Infectious Disease & Epidemiology
Students explore the science of airborne disease transmission, learning how respiratory infections spread through mathematical modeling, simulations, and real-world outbreak analysis.
8
Lessons
8-10
Class Periods
Low
Materials Cost
5
Standards
Essential Question
How do respiratory infections spread through the air, and how can we use math and science to understand and prevent outbreaks?
Lessons
-
1→How Infections Spread
-
2→The Aerosol Factor
-
3→Modeling an Outbreak
-
4→The Math of Epidemics
-
5→Outbreak Investigation
-
6→Interventions That Work
-
7→Simulation: Stop the Spread
-
8→Lessons from History
Key Concepts
Transmission Routes
- Contact (direct/fomites)
- Droplet (>10 μm, fall fast)
- Aerosol (<5 μm, float)
- Shared indoor air = risk
R0 (R-naught)
- Average infections per case
- R0 > 1: Outbreak grows
- R0 < 1: Outbreak shrinks
- Measles: 12-18, Flu: ~1.4
Epidemic Math
- Exponential growth: R0n
- Doubling time calculation
- Epidemic curve (epi curve)
- Growth, peak, decline phases
Interventions
- Swiss cheese model (layered)
- Ventilation + Filtration
- Masks (source + personal)
- Vaccination, isolation
Standards Alignment
| Standard | Description |
|---|---|
| MS-LS1-5 | Construct explanation for how environmental factors influence organisms |
| MS-LS2-1 | Analyze and interpret data for evidence of effects on populations |
| MS-LS2-4 | Construct argument with empirical evidence about ecosystem changes |
| 7.RP.A.2 | Recognize and represent proportional relationships |
| 8.EE.A.1 | Know and apply properties of exponents (exponential growth) |