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1-005-S-OilSlick
30 May 2015 | | Contributor(s):: Brian Winkel
We describe a modeling activity for students in which modeling with difference and differential equations is appropriate. We have used this model in our coursework for years and have found that it enlightens students as to the model building process and parameter estimation for a ...
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1-005A-S-OilSlick
30 May 2015 | | Contributor(s):: Karen Bliss
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1-006-S-FinancingSavingsAndLoans
31 May 2015 | | Contributor(s):: Brian Winkel
We describe two situations (Pa) one in which we are saving for a purpose and (2) one in which we are borrowing for a purpose. In the first case we ask for discrete and continuous model of the situation and in the second case we ask that the results of the model be used to examine some...
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1-009-S-ICUSpread
02 Jun 2015 | | Contributor(s):: Brian Winkel
We offer students the opportunity to model the percentage of voluntary nonprofit hospitals in the United States with Intensive Care Units during the period of 1958-1974.
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1-011-S-Kinetics
03 Jun 2015 | | Contributor(s):: Brian Winkel
We help students see the connection between college level chemistry course work and their differential equations coursework. We do this through modeling kinetics, or rates of chemical reaction. We offer many opportunities to model these chemical reactions with data, some of which comes from...
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1-011A-S-Kinetics
06 Jun 2015 | | Contributor(s):: Karen Bliss
Adapted from 1-11-Kinetics, SIMIODE modeling scenario. We help students see the connection between college level chemistry course work and their differential equations coursework. We do this through modeling kinetics, or rates of chemical reaction. We study zeroth, first, and...
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1-014-S-DrainingContainers
17 Mar 2017 | | Contributor(s):: Brian Winkel
We examine the question, ``Given two rectangular circular cylinders of water with the same volume, but different radii, with a small bore hole of same radius on the center of the bottom through which water exits the cylinder, which empties faster?''
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1-019-S-RocksInTheHead
04 Jun 2015 | | Contributor(s):: Brian Winkel
We describe an experiment and offer data from a previously conducted experiment on the perception of the individual mass of a collection of rocks in comparison to a 100 g brass mass. We lead students to use the logistic differential equation as a reasonable model, estimate the parameters,...
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1-020-S-IceMelt
04 Jun 2015 | | Contributor(s):: Brian Winkel
We offer up the claim of a store catalog that its ice ball mold allows users to "... make ice balls that outlast cubes and won't water drinks down." We ask students to build a mathematical model to defend or contradict this claim.
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1-022-S-SpreadOfTechnology
27 Nov 2015 | | Contributor(s):: Brian Winkel
We examine plots on the spread of technologies and ask students to estimate and extract data from the plots and then model several of these spread of technologies phenomena with a logistic differential equation model.
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1-023-S-RumorSpread
04 Jun 2015 | | Contributor(s):: Brian Winkel
We use a newspaper report on the spread of a rumor based on shares of articles on the Internet over a 5 day period to demonstrate the value of modeling with the logistic differential equation. The data shows and the intrinsic growth rates confirm that the false rumor spread faster than true rumor.
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1-025-S-MixingItUp
04 Jun 2015 | | Contributor(s):: Brian Winkel
Students build three different models for levels of salt in a tank of water and at each stage the level of complexity increases with attention to nuances necessary for success.
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1-026-S-Evaporation
04 Jun 2015 | | Contributor(s):: Brian Winkel
We provide data (in EXCEL and Mathematica files) on evaporation of 91% isopropyl alcohol in six different Petri dishes and one conical funnel and on evaporation of water in one Petri dish. We ask students to develop a mathematical model for the rate of evaporation for the alcohol mixture...
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1-029-S-ConeToCubeFlow
02 Mar 2016 | | Contributor(s):: Sania Qureshi
We consider a configuration of two containers. An inverted right circular cone with a hole in point at the bottom is suspended above an open-topped cube which also has a hole in the center of the bottom. The cone is filled with water and we wish to model the water flow from cone to cube and...
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1-031-S-CoolIt
02 Jun 2015 | | Contributor(s):: Brian Winkel
We offer data on the temperature of water in a beaker which resides in a room of constant temperature and also in an environment of nonconstant temperature. Students are encouraged to consider both empirical and analytic modeling approaches. We offer additional data sets in Excel spreadsheets...
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1-032-S-WordPropagation
07 Apr 2016 | | Contributor(s):: Rachelle DeCoste, Rachel Bayless
This activity is a gentle introduction to modeling via differential equations. The students will model the rate at which the word jumbo has propagated through English language texts over time.
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1-033-S-SouthernBarbeque
22 Jun 2016 | | Contributor(s):: Troy Henderson
We offer raw data collected from two thermometers used in the smoking process of Southern barbecue. One thermometer measures the temperature inside of the smoke chamber and the other measures the internal temperature of the meat. This data can be used to model and predict the amount...
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1-034-S-FishMixing
24 Dec 2015 | | Contributor(s):: Eric Sullivan, Elizabeth Anne Carlson
This activity gives students a chance to build the underlying differential equation and/or difference equation for a mixing problem using tangible objects (fish) and a student-designed restocking and fishing plan in a lake. The mixture is of two species of fish, one being the current sole...
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1-036-S-NeutralBuoyancy
03 Jun 2016 | | Contributor(s):: John Thomas Sieben
Things float or they don’t. Well, it’s not quite that simple. In this exercise we lead students through applications of several laws of physics to develop and solve differential equations that will predict where in a water column a weight with an attached lift bag will become...
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1-039-S-StochasticPopModels
11 Sep 2016 | | Contributor(s):: Dan Flath
We offer students the opportunity to develop several strategies for creating a population model using some simple probabilistic assumptions. These assumptions lead to a system of differential equations for the probability that a system is in state (or population size) n at time t. We go further...