POPULATION GROWTH MODEL PROJECT PLEASE RESPOND

[nswamy13]

Hello Science Buddies,

I am a senior in high school taking AP Physics who is interested in doing a science project on mathematical modeling and animal population growth. I have decided that I want to construct two models, one of a predator and one of its prey, but I am not sure where to go from there. I want to make the project original, but I cannot seem to think of any ways to interpret the model once I have it. I was thinking of changing the carrying capacity, but that seems too simple. PLEASE RESPONSE ASAP. THANK YOU!

[theborg]

nswamy13,

Thank you for your question, and welcome to science buddies.

You didn't mention on what system/program you were going to build your model of predator and prey. However, what if you modeled a population of each, using numbers from the real world, like the average heard (H_ave) size of say wildebeest and an average pride of lions (P_ave). Using statistics, you could model the predators probability of kill (pK) vs the preys probability of survival (pS) and determine ranges of population size , kill/survival rates that promote a balanced eco-system (of course neglecting many other environmental factors).

You would need to build this model in a constructive computer model and using a "monte-carlo" simulation technique change your variables, pK, pS, H_ave, and P_ave.

Just a thought. Post back if you have any other questions or need more ideas.