Tag: Spreadsheets
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Numerical Solutions to the Logistic Equation: Exploring Population Models in Spreadsheets
Introduction The logistic equation is a fundamental mathematical model used to describe population growth in a constrained environment. It was first proposed by Pierre-François Verhulst in 1838 and is expressed as: Here, P represents the population size at time t, r is the intrinsic growth rate, and K is the carrying capacity of the environment,…
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Solving a Simple Harmonic Oscillator with Spreadsheets
Introduction In this post, we’ll explore how to solve a simple harmonic oscillator using the Finite Difference Method (FDM) in spreadsheets. The simple harmonic oscillator is a fundamental concept in physics, described by a second-order differential equation that models various oscillatory systems, such as springs, pendulums, and circuits. While such equations can be challenging to…
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Spreadsheets: Common man’s programming tool
I remember sitting in my computer science class about two decades ago and my teacher teaching us how to print “Hello World”. I never became a computer scientist – nor did I become a professional programmer. But I did come to appreciate how useful programming is for most professions. As an experimental Materials Scientist, I…