Objective:  The students will explore exponential growth curve.

 

Materials:  Skittles, cups, paper towels

 

Procedure:  Arrange the students in groups of 2-3.  See the data sheet

 

Exponential growth                                                       Name _____________________________

                                                                                                                Name _____________________________

                                                                                    Name _____________________________

                                                                                    Date _____________________ Period ___

 

 

Follow all directions precisely.

 

 

1.                    Choose two skittles at random from the cup, and place them on the plate.

 

2.                    Cover that plate with another, grasp firmly, and shake.  Place on the desk and carefully remove the top plate.

 

3.                    For each skittle that is showing its “s”, add another to the plate from the supply cup.  (If 1 is showing its ‘s’, add1, if 2 are, then add 2).

 

Generation

Total number

of skittles

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

 

5

 

6

 

7

 

8

 

 

 

 

4.                    Repeat step #2 and 3 until you do not have enough skittles to populate the next generation.

 

 

5.             Graph the data in the coordinate plane.

 

 

 

5.                    How many skittles do you predict would be in the next generation?

 

 

6.             How many generations would it take for the skittle population to reach 1000?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Part 2

 

Follow directions precisely.  You may eat the skittles upon completion of this lab.

 

 

1.                    Pour all of the skittles onto one of the plates and count the total number.

 

2.                    This is the first generation.  Enter that number into the total population column for generation #1 in the table.

 

3.                    Cover this plate with another plate, grasp firmly, and shake.  Place back on the desk, and carefully remove the top plate.

 

4.                    Remove each skittle that is showing its “s”, counting the ones that you remove.

 

This is the second generation:            How many did you remove?  Place that # in the correct place in the table.

 

                                                                How many total skittles remain?  Place that # in the correct place for gener. 2.

 

5.                    Repeat steps #3 and 4 until no skittles remain.

 

 

 

Generation

Total number

of skittles

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

 

5

 

6

 

7

 

8

 

 

6.  Graph the data in the coordinate plane.

 

 

 

 

 

7.    If you had started out with twice the original number of skittles (sorry my budget couldn’t support that), how many generations would it have taken for that population to decay to zero?  Explain.