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Students Rise To The Challenge Of Modeling Yeast Growth Despite Sour Hiccups From Imperfect Data, Alicia Caldwell

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Students rarely receive the opportunity to experience a learning activity involving mathematical modeling. This paper describes a lab in which students in an Applied Mathematics in Biology course observe the growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a yeast strain, in differing sugar concentrations for use in learning modeling. They parameterized the logistic equation and an alternate model, which they themselves constructed, based on the data they collected. I participated in this lab as a student in 2012 then observed and reviewed the work of other students involved. I found that students gained a deeper understanding of limiting factors and the role of …