The SIR model is one of the simplest disease models we have to explain the spread of a virus through a population. I first explain where the model comes from, including the assumptions that are made and how the equations are derived, before going on to use the results of the model to answer three important questions: 1. Will the disease spread? 6:32 2. What is the maximum number of people that will have the disease at one time? 11:00 3. How many people will catch the disease in total? 16:55 The answers to these questions are discussed in the context of the current COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak. The model tells us that to reduce the impact of the disease we need to lower the ‘contact ratio’ as much as possible – which is exactly what the current social distancing measures are designed to do. The second video explaining Travelling Wave solutions to the SIR model is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSLFudKBnBI The third video including an Incubation Time in the SIR disease model is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7zKzvAS7Ig Produced by Dr Tom Crawford at the University of Oxford. For more maths content check out Tom's website https://tomrocksmaths.com/ You can also follow Tom on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @tomrocksmaths https://www.facebook.com/tomrocksmaths/ https://twitter.com/tomrocksmaths https://www.instagram.com/tomrocksmaths/ Get your Tom Rocks Maths merchandise here: https://beautifulequations.net/collections/tom-rocks-maths