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Exponential Growth

Description:

A population which has all the food it needs will increase faster and faster because the more individuals, the more mouths, the more food consumed and the more growth on the whole population.

Examples:

  • Growth of populations of plants and animals with unrestricted resources.
  • Oil and mining industries, when new oil fields and sources of gold were found.
    		•  Diagram

    Variables:

    E = energy source
    Q = stored quantity
    K1 = increasing factor
    K4 = decreasing factor

    Equations:

    DQ = K1*E*Q - K4*Q

    Simulation:

    The graph shows changes of Q over a time period.
    Source code: Expo.java

    "What if" Experiments:

    Think about a population of laboratory mice:

  • What happens if you double the concentration of food?
  • What if you increase the growth rate (death rate) of the mice?
  • If E is 1 (type 100) and K1 is equal to K4, what happens to the population?
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