INU0114/115

INTO Newcastle University

Mathematics for Physical Sciences and Engineering
Group Assignment Numerical methods and calculus
Tutor: Dr Adrian Jannetta
Deadline: Monday April 28th 2014

Instructions to candidates:
Attempt all the questions.
This assignment must be submitted as a printed report.
You should type your final solutions using, for example, Microsoft Word or Open Office.
Attach any supporting work (printed Excel spreadsheets, or rough work) as an Appendix
to the report.
Include a front page with the names of your group members, the assignment title and
module name (see above).
Equations and formulae should be entered using an equation editor.
Identify each answer with the corresponding question number and the name of the
group member(s) responsible for the contribution.
Ensure all working is shown and that steps in your solution are explained where necessary.
Answers with no working and little explanation may gain no credit.
Give final numerical answers to an appropriate level of accuracy with correct units.
The marks for individual questions or parts of questions are shown in brackets.
The total marks for the mathematical content of this assignment is 60 marks.
Report presentation and use of academic English will contribute up to an additional 10 marks.
The total mark awarded to team members will be influenced by allocation of the 10 contribution points. Your group must decide how these additional points are allocated and submit
the award sheet with the report.
Submit your paper copy to INTO Reception and send the electronic copy by email to adrian.
jannetta@newcastle.ac.uk.

Assignment 4

INU0114/115 Maths 1/2

This assignment is to investigate two famous equations often referred to as Logistic Equations.
The discrete version is called the Logistic Map and is in the form of a recurrence relation. It was
popularised by the biologist Robert May (1976) is a simple model of population change. Under
certain conditions the equation behaves in a chaotic way (small changes to the initial values can
lead to wildly different outcomes).
The continuous Logistic equation is a differential equation and can be solved using methods youve
seen on the course. A version of this Logistic equation was studied by Pierre Franois Verhulst in
the mid 1840s.
1. The discrete Logistic Map is a recurrence relation defined by
xn+1 = rxn (1 xn )
where r is a constant and 0 < r 4. You will carry out an investigation of the Logistic Map
using fixed point iteration.
(a) Write a brief introduction and explanation about how the Logistic Map works and how it
can represent a population.

(2)

(b) Define a function in Excel which accepts two inputs r and xn and uses the above equation
to calculate the next iterate xn+1 .

(3)

(c) Let r = 0.5 and x0 = 0.1. Use the spreadsheet to compute the iterates x1 , x2 , . . . , x100 .
Repeat the process for r = 1, r = 2, r = 2.7, r = 3.2, r = 3.5 and r = 3.8. Present
your results in tabular form in Excel and comment on any patterns (or otherwise) that
you notice in each case. For example: in which cases do the iterates converge? When
do they diverge?

(5)

(d) Examine the behaviour of the iterates in the interval 3.5 r 4. Produce graphs of n
against xn for selected values of r. Comment on how the behaviour of each xn sequence
changes as r varies over the interval. Does changing the value of x0 affect the overall
pattern of behaviour?

(8)

(e) Investigate the solutions of the Logistic Equation and their dependence on r over the
interval 0 < r 4. The goal is produce a graph of r (horizontal axis) against the
solutions xn obtained after many iterations (vertical axis). Use the results from (a)ii to
guide you. For example, where the method converges to a single solution x then plot
(r, x) on a graph. If the method seems to oscillate between two different solutions xA
and xB then plot each (r, xA ) and (r, xB ). The resulting picture is called a bifiurcation
diagram. Do this for as many values of r as you are able to. For which values of r is this
not possible (or very difficult!)

(8)

[26 marks]
2. A continuous version of the Logistic Equation is given by the differential equation
dx
= rx(1 x) , x 0
dt
(a) Write a brief introduction and explanation about how this version of the Logistic equation
differs from the discrete version.

(2)

(b) Produce direction fields for this equation for some selected values of r. In each case plot
some particular solutions for selected values boundary conditions (x, t). Describe what
the direction fields tell you about the evolution of the population x against time t. For
example, does the choice of x influence the ultimate size of the population?

(12)

Questions continue on next page. . .

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Question 2 continues. . .

Assignment 4

INU0114/115 Maths 1/2

(c) Use separation of variables to show the general solution of the differential equation is
given by
A
x = rt
e
+A
where A is a constant. Show further that if x = x0 at t = 0 that the solution can be
written
x0
x=
(1 x0 )ert + x0

(12)

What happens to x as t ? How does the choice of r influence the size of the
population x as time increases?
[26 marks]
3. Describe the main differences that your investigation has found between modelling populations
with the continuous Logistic Equation and the discrete Logistic Map. Which version, if any, is
better at modelling real populations? Can you find any evidence (books, articles) to support
your claims?
[8 marks]

End of questions

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