ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates how biologists actually use the mathematical techniques. In general, these techniques allow us to generate biological models; that is, mathematical descriptions of biological systems. Biological theories frequently make predictions in terms of the rates of change of certain values, rather than about the values themselves. The chapter explains how to find the parameters, or indeed the theoretical model, that give us the best description of our data by determining which curve gets closest to the data points when plotted on a graph. It describes how to construct differential equations (equations based on rates of change) to model growth of populations and the progress of chemical reactions. The simplest type of biological model is based on the concept of a correlation. In general, biological models represent a way of writing down our theories in a precise mathematical way. A more general approach to modeling biological processes would be to proceed without knowing or assuming these parameter values.
