The Same Difference: the spread of rumors, catching the flu, and more math
A research rotation for Southwestern's "Science Training and Education Program" or
STEPS

Description that the students saw to decide between session offerings:
What do gossip and disease have in common? Come and learn the mathematics that describes them both. We will use the computer to virtually spread disease or rumors, perform computations, and create graphs. No previous computer skills are needed. Students will present our simulations and their meaning.

Each research rotation will meet in a small computer lab, MBH 118.

ROTATION 3: Sarah Cudzilo Mon Jun 17, 12:45pm-3, 3:30-4:45pm

• Students set up rules and expectations.
• Intro to Excel: save a file; copy, paste; relative addressing; entering a formula; dragging to create an arithmetic sequence.
• File hierarchy on the USB drives. Safely remove USB drive.
• Code a multiplication table in Excel with an appropriately addressed formula.
  Included PasteSpecial/Transpose from column headers to row headers.
• Notes in a Word document on types of Excel addressing.
• Code values of a linear function by referencing a slope and an intercept and x-values. Create a graph. Copy and paste the table and graph into Word, leaving blank lines to allow greater editing control and ease.
• Simulation of disease spread within a group of 6 names by rolling a die.
  Excel graph.

• Write up the instructions for our procedure from last time.
• Discuss simulation of disease spread within a small group by selecting names on paper.
  CopyAndPasteSheet; insert columns and see how the graph changes.
• Perform another simulation with 6 people and dice.
• Write up the simulation of CONTACT. S-I model.
• Discuss and write up the SHAPE of the graph!!

- - - - - - - R E S O U R C E S - - - - - - -

Career Info

US Bureau of Labor and Statistics

We Use Math

American Mathematical Society

Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics

Duane Kouba

References

"CDC - Seasonal Influenza (Flu) - Flu Activity & Surveillance." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web. 11 June 2012. http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/fluactivitysurv.htm. Also http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/weeklyarchives2009-2010/data/AHDRA20.htm for earlier data and http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/weeklyarchives2011-2012/data/senAllregt22.htm for current data.

Freiberger, Marianne. "Pan(dem)ic?" Plus.maths.org. Web. 11 June 2012. http://plus.maths.org/content/pandemic.
The home site is edited by Freiberger and Thomas.

Matthew, Keeling. "The Mathematics of Diseases." Plus.maths.org. Web. 11 June 2012. http://plus.maths.org/issue14/features/diseases/.

"Logistic Growth." Connecting Concepts: Interactive Lessons in Biology. Web. 15 June 2012. (produced collaboratively at the University of Wisconsin-Madison) http://ats.doit.wisc.edu/biology/ec/pd/t2.htm

Schreiber, Michael. "Logistic Sigmoid Market Model." Wolfram Demonstrations Project. Web. 25 July 2010. http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/LogisticSigmoidMarketModel/.

Purdue OWL: Online Writing Lab. Web. 26 August 2012. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/.

logistic model with data TI Activity 8

beyond typical high school curriculum. nice paper on 1-variable simple differential equations model of the spread of infection Explorations 1-3 can be done in Mathematica DE model

beyond typical high school curriculum disease paper