Level Four
No one told you when you threw your hat in the ring for the Governor of N.S.W that there was a zombie apocalypse scheduled smack bang in the middle of your leadership term. Well, ‘scheduled’ is a bit melodramatic, because no one really schedules the end of the world, do they? It simply arrives; at first quietly, and then it announces itself with a roar that completely dismantles you and everything you once knew.
That is where we begin our story. With you, sitting at your mahogany desk, nice and protected within the walls of Parliament House. Of course you abandoned Sydney-your prized jewel of a city- the moment you heard of the infection, long before you made it public. Let’s just say it was a great personal sacrifice to leave the streets you loved, if that makes you feel better. You are gathered here with your team to surmise what went down in Sydney and what it might look like now. If you can track the infection rate that devastated Sydney, then maybe you can use that data to save the rest of the state and redeem yourself?
You stare absently out at that whiteboard that haunts you from the middle of the room, trying to make sense of the data collected by the mathematicians. It doesn’t make any sense yet, but it will, soon enough.
The current population of Sydney is 5,185,000.
Patient zero was discovered in the hospital on day 0, and was reported to have infected 15 people in the ward before he was killed.
The infected are reported to turn 3 people each, per day, for the first five days.
On day 6-7 the infection rate halves as people stay indoors to avoid infection.
On day 8, as evacuation measures are implemented and food supplies deplete, the living population is on the move looking for safe houses within Sydney. The infection rate increases by 200%.
On day 10 the infection rate drops back to 1.5 people per day.
In the first 3 days, no zombies were executed due to a lack of public knowledge.
From day 4, each person alive killed-on average- 0.0004 zombies each per day. ( may need adjusting)
When 20% of the population has been infected the city is deemed at critical risk and cannot be salvaged.
Your team must use this data to determine:
On what day was the critical point reached in Sydney? (20% infection rate)
On what day was the city truly lost, and all living souls were turned?
If they get this right, effective and efficient evacuation measures can be put into place elsewhere in N.S.W and you can help save the state. If not, well, you can kiss your Governorship goodbye.
You can use a graph, or any relevant equations to track the infection rate.