Precalculus: From Rumor to Chaos

Objectives

• Students will model the spread of a rumor using a recursive sequence.
• Students will understand that variations in the recursive sequence modeling the spread of a rumor or a disease can lead to predictable or chaotic behavior.

Vocabulary

• recursive sequence

About the Lesson

This lesson involves modeling the spread of a rumor and similar problems.
As a result, students will:

• Find and analyze a recursive sequence modeling the spread of a rumor.
• Explore variations in this sequence that lead to predictable and chaotic behavior.