1. Free-Standing Mathematics Activity
Coughs and sneezes
© Nuffield Foundation 2011

2. Coughs and sneezes
How can the rise and fall in the number of cases in an outbreak of an infectious disease be modelled?

3. Coughs and sneezes t s t = number of days after monitoring began.5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 s 31 38 43 47 41 36 24 19 14 11 8
t = number of days after monitoring began.
s = number of students who have a cold.
Think about … What shape will this data give on a graph?

4. Coughs and sneezes
Think about … Which type of mathematical functions could give approximately the same shape?

5. Reflect on your work
What types of functions provided good models for the data?
Why does the number of students not start with a low number?
What problems would there be in collecting such data?
How might inaccuracies in the data affect your models?