Question

Suppose a student carrying a flu virus returns to an isolated college campus of 9000 students. Determine a differential equation governing the number of students x(t) who have contracted the flu if the rate at which the disease spreads is proportional to the number of interactions between students with the flu and students who have not yet contracted it. (Usek > 0for the constant of proportionality and x forx(t).)

Answer 1

dx/dt = kx(9000-x) where k > 0

Step-by-step explanation:

Number of students in the campus, n = 9000

Number of students who have contracted the flu = x(t) = x

Number of students who have bot yet contracted the flu = 9000 - x

Number of Interactions between those that have contracted the flu and those that are yet to contract it = x(9000 - x)

The rate of spread of the disease = dx/dt

Note: the rate at which the disease spread is proportional to the number of interactions between those that have contracted the flu and those that have not contracted it.

`(dx)/(dt) \alpha [x(9000 -x)]\\`

Introducing a constant of proportionality, k:

dx/dt = kx(9000-x) where k > 0