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Mixing tank problems

Problem 6.447 · medium

A tank holds \( \displaystyle 500 \) L of water with \( \displaystyle 20 \) kg of salt dissolved. Brine with 1/4 kg of salt per liter flows in at \( \displaystyle 10 \) L/min, and the well-mixed solution drains at the same rate. Find the salt \( \displaystyle S(t) \) in kg after \( \displaystyle t \) minutes, the amount after \( \displaystyle 10 \) minutes, and the long-run amount.

Rate in − rate out: S′ = 10·1/4 − (10/500)S. The volume stays 500 L.
Reviewed
\[ \frac{d}{d t} \left(125 - 105 e^{- \frac{t}{50}}\right) = \frac{21 e^{- \frac{t}{50}}}{10} \]
This S(t) satisfies the equation ...✓ Proved
\[ \left. 125 - 105 e^{\frac{\left(-1\right) t}{50}} \right|_{\substack{ t=0 }} = 20 \]
... and starts at the given amount.✓ Proved
\[ \left. 125 - 105 e^{\frac{\left(-1\right) t}{50}} \right|_{\substack{ t=10 }} = 125 - \frac{105}{e^{\frac{1}{5}}} \]
S(10).✓ Proved
\[ \lim_{t \to \infty}\left(125 - 105 e^{- \frac{t}{50}}\right) = 125 \]
In the long run the tank matches the incoming concentration.✓ Proved

Answer \( S(t) = 125 - 105 e^{- \frac{t}{50}},\ S(10) = 125 - \frac{105}{e^{\frac{1}{5}}} \approx 39.033,\ \lim S = 125 \)

✓ Nihil obstat Lines: 4 proved, 1 reviewed. The answer was also checked a second way, without looking at the solution. Reviewers found nothing wrong with the explanation. How we verify

The full receipt

Line	Status	Checked by	Detail
1	Reviewed	reviewers: gpt-oss:20b, qwen3.6:27b-mlx	a sentence; read, not computed
2	✓ Proved	sympy 1.14.0	simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0
3	✓ Proved	sympy 1.14.0	simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0
4	✓ Proved	sympy 1.14.0	simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0
5	✓ Proved	sympy 1.14.0	simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0
answer, a second way	✓ Checked independently	sympy 1.14.0 + mpmath 1.3.0	mpmath's ODE solver integrates the tank from t = 0

Reviewers

gpt-oss:20b: pass
qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass

Every verdict on record (6)

qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-10-17
gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-10-17
qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-10-14
gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-10-14
qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-10-14 — The setup correctly models the mixing problem with the right rate in, rate out, and initial conditions. The solution steps logically follow and the final results are correct.
gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-10-14

Proved: SymPy reduced the difference between the two sides to zero. Checked independently: a separate method, named above, confirmed it. Checked numerically: the two sides agree at every sampled point, which is evidence, not proof. Reviewed: a model or a person read it; that is all a sentence can have. Solution by generator:structured/mixing_tank, checked 2026-10-17 with SymPy 1.14.0.