PBS
Population Simulation with M&M's
Math and M&Ms® go great together when introducing a modeling activity. Allow your learners to simulate population growth and decay of fish in a pond and share their reasoning for the change in fish. With such an impact we have on our...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Population Dynamics
Will human population growth always be exponential, or will we find a limiting factor we can't avoid? Young scientists learn about both exponential and logistic growth models in various animal populations. They use case studies to...
Curated OER
Population Growth Rates
Students determine the average annual rate of change (growth rate) of U.S. national population for each decade of historical census data.
Curated OER
Human Population- Changes in Survival Rates Data Interpretation
In this human population changes in survival worksheet, students interpret and plot data to understand the differences in human mortality and survivorship between historic and modern times. They investigate how these changes influence...
Illustrative Mathematics
Logistic Growth Model, Abstract Version
Here learners get to flex some serious algebraic muscles through an investigation of logistic growth. The properties of the constant terms in the logistic growth formula are unraveled in a short but content-dense...
Curated OER
How Does Your Population Grown?
Do you know how the population has grown of your community? Can you predict the population over the next half century? Can we find an algebraic model that matches our data? These along with many more questions can be researched by...
Curated OER
Logistic Growth
Through the exploration of population growth of a bacteria population, high schoolers learn about and observe bacteria population over a 20 hour period. Students graph the population growth using a scatter plot and discuss its...
US Department of Commerce
Featured Activity: Population Change Over Time
Keep track of a state's population. After a brief discussion on how population data is used for funding, individuals look at population changes over time. Pupils find the population of two states using three different censuses. They then...
PBS
Adventures With The Fish Pond: Population Modeling
Build up from the previous activity where your learners charted the population growth and decay of a fish pond with M&Ms®. Have them look at the data from that activity and create a Now-Next, or recursive equations, to predict the...
Curated OER
Population Growth
Students calculate human emission rate by year 2050. In this social studies lesson, students watch a video online and analyze population trends. They explain how e total emissions affect global climate.
Education World
The African American Population in US History
How has the African American population changed over the years? Learners use charts, statistical data, and maps to see how populations in African American communities have changed since the 1860s. Activity modifications are included to...
Firelands Local Schools
Exponential Growth and Decay
How can you safely model exponential growth and decay? A hands-on activity uses candies to model not only exponential decay, but also exponential growth. Exponential equations are fitted by hand and by use of a calculator...
Curated OER
Modeling Population Growth
Students collect data on population growth. In this statistics lesson, students graph their data and make predictions. They find the linear regression and the best fit line.
Curated OER
Bacteria Populations
Your young microbiologists will interpret and solve exponential equations in this real-world context task set in a hospital research scenario. Learners think in terms of the functions as well as their rates of change.
Curated OER
US Population 1790-1860
Your young population scientists analyze a table of values, write a model to represent the real life data, finish the table of data and predict future populations in a collaborative, real-life activity.
EngageNY
Exponential Growth—U.S. Population and World Population
Show how exponential growth can look linear. Pupils come to understand the importance of looking at the entire picture as they compare the US population to the world population. Initially, the populations look linear with the same rate...
Curated OER
Population: Logistically Speaking
In this population worksheet, students read word problems relating to population growth. They write the problem as a differential equation, create models and graphs of the solution. This three-page worksheet contains 10 multi-step...
Curated OER
In the Billions and Exponential Modeling
Modeling population growth gives learners an opportunity to experiment with real data. Comparing the growth rates in this real-life task strengthens learners' understanding that exponential functions change by equal factors over equal...
Curated OER
The World Population: Logistic Model
Students explore the various uses of the logistic function. Students use the internet to collect world population data and find a logistic model for their data and use their chosen model to predict future populations.
Curated OER
Population Models and Qualitative Analysis, Part 2
In this population model instructional activity, students explore models of population growth using the Gompertz growth model and the exponential growth model. They sketch a graph of the slope function and determine possible solutions...
Shodor Education Foundation
Rabbits and Wolves
A change in a parameter can end in overpopulation. The resources gives pupils the opportunity to control the parameters of rabbits and wolves in a natural setting. Using the set parameters, the simulation runs and displays the population...
EngageNY
Linear and Exponential Models—Comparing Growth Rates
Does a linear or exponential model fit the data better? Guide your class through an exploration to answer this question. Pupils create an exponential and linear model for a data set and draw conclusions, based on predictions and the...
EngageNY
Graphs of Exponential Functions
What does an exponential pattern look like in real life? After viewing a video of the population growth of bacteria, learners use the real-life scenario to collect data and graph the result. Their conclusion should be a new type of...
Agile Mind
Rabbit populations
In this real-world problem about the rapid growth of rabbit populations, students must analyze two different scenarios and create mathematical models to represent them. They use their exponential models to answer questions about the...