About Modelling pollution in the Great Lakes: a review

This is the fifth and final unit in the MSXR209 series on mathematical modelling. In this unit we revisit the model developed in the first unit of this series on pollution in the Great Lakes of North America. Here we evaluate and revise the original model by comparing its predictions against data from the lakes before finally reflecting on the techniques used. This unit assumes you have studied Modelling pollution in the Great Lakes (MSXR209_1), Analysing skid marks (MSXR209_2), Developing modelling skills (MSXR209_3) and Modelling heat transfer (MSXR209_4). After studying this text you should be able to: appreciate that simple models can be as useful as more complex model, if they serve their intended purpose. appreciate the role of the assumptions of the model in thinking about possible revisions; appreciate that there are a number of possible revisions to a model; use a variety of techniques to revise a simple model; appreciate that a complex model may be built up from a simple model by graduall including more and more features.