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This is our collection of tasks on the mathematical theme of 'Population Dynamics' for advanced students and those interested in mathematical modelling.
Why MUST these statistical statements probably be at least a little bit wrong?
Here are several equations from real life. Can you work out which measurements are possible from each equation?
Which line graph, equations and physical processes go together?
The probability that a passenger books a flight and does not turn up is 0.05. For an aeroplane with 400 seats how many tickets can be sold so that only 1% of flights are over-booked?
Invent scenarios which would give rise to these probability density functions.
Can you suggest a curve to fit some experimental data? Can you work out where the data might have come from?
Which units would you choose best to fit these situations?
Work with numbers big and small to estimate and calculate various quantities in physical contexts.
When you change the units, do the numbers get bigger or smaller?
Are these statistical statements sometimes, always or never true? Or it is impossible to say?
Use your skill and knowledge to place various scientific lengths in order of size. Can you judge the length of objects with sizes ranging from 1 Angstrom to 1 million km with no wrong attempts?
How is the length of time between the birth of an animal and the birth of its great great ... great grandparent distributed?
Estimate these curious quantities sufficiently accurately that you can rank them in order of size
See how enormously large quantities can cancel out to give a good approximation to the factorial function.
Explore the possibilities for reaction rates versus concentrations with this non-linear differential equation
Get further into power series using the fascinating Bessel's equation.
Many physical constants are only known to a certain accuracy. Explore the numerical error bounds in the mass of water and its constituents.
How much energy has gone into warming the planet?
Look at the advanced way of viewing sin and cos through their power series.
Work with numbers big and small to estimate and calculate various quantities in biological contexts.
Build up the concept of the Taylor series
By exploring the concept of scale invariance, find the probability that a random piece of real data begins with a 1.
Go on a vector walk and determine which points on the walk are closest to the origin.
Work out the numerical values for these physical quantities.
Match the charts of these functions to the charts of their integrals.
Was it possible that this dangerous driving penalty was issued in error?
Find the distance of the shortest air route at an altitude of 6000 metres between London and Cape Town given the latitudes and longitudes. A simple application of scalar products of vectors.
Use the computer to model an epidemic. Try out public health policies to control the spread of the epidemic, to minimise the number of sick days and deaths.
Formulate and investigate a simple mathematical model for the design of a table mat.
Investigate circuits and record your findings in this simple introduction to truth tables and logic.
Which dilutions can you make using only 10ml pipettes?
Looking at small values of functions. Motivating the existence of the Taylor expansion.
How do you write a computer program that creates the illusion of stretching elastic bands between pegs of a Geoboard? The answer contains some surprising mathematics.
Simple models which help us to investigate how epidemics grow and die out.
Get some practice using big and small numbers in chemistry.
If a is the radius of the axle, b the radius of each ball-bearing, and c the radius of the hub, why does the number of ball bearings n determine the ratio c/a? Find a formula for c/a in terms of n.
How efficiently can you pack together disks?
Match the descriptions of physical processes to these differential equations.
Each week a company produces X units and sells p per cent of its stock. How should the company plan its warehouse space?
Explore the meaning of the scalar and vector cross products and see how the two are related.
Analyse these beautiful biological images and attempt to rank them in size order.
Can you sketch these difficult curves, which have uses in mathematical modelling?
Explore the relationship between resistance and temperature
Can you work out what this procedure is doing?
Could nanotechnology be used to see if an artery is blocked? Or is this just science fiction?
To investigate the relationship between the distance the ruler drops and the time taken, we need to do some mathematical modelling...
Make an accurate diagram of the solar system and explore the concept of a grand conjunction.
What functions can you make using the function machines RECIPROCAL and PRODUCT and the operator machines DIFF and INT?
Andy wants to cycle from Land's End to John o'Groats. Will he be able to eat enough to keep him going?