June 29, 2005

David started by showing the class a finished flow chart of a chicken pox outbreak. After showing the students how to figure out various formulas, such as how many people get sick each day, he helped the class build a flow chart about rabbits and wolves. The students had to figure out the predation rate, the amount of rabbits to begin with, and the rabbit birth rate. After they finished the flow chart, the class split into teams to build models.

After snack, the teams worked with an applet about rabbits and wolves. Each team had to change factors such as metabolism, birth rate, and food level for the animals in order to create a stable society. For example, if the rabbits eat too much grass, and the grass can't grow back fast enough then the rabbits will begin to die. If there are not enough rabbits, then the wolves will die. After studying the rabbit and wolves applet for a while, the class went back and used what they learned from the applet to improve their flow chart of rabbits and wolves.