What would you call a linear function that models something?
Linear model.
Practice makes perfect
In science, we often look for explanations and patterns. How will the weather be tomorrow? How will this ecosystem react if we introduce this new plant? How will the population of Nepal grow in the next decade?
We can test and demonstrate theories to answer these questions with modeling. We can look at the past weather patterns and create a model simulation of how the future weather will behave. We can create a model ecosystem and see how the species involved react. We can look at birth rates and death rates to create a model for how the future of Nepal will proceed.
Sometimes we are able to model these types of situations with a linear function, such as predicted human height based on femur bone length or predicted arrival of migrating birds based on miles traveled per day. When we can create a model using a linear function, we call it a linear model.
