First ODE (dc/dt the rate of change of chemical in a pond)

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on setting up a differential equation to describe the rate of change of a chemical concentration in a pond with a volume of 1,000,000 gallons, containing 10,000 grams of dissolved chemical. The rate of fresh water inflow and outflow is 300 gallons per hour, maintaining a constant total volume. The correct formulation for the rate of change of the chemical concentration, represented as dC/dt, is established as (C(t) / 1,000,000) * 300, where C(t) denotes the total amount of chemical at time t.

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hangainlover
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lets say there is a pond of 1,000,000 gallons of water.
and the total of 10,000g of chemical is evenly dissolved in the water
Fresh water starts pouring into the pond at the rate of 300 gallons/hour and the pond also releases water at the rate of 300 gallons/hour (hence no change in total amount in the pond).
Can you set up a differential equation describing the rate of change of the chemical in the pond. (dc/dt)
(I know that dC/dt = (the total amount of the chemical in the pond at a given time / 1,000,000 gallons of waer)*300 gallons/3600seconds) but i can't define the total amount of chemcial left in the pond at a given time, as the total amount doesn't change linearly or by a pattern i can see )
 
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hangainlover said:
lets say there is a pond of 1,000,000 gallons of water.
and the total of 10,000g of chemical is evenly dissolved in the water
Fresh water starts pouring into the pond at the rate of 300 gallons/hour and the pond also releases water at the rate of 300 gallons/hour (hence no change in total amount in the pond).
Can you set up a differential equation describing the rate of change of the chemical in the pond. (dc/dt)
(I know that dC/dt = (the total amount of the chemical in the pond at a given time / 1,000,000 gallons of waer)*300 gallons/3600seconds) but i can't define the total amount of chemcial left in the pond at a given time, as the total amount doesn't change linearly or by a pattern i can see )

But you have pretty much already defined it. "The total amount of chemical in the pond at a given time" is C, or if you prefer C(t).

Also, since the problem statement uses hours as the unit of time, you might as well keep time in terms of hours rather than converting to seconds.
 
omg I am so stupid how did i miss that
thanks
 
No problem! :smile:
 

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