Reinventing the Salty Tank Through Guided Inquiry

In this paper, we discuss mathematical modeling opportunities that can be included in an introductory Differential Equations course. In particular, we focus on the development of and extensions to the single salty tank model. Typically, salty tank models are included in course materials with matter-of-fact explanations. These explanations miss the opportunity for students to develop rate of change equations for themselves. In this paper, we highlight an open-ended single salty tank task that provides the foundation for more complicated salty tank models that we also detail herein. Furthermore, we discuss instructional implementation techniques that instructors can use in their classes to meet their specific learning goals.