lesson 3-7-1 what is a model
Understanding Models as Simplified Representations of Reality
Hello and welcome to the "Modelling with Spreadsheets" module! Before we can jump into building amazing spreadsheets, we first need to understand the most important idea in this entire topic: What is a model?
This lesson is all about that one big idea. You'll learn that models are everywhere, from the maps on your phone to the games you play, and that we build them by mastering the skill of abstraction.
Understanding modelling is the first step in the Data Science & Analytics pathway. Professionals like Data Scientists and Financial Analysts don't just look at data; they build computational models to understand that data, predict the future, and help companies make massive decisions.
This lesson is all about that one big idea. You'll learn that models are everywhere, from the maps on your phone to the games you play, and that we build them by mastering the skill of abstraction.
Understanding modelling is the first step in the Data Science & Analytics pathway. Professionals like Data Scientists and Financial Analysts don't just look at data; they build computational models to understand that data, predict the future, and help companies make massive decisions.
Learning Outcomes
The Building Blocks (Factual Knowledge)
The Connections and Theories (Conceptual Knowledge)
The Skills and Methods (Procedural Outcomes)
Recall that a model is a simplified representation of a real-world system, object, or problem.
Describe the process of abstraction as filtering out irrelevant details to focus on the essential ones.
Recall the definitions of data (raw facts), information (processed data), and knowledge (derived understanding).
The Connections and Theories (Conceptual Knowledge)
Explain the purpose of using models and simulations (e.g., for safety, cost, time, or prediction).
Explain that computational models are abstractions used specifically for prediction and analysis.
Analyse the link between abstraction and modelling, identifying that abstraction is the process used to create a model.
Digital Skill Focus:
The Skills and Methods (Procedural Outcomes)
Apply abstraction by identifying the essential and non-essential details of a system for a specific purpose.
Create (design) a simple, non-computational model of a real-world system.
What is a Model?
A model is a simplified representation of a real-world system, object, or problem. The most famous example is a map of the London Underground. Click on the image and have a good look. Do you recognise any of the places?
The London Underground (Click to enlarge)
Is this map a perfect, 100% accurate drawing of London? No! It’s missing all the roads, the parks, the buildings, and the rivers. The train lines aren't even the right shape! If it did include all those details, it would be a messy blob of colour and impossible to read.
The map is a successful model because it is simple - it only includes the essential details a passenger needs (stations, lines, connections) and ignores everything else.
Task 1 Models are everywhere!
Motorway traffic
A commercial airliner
The weather
The Stock market
An underground railway network
A car crash
The human body
A racing car
A bull in a china shop
1
Research
Using your favourite search engine, research "Picasso's bulls" and familiarise yourself with the sequence of images. There is a good article at the Draw Paint Academy you might want to read.
2
What's this word?
Write it down on your whiteboard (or create a single presentation slide which you can present to the class). Your teacher will ask you to show them at the end of the task.
3
Now let's come back to our list.
Look at the list at the start of this task again. How do you think you might produce an abstraction of these real world scenarios and why might that abstraction be useful? You will be asked to share your ideas with the class.
Outcome: I can explain a simple visual abstraction and I've researched the meaning of the term abstraction in the context of modelling.
AbstractionWhere unecessary detail is removed from a problem to make it easier to solve. - it's how we make a model.
The process of filtering out all the unnecessary, irrelevant details to focus only on the essential ones is called abstractionWhere unecessary detail is removed from a problem to make it easier to solve.. You use abstraction every day. When someone asks "How was your day?" you don't list every single thing you did ("I woke up, I blinked 4,000 times, I took 5,000 steps..."). You give them a simple model: "It was pretty good, maths was tough but computing was great." You abstracted the key details. We use the process of abstraction to create a useful model.
Why Do We Bother Using Models?
We build models because using the real-world system is often too dangerous, expensive, slow, or just plain impossible. There are four main reasons to use a model:
1
Safety: It is much safer to train a new pilot in a flight simulator (a model) than in a real, multi-million-pound plane. Car companies use crash test dummies (models) to test safety without harming real people.
2
Cost: It is far cheaper to build a small cardboard model of a new skyscraper to show the client than to build the entire skyscraper and then ask if they like the design.
3
Time: Some real-world processes are too slow (like studying climate change over 100 years) or too fast (like an explosion) to see properly. A simulation (a working model) lets us speed up or slow down time.
4
Prediction: This is the most important one for us. A weather forecast is a massive computational model of the atmosphere used to predict the future.
Computational Models
When we build a model using a computer, we call it a computational model. The flight simulator and the weather forecast are perfect examples.
In this module, our main tool for building computational models will be a spreadsheetI have no idea what this means. A budgetting spreadsheet is a model of your finances. It allows you to make predictions and ask "what-if" questions, like "What happens to my savings if I stop buying snacks at the shop?" That's a powerful model!
Task 2 Why Bother Modelling?
Creating models seems like a lot of effort when we could just do it in real life so what's the point? You can work with your shoulder partner for this activity.
1
Get ready
Download the "Why bother modelling" document and open it up in your favourite word processor (or Microsoft Word if you don't have one).
2
Work with your shoulder partner
For each real world system/model in the table, discuss with your partner and type down the main purpose of the model in the final column. Why would someone build this simulation instead of just using the real thing?
(Hint: Think about safety, cost, time, or prediction).
3
Share your ideas
Your teacher will choose three pairs to share their ideas with the class. There is no need to print.
Outcome: I can correctly justify the reasoning behind the use of a model.
So now we know why we model, let's have a try at making some of our own.
Task 3 You're the Modeller
1
Open up Quick Draw!
Visit Google Quickdraw and play the game for 5 minutes. Great isn't it!
2
Look what you did!
Now, think about what you did. You removed all unecessary detail from the real world object in order to boil it down to it's essence, just like Picasso did with his bulls. You performed abstraction without even realising it!
3
Investigate some of the other abstractions.
If you visit "Quick, Draw! The Data", you will be able to look at all the different abstractions that people have produced. It's amazing how varied they are even though they still represent the same system.
Outcome: I have used abstraction to help Google to recognise sketches.
Out of Lesson Learning
Last modified: October 2nd, 2025
