Outbreak Simulator

Life Science Lab

Run a made-up outbreak through a school of 60 students. Compare a virus and a bacterium, test ways to prevent and treat the spread, and use your data to explain what works and why.

NC Science 8 · LS.8.1.1

Both germs here are invented. The numbers come from a simple model, so they show how the ideas work and do not predict any real illness.

Your six tasks

There is no score. Each task checks off when you have done it. The checks fill in as you work, and finished tasks stay finished.

Task 1 Compare a virus and a bacterium

Read both cards. Then sort the ten statements underneath. Choose Both when the statement is true of a virus and a bacterium.

Coming next week: fungi and parasites.

Tasks 2 to 5 The outbreak simulator

Pick a germ, choose your controls, and press Run. Each run is added to your data table. Run the same plan more than once: chance makes every outbreak a little different.

1. Pick a germ

2. Choose interventions Handwashing and hygieneStudents wash hands, cover coughs, and clean shared surfaces. Stay home when sickStudents with symptoms stay home until they are better. Ventilation and masksOpen windows, filter the air, and wear masks in crowded rooms.

Vaccine coverageThe share of students who get the vaccine before the outbreak. Works only when a vaccine exists for that germ.

Antibiotic treatmentSick students are treated with antibiotics prescribed by a doctor.

The budget of 3 applies to Task 5. You can turn on more to explore, but those runs will not count for Task 5.

The school

Day 0

Infection curve

Students infected right now
Total infected so far
Average with no interventions

No run yet. Choose a germ and press Run once.

Day-by-day numbers for this run

Day-by-day counts for the current run
Day	Healthy	Exposed	Infectious	Recovered	Protected

Model assumptions (how this simulator works)

Data Your data table

Every run lands here automatically. Peak is the most students infected at one time. Total is everyone who got infected during the 20 days.

All of your simulator runs
Run	Germ	Plan	Cost	Runs	Peak	Peak day	Total infected	Share

No runs yet.

Lab Notebook

Not signed in: your work is saved on this device only. Sign in to keep it on any device, and so your teacher can see it if this lab is assigned.

What happened (auto-recorded)

Your observations

Task 1: Name two differences between a virus and a bacterium, and one thing they have in common when it comes to how they spread.

Task 4: What happened when you used antibiotics on each pathogen? Use numbers from your data table.

Task 5: Which 3 (or fewer) interventions did you choose, and why? Use your data to explain why this plan beats the others.

Task 6, Claim: Why do antibiotics not work on viruses, and which prevention steps cut spread the most?

Task 6, Evidence: Give at least two numbers from your data table that support your claim.

Task 6, Reasoning: Use what you know about how viruses and bacteria are built and reproduce to connect your evidence to your claim.