Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi

I was supposed to do the research about some bio topics but my mentor totally ignored me now so I'm trying to start new research.. (How Sad!!)
Anyway.. I was getting advise from others and one guy told me that making computer model will be good since I barely have 2 months till the science fair.
I really want to make this one because I spent so much time on my previous one and suddenly got rejected from him.

So I have several questions about computer model.

1) If I decided to do research on particular subjects something like "When people usually die after they get cancer?", where can I get those clinical datas?

2) To make computer model, do I need to come up with new equation? something like "Mortality =(years of suffering)+ X +C"?
I'm not really sure what computer model is.. whether it is making new graphs by using datas or making new equations..

3) If I make new graphs or equations of it, what kind of program can I use? Do you have any suggestions?
I can only think of Excel program to graph something.

I don't much time so if you can answer ASAP, I would really appreciate it.
Thank you!

Hi kyhekm,

Wikepedia has a very thorough discussion about computer models. I suggest you read through that to get a more complete understanding: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_simulation

As they say in that article, a computer model is simply using a computer program to simulate an activity. Some models can be very simple and not even need a computer to simulate them. For example, let’s say you want to model a 5-pound bowling ball being dropped from 3 meters. Simple physics equations can easily tell you what the velocity would be at any given point. No need for a computer there, right? But if you wanted a more detailed model that had the velocity at every millimeter during the fall, a computer would sure come in handy.

Most computer models are too complex to be defined by a single equation. Weather forecasting uses models can take thousands of variables into account in their predictions.
Another since there aren’t that many alternatives or variables to influence the outcome. Like, for example, modeling a tic-tac-toe game. Others, like modeling the weather, can be very complex since there are thousands or even millions of variables to consider.

I don’t know where you can get data on things like cancer mortality rates. I’ll check into that and see what I can find out.

To make a computer model, you need to describe what it is you are trying to simulate or predict. What are the starting conditions and what variables will influence the outcome. Once you have that concept in mind, then you can decide whether or not you need to simulate it with a computer or not.

The output of a model depends on what is being simulated or predicted. It could be a single data point – the temperature at this location 25 hours from now is predicted to be 85 degrees. Or it could be a very complex set of tables or graphs that indicate how the temperature tomorrow could be anything between 80 and 90 degrees depending on the humidity and wind speed.

A variety of programs can be used for modeling. For simpler models, Excel would certainly work. There are very specialized (and very expensive) programs to help engineers model things like air flow, car crashes and oil drilling. Many models are just custom developed from a programming language like Java or C. And there are several programming languages that are specifically designed for building computer models. (Look up “simulation language” in Wikepedia.)

NetLogo is a freely available programming environment for “simulating natural and social phenomena”. Look at http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/docs/ for a more complete description and some examples. You may get some project ideas there.


I found a few science project ideas on the Science Buddies website that refer to computer models and simulation. Some have you use an existing computer model in the project and other actually have you build your own model. Perhaps some of these will trigger thoughts about a potential project:
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p020.shtml
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p049.shtml
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p016.shtml
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p006.shtml
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... p008.shtml
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p044.shtml
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p004.shtml

I hope this helps answer some of your questions and gets you started on your project selection.

Mike

With regard to the cancer mortality rates, just enter "cancer mortality rates" into Google. That may have what you're looking for. If not, please be more specific and maybe we can find some other sources for you.
Mike