How Do You Determine Whether Population Growth Is Logistic Or Exponential?
Exponential growth occurs when there are no barriers to growth such as limited resources. The logistic growth model shows growth as it approaches the maximum capacity the environment can sustain; as the population gets closer to the limit, the rate of increase decreases. If you have narrowed down the growth rate options to either logistic or exponential, you can determine which growth pattern the group follows by comparing the changes in the growth rate. Determine the initial population of the group you are studying. Determine the population of the group one time period later. The unit of time can be any measure of time depending on what you are studying. For example, if you are studying bacteria that reproduce rapidly, you might be able to see change in an hour; if you are studying the population of the world, it would be better to use years Calculate the percentage change in population from the start of the time period to one unit of time later by dividing ending population by the in
