Scientific research is undergoing a "big data" revolution, as probes deployed in oceans, the atmosphere, and outer space provide near real-time data streams. As more and more data sets such as Ocean Tracks become available online, opportunities to engage students in the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS Lead States…

This article describes a computational project designed for undergraduate students as an introduction to mathematical modeling. Students use an ordinary differential equation to describe fish weight and assume the instantaneous growth rate depends on the concentration of dissolved oxygen. Published laboratory experiments suggest that continuous…