A Statistical Model for Energy Intensity

• Main Authors: Marjaneh Issapour, Lori L. Scarlatos, Herbert F. Lewis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: International Institute of Informatics and Cybernetics 2012-12-01
• Series: Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics
• Subjects: Climate Change; Ipat Equation; Linear Regression; Educational Games; Simulation; Energy Intensity; Energy Choices
• Online Access: http://www.iiisci.org/Journal/CV$/sci/pdfs/HMB578EL.pdf

A promising approach to improve scientific literacy in regards to global warming and climate change is using a simulation as part of a science education course. The simulation needs to employ scientific analysis of actual data from internationally accepted and reputable databases to demonstrate the reality of the current climate change situation. One of the most important criteria for using a simulation in a science education course is the fidelity of the model. The realism of the events and consequences modeled in the simulation is significant as well. Therefore, all underlying equations and algorithms used in the simulation must have real-world scientific basis. The "Energy Choices" simulation is one such simulation. The focus of this paper is the development of a mathematical model for "Energy Intensity" as a part of the overall system dynamics in "Energy Choices" simulation. This model will define the "Energy Intensity" as a function of other independent variables that can be manipulated by users of the simulation. The relationship discovered by this research will be applied to an algorithm in the "Energy Choices" simulation.