Maths in a minute: Mathematical models
A basic introduction to the most powerful tools in science and engineering.
e for exponential
At the beginning of an epidemic the number of infected people grows exponentially. But why does the number e appear in descriptions of this growth?
What is the generation time of a disease?
To work out how a disease will spread you need to know the time between infections.
How can maths fight an epidemic?
How can we use mathematics to model the spread of a disease?
The doubling time of a disease
The doubling time of a disease is the time it takes for the number of cases of the disease to double. How do you calculate it?
The growth rate of a disease
What is the growth rate and what does it tell us about an epidemic?
R and herd immunity
What is herd immunity and what does it have to do with a number called R?
Maths in a minute: Algorithms
The word "algorithm" has probably got more usage over the last few years than it has in its entire history. But what exactly is an algorithm?
Maths in a minute: Exponential growth
What do we mean when we say that something grows exponentially?