Math 106--Calculus II: Project 2

...still living in an industrial world

by Gavin LaRose (glarose@umich.edu), Nebraska Wesleyan University, October 1995

As highly successful independent mathematical and scientific technical contractors, celebrating the successful completion of your largest contract to date, you have just received a new contract -- clearly a direct result of your past success. The letter you received from Chemproc, Inc. (recently purchased by the MPC, Inc. conglomerate) on the subject of their recently initiated chemical processing factory follows.

The letter...

Chemproc, Inc.

8 Oct., 1995

Sophisticated Technical Contractors, Inc.
Suite 1, Strawmarket Business Plaza
Lonlinc, SK 04685

Dear STC:

As you know, Chemproc, Inc. has recently opened a chemical reprocessing plant in East Lonlinc. After an immensely successful start, we are just beginning the planning for the establishment of the third of the four chemical reprocessing lines at this plant. This line is concerned with the purification of water having chemical toxins dissolved in it, a byproduct of the chemical processes involved in several industrial applications. To avoid the cost of disposing of this waste-water, the companies contract with us to remove the toxins.

The purification of the water is accomplished by forcing it through the system shown in figure 1. As it passes through the system, it is exposed to the chemically active surface of the conduit, which reacts with the dissolved toxins in the water to produce a solid precipitate. This precipitate is filtered out by the filters shown in the figure.

Because the efficacy of this process is dependent on the (chemically active) surface area of the conduit, we need an accurate assessment of this area. This is the first information we are contracting with you to determine.

Additionally, we are concerned with the energy requirements to force the water through the system. The second item in your contract is therefore to determine the work that will be required of the pump we will use to drive the system.

As specified in your contract, your report should be submitted by the 27th of this month, when our board of directors next meets. If you should find in the course of your investigation that you have questions regarding this project, you are to contact Dr. Gavin LaRose, our consulting scientist (whose services we obtained following our recent merger with M.P.C. Inc.) with the other members of your investigative team; he will be more than willing to assist you. You should further contact him (also as a team) by the 18th to report on your progress.

We look forward to seeing your finished report, which should conform to the enclosed technical report requirements.

Yours sincerely,

E. Idu Pont, President
Chemproc, Inc.

Encl: technical report requirements

The technical specifications...

Chemproc, Inc.

Technical Report Requirements

It is of paramount importance that the reports submitted to Chemproc, Inc. be written so that all members of the board of directors can understand and apply the information contained therein. These board members are all experts in their respective areas of chemical processing, but for their mathematical background should be assumed only to remember one semester of calculus.

Reports should further:

• Be written in the first person plural.
• Include mathematical formulas in the report as appropriate to describe the methods used and results obtained.
• Clearly explain how the mathematical formulas that are included bear on the problem being solved, and how the solution(s) obtained answer(s) the question(s) that the report is to answer.
• Consist of
  • An Introduction, indicating generally the problem(s) to be solved, and giving an explanation of the organization of the remainder of the report.
  • A section for each of the problems considered, each having
    
    • An Introduction, specifically describing the problem to be solved, and an indication of the mathematical method used to solve it.
    • A Body, describing the mathematical problem that was solved to answer the question(s) posed in the introduction, and the solution to it.
    • A Conclusion, summarizing the results obtained from the solution described in the body and clearly stating their relevance to the original problem as described in the introduction.
• Be 2.5--5 pages in length.

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last modified on 29 Feb 1996