This video describes how to find parameter values for an environmental model that can be written in a linear form. A basic environmental model for the concentration of a pollutant in a river assuming plug flow and first-order decay is assumed. The model has three parameters, the initial concentration, the velocity, and the first-order decay rate. The initial concentration and velocity are assumed to be measurable, but the decay rate constant needs to be estimated from measurements. Ten observations of the concentration at different points in space are provided, which are used to infer the decay rate using linear regression after the model is log transformed. The video describes the model, the variable types, the log transformation, the procedure to perform linear regression from a plot, the LINEST function to perform linear regression in a cell, and a procedure to plot the model fit to assess the model performance.
