Today the class talked about the major crops of North Carolina. Out of the two major crops the class decided to build a model of the effects of one crop: pigs. The class then began to use a program called Stella TM to make a model of the effects of pig waste on the Neuse river and Pamlico sounds. Before they started, they discussed how this effected North Carolina both aesthetically and economically.
The class then used math and science to build a model of the pig waste. While building their model they learned many new Stella TM functions such as pulse and slider bars. Then they ran there model and saw the amount of waste that ended up in the Pamlico Sound.
After the break the class created another model of the pig waste. This time the model was a spatial model and it was very complex. It was a more accurate model because it divided the river into different layers by depth. After building their model the class ran the model and waited patiently while the results were coming. The students also used a program called Scion to visualize their data, because it contained 320,000 seperate points and had to be mapped out as an image. Just looking at 320,000 numbers didn't really show what was happening in the river.