Education Technology

Science: Outbreak!

by Texas Instruments

Overview

In this activity, students simulate the spread of a virus. They produce a graph representing the spread and analyze the rates of change over time. Students compare how viral and bacterial infections spread in a population.

Key Steps

  • Image

    Students are assigned consecutive integers starting at 1 by their teacher and are asked to stand. Random integers are then used to “infect” students in the class.

  • Image

    As students are infected they are asked to sit down. After each trial the number of infected individuals should be recorded. A scatter plot of the data is created and generalizations are made regarding the spread of disease.