This workshop gives students an overview of mathematical modelling and shows them how real-world problems can be modelled and solved using mathematics.
The workshop is divided into two parts, the first of which focuses on linear optimization. Students learn how to formulate a linear optimization problem and how a problem with two variables can be solved graphically. They then learn about the simplex algorithm, which can be used in the general case. The second part is devoted to the modelling of growth processes, and deals in particular with the SIR model, which is used to model the spread of an epidemic in a given population.
The workshop covers, among other things
- Introduction to mathematical modelling
- Examples of linear optimisation problems
- Graphical resolution of a two-variable problem (using GeoGebra)
- The simplex algorithm
- Introduction to modelling growth processes
- Linear, exponential and logistic growth
- The SIR model with implementation in GeoGebra
This workshop is suited for students from 3ème onwards. For the part on the simplex algorithm, it is advantageous if students already have some knowledge in manipulating systems of linear equations.