# Population Logarthmic Growth Question

#### JMathHelp

I have a problem to do and I don't quite understand it. It's based off the population growth in China. It says that a researcher suggests that the population P, can be modeled by

P(t) = k/(1+Le^-Mt)

Where K, L, and M are parameters

It then says: use technology to estimate and interpret K, L, and M.

What I don't understand it what does it mean to use technology to estimate and interpret the parameters. What do the parameters mean?

Thanks for any help

#### Gusbob

I have a problem to do and I don't quite understand it. It's based off the population growth in China. It says that a researcher suggests that the population P, can be modeled by

P(t) = k/(1+Le^-Mt)

Where K, L, and M are parameters

It then says: use technology to estimate and interpret K, L, and M.

What I don't understand it what does it mean to use technology to estimate and interpret the parameters. What do the parameters mean?

Thanks for any help
Use technology presumably means use the internet to find out the population, growth rate etc of china. You should probably graph population over time, as this is what the question is asking for.

Then, you can also use graphing programs to test the given equation against the graph.

Parameters are variables you change to affect the outcome. The idea is that you change the values of K, L, and M to fit a graph of china's population over time.

#### JMathHelp

Thanks. I did try to graph it, but I got something that looks almost linear. That's why I'm a little confused why there's a inverse logarthmic problem.

#### CaptainBlack

MHF Hall of Fame
I have a problem to do and I don't quite understand it. It's based off the population growth in China. It says that a researcher suggests that the population P, can be modeled by

P(t) = k/(1+Le^-Mt)

Where K, L, and M are parameters

It then says: use technology to estimate and interpret K, L, and M.

What I don't understand it what does it mean to use technology to estimate and interpret the parameters. What do the parameters mean?

Thanks for any help
You need to use the population of China for at least three times then using a spread sheet or something similar find k,L and M so that the expression for the population fits the data.

k - is the population at time t

CB

#### JMathHelp

@Gusbob. Yeah, I should have said this before but the problem only gives a certain set of data. When I graphed the entire data table they gave us, I got something looking approximately linear.

@CaptainBlack. Wait I don't quite understand. How is K the population at time t. Isn't that P(t) ?