or Geology. Second, the use of real data from geological phenomena allow students to put into practice the knowledge acquired in mathematics and statistics (i.e. differential and integral calculation, univariate and bivariate descriptive statistics, probability models and statistical tests, simple linear regression analysis, ANOVA model, etc.).

The teaching material, i.e. explanations, scripts and examples have been gathered and organized into a website. All material can be freely downloaded, whether electronic documents describing the mathematical and statistical models used, the geological problems selected, Python programming notions, etc. In addition, videos in mp4 format are included with explanations on the statistical outputs. The web pages also include links to other web sites with relevant information on geological phenomena that are the object of study and experimentation.

Acknowledgement:
This project has been funded by the Complutense University of Madrid under the program 'Proyectos de Innovacion'. 2016/211.

Keywords:

Mathematics and statistics in geology, Python, geological data.