The importance of interdisciplinary collaboration has become increasingly necessary as science probes for deeper understanding.  Today physicists, chemists, biologists, mathematicians, computer scientists, and engineers are all working together on a variety of subjects, each one bringing his or her expertise to the table as these collaborative groups study more and more interdisciplinary topics. 

This tutorial is also a collaboration among teachers and these researchers, and is designed to provide a basic introduction to several key mathematical processes and their relationship to biology.

We hope this tutorial will encourage you to explore the interrelationships between the sciences and mathematics.  The future of scientific discovery requires closer ties and a better understanding of “the big picture”.  Enjoy.

 How it works.

This section gives a brief overview of the tutorial you are about to explore. For the more advanced tutorials, we assume you’ve worked through previous material so there will be very little review. Read this section carefully as it explains
(a) the background scient of the topic,
(b) how current models work, and
(c) how these models are used in biology.

Activities.

This section describes what the embedded programs will do, and includes suggestions about the model you are examining. In addition, this section runs the model. Many of these have several “parameters” that you can modify, so you will have ample opportunity to work through many different examples. Try to do as many as possible as each trial will show you more about how the model works.

Quick links.

Here are the links that will allow you to travel beyond the scope of this tutorial. These include links to other websites, along with a few comments directed at the value of each site.

What's next.

Finally, this section sends you to the next tutorial in the sequence. However, if you wish to go back or jump ahead to any other tutorial, you can use the pull-down menu (above) or the back arrow on your browser.