In "Mind Games," Charlie uses the Fokker-Planck equation to predict the movement of illegal immigrants. The equation is used to predict the likely movement of something under the influence of external forces. It was originally developed to study Brownian motion, the apparently random movement of a particle as it bounces off other particles. Brownian motion is an example of a random walk.
Before the Activity
Download the attached PDF and look over the Teacher page.
During the Activity
Discuss the materials from the Student Page with your class.
After the Activity
Encourage students to explore web sites and questions from the Extensions page.