∫Calc Practice

Triple products and volumes

Problem 9.247 · easy

Are \( \displaystyle \mathbf u = \left\langle 3, 0, 0 \right\rangle \), \( \displaystyle \mathbf v = \left\langle -1, -4, 1 \right\rangle \) and \( \displaystyle \mathbf w = \left\langle 2, 1, -3 \right\rangle \) coplanar?
  1. \[ \left[\begin{matrix}11\\-1\\7\end{matrix}\right] \]
    v × w.✓ Proved
  2. \[ 33 \]
    u·(v × w).✓ Proved
  3. Three vectors are coplanar exactly when u·(v × w) = 0.
Answer \( \text{not coplanar} \)

Lines: 2 proved, 1 not checked. The answer was also checked a second way, without looking at the solution. The reviewers disagree about how one step is explained; every verdict is in the receipt.

The full receipt
LineStatusChecked byDetail
1✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0
2✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0
3Not checked—a sentence; read, not computed
answer, a second way✓ Checked independentlysympy 1.14.0 + mpmath 1.3.0the 3 × 3 determinant, computed by mpmath

Reviewers

  • gpt-oss:20b: pass
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (error) — The solution correctly calculates the scalar triple product as 33, but fails to explicitly state that since 33 is not equal to 0, the vectors are not coplanar. It states the condition for coplanarity but does not apply the logical conclusion to the calculated value.
Every verdict on record (4)
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (error) 2026-10-05 — The solution correctly calculates the scalar triple product as 33, but fails to explicitly state that since 33 is not equal to 0, the vectors are not coplanar. It states the condition for coplanarity but does not apply the logical conclusion to the calculated value.
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-10-05
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: inconclusive 2026-10-05 — reviewer returned a non-object
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-10-05

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/triple_product, checked 2026-10-05 with SymPy 1.14.0.