Chapter 3. Numerical Simulation

System dynamics models are constructed as a combination of stocks and flows and then simulated on the computer. The simulation results are generated in a simple, step by step fashion which will be illustrated with a "pencil and paper" example. The numerical calculations are tedious with pencil and paper, but they are performed in the blink of an eye on today's high speed computers. This chapter uses a simple population model to illustrate the numerical approach. The power of numerical simulation is then contrasted with the "analytical" approach used before the advent of high speed computers.