Density is one of the characteristic properties of any substance. All the forms of matter including solids, liquids, gases and aqueous exhibit this properties that is determined by the mass and the volume of the substance (Holzbecher 266). Matter is any substance that occupies space and has mass while density is defined as the mass per unit volume of a substance or matter. Mass refers to the amount of matter that is present in an object. Mass is measured in various units with the scientific standard unit being grams (g). Other units of measurement of mass include kilograms (kg). volume refers to the amount of space occupied by an object and is measured in various dimensions among them liters (l), milliliters (ml), cubic meters (m3), gallons among other units.
Mass is constant for a given object or substance. Mass and volume change from one object to another for example volume is determined by the size of an object. Picking an example of two pieces of plastic substances that may be derived from the same initial material. One of the pieces may be bigger while the other is smaller. The bigger piece of plastic will be found to have a higher volume than the smaller piece (Shamos 415). The bigger piece of plastic will automatically be occupying a bigger space and thus translates to a larger volume in comparison with the smaller piece. Still, the bigger piece will be expected to be heavier than the smaller piece. This is because the bigger piece has more amount of matter than the smaller piece. Assuming the two pieces of plastic are derived from the same material, that one is twice as big as the other is, then the ration of their masses, and volumes will be the same and thus the same ration in their densities.
The density of any substance is determined from the formula density=M/V where m is the mass while v is the volume of the substance that density is to be determined (Baue 321). In most cases density of expressed in grams per cubic centimeter. Gram is the SI unit for mass while cubic centimeter is the SI unit for volume. An example is the density of water, which is normally 1 gram per cubic centimeter, and the density of the earth, which is 5.51 grams per cubic centimeter. Still, density can be expressed in other units among them kilograms per cubic meter as for the example of air whose density is 1.2 kilograms per cubic meter (Trigg 175). Through the calculations involving density, it is possible and convenient to determine masses of substances and objects from their volumes as well as the volumes of such objects from their masses as long as the any of the two variables is known in the equation. To determine the mass of a substance from given density and volume values, the equation mass=volume*density is applicable while volume is determined from the equation volume=mass/density.
Density is a physical property that finds it use in day-to-day applications in chemistry and related fields. It is in most cases used in the classification of chemical substances that are in fluid states making it possible to conduct Quality Monitoring and Process Control. A solid object dropped in water may either sink or float on the water surface. A solid which sinks in the water means that it has a density higher than that of water while that, which floats on the water surface, translates to a lower density than the density of water. In the case of liquids, which do not mix, the least dense liquid rises to the top while the one with the highest density sinks to the bottom (Baue 158). The same case is applicable for gases even though this is a bit of a challenge to observe as most gases freely mix. For the case of objects with regular shapes, it is not possible to determine the volumes using the most commonly applicable formulae hence uses other mechanisms among them the eureka can to establish the volume which is then calculated against the mass in order to determine their volumes.
Materials used
The experiment was divided into three parts, each part taking a specific aspect of density to be measured. Each of the three parts had its own materials. The materials included:
Experiment 1
Experiment 2
Experiment 3
Experiment 1: Test for liquid density
Experiment 2: Test procedure for regular solids
Measure the mass using balance and record its results in the table
Standard equations and formulae are used in the determination of the volumes of regular shapes. The equations for the commonly used regular shapes are as shown below:
Experiment 3: Test procedure for irregular objects
Results and Calculations
Experiment 1
|
Finding the density of different volumes of water |
|||
|
Volume of water |
100mL |
50mL |
25mL |
|
Mass of graduated cylinder+ water (g) |
58.85 |
64.1 |
68.9 |
|
Mass of empty graduated cylinder (g) |
44.2 |
44.2 |
44.2 |
|
Mass of water (g) |
14.65 |
19.9 |
24.7 |
|
Density of water (g/cm3) |
0.1465 |
0.398 |
0.988 |
1 mL of water=1cm3=1 cc
Using this expression the density of the water can be calculated as follows:
14.65/100=0.1465
19.9/50=0.398
24.7/25=0.988
Graph of mass against volume is as illustrated below
From the graph, it can be observed that as the volume of water increases, the mass of water increases proportionately. A line of best fit is thus obtained when the mass of water is plotted against the volume (Lebedev 230). The equation of the line can be found using the formula y=mx+c where m is the gradient and c the co-efficient of the y-axis.
The gradient of the line is found by
From calculation bases on the graph, the equation y=mx+c has been determined to be y=0.06x + 0.001. This means the density of the liquid is 0.06,
where the theoretical value refers to the actual, known or true value
Experiment 2
|
Trial |
Length (cm) |
Width/radius (cm) |
Height (cm) |
Volume |
Mass |
Density |
|
Shape 1 |
3.5 |
13.5 |
173.180 |
15.7 |
0.0906 |
|
|
Shape 2 |
6.8 |
14 |
215.786 |
21.3 |
0.987 |
|
|
Shape 3 |
3.5 |
51.312 |
17.2 |
0.335 |
Experiment 3
|
Specimen |
Volume 1 Water (cm3) |
Volume 2 (water +solid) (cm3) |
Mass (grams) |
Density (g/cm3)=mass/volume |
|
Sample |
80.5 |
90.4 |
9.9 |
1 |
Using another sample of an irregular object made from the same material, comparison can be made and thus a conclusion arrived at demonstrating whether the densities of the objects will be the same. Being that the objects are from the same material, is expected from the experimental results that the determined densities will be very close to each other (Kyrala 155). Due to the possible sources of error in the experiment that include errors in taking the various measurements of mass and volumes, it is not possible for the experimental results to be the same as the theoretical values. From the calculated density, it is assumed that calculations and experimental data using the same material would yield the same density since the mass and volume would be proportionate depending on the size of the irregular object.
Summary and Conclusion
This lab report purposed to determine the density a liquid, regular shape and an irregular shape. Density is a derivative of the quantity of matter present in a given unit of volume. Density is a physical and intensive property that does not dependent on the amount of material present in a substance (National Research Council 298). The formula for determination of density is given by density=mass/volume. In the lab experiments above, measurements of the mass were done in grams while volume was measured in cm3
The type of material whose density is to be determined determines the procedure to be used in determining its density and thus the procedure is a factor of the given material. Geometrical formula and equation are used in the determination of the density of regular shaped objects. Each solid object of a regular shape has a corresponding geometric formula and equation that is deployed in the determination of its density and the formula does not change with changes in the dimensions of the shape. In this lab experiment, the regular shaped objects that were used were a sphere and a prism (Slowinski 168). The geometric formulae that were thus used in the calculation of the density was , for the case of the spherical shape and
The density of a liquid is determined through direct measurement. Through the use of direct measurement, the experimental density of water as the liquid used in this experiment was found to be 0.06 g/cm3 and a percentage error of 94% found in the final results. The high percentage error illustrates the level of mistakes and errors that were performed in taking the direct measurements.
Displacement of volume is used in the estimation of the volume of irregular shaped objects. The various measurements involving the irregular shaped object in this experiment were taken and the measurements used in the formulation of the final density of the object as per the experiment (Cook 215). The irregular shaped object only identified as sample was found to have a density of 1 g/cm3. Calculations and considerations were not made as far as the percentage error in the determination of the theoretical density of the sample was concerned. This could be attributed to the fact that the theoretical density of the sample was not included as part of the information about the experiment (Slowinski 188). The size of the sample considered was significant and this ensured more meaningful results were obtained from the experiment. The use of a very small sized sample would lead not to significant data collected thereby making the experiment fail to achieve its objectives. The measuring cylinder used was to one decimal place. Such marking of units do not provide a high level of precision of the results when it comes to recording the difference in the levels of water. Still, chances are that the graduated cylinder may fill beyond the measured are and this would lead to variations in the results of the density of the sample.
The objective of this density laboratory that aimed at calculating the density of water, irregular shapes and regular shapes has been met. It was also possible to determine the percentage error in the estimation of the density of water, which was done upon collection of data. Balances were used in the determination of the masses of each of the substances that was to be used in the experiment (Lebedev 278). The volume of the graduated cylinders had as well to be measured including the mass when both empty and containing substances. The volume of water in the graduated cylinder was measured, an irregular shaped object dropped inside the cylinder and the measurement of the new volume taken. The variation between the two volumes became the volume of the irregular shaped object.
The theoretical density of water from the density lab was found to be 0.06 g/cm3 while the densities of the regular objects were 0.0906 g/cm3, 0.987 g/cm3 and 0.335 g/cm3 for the shapes 1, 2 and 3 respectively (Holzbecher 177). The objectives of the lab were met in the determination of the density of the substances in the experiment. The density of the each of the substances was determined by dividing the mass by the volume of each of the substances. An error of 94% was established in the calculation of the density of water using the experimental values found.
Cook, Trevor. Experiments with States of Matter. London: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2009.
Emil Slowinski, Wayne C. Wolsey. Chemical Principles in the Laboratory. Cengage Learning, 2013.
Hiroyuki Fukuyama, Yoshio Waseda. High-Temperature Measurements of Materials. London: Springer Science & Business Media, 2012.
Holzbecher, Ekkehard O. Modeling Density-Driven Flow in Porous Media: Principles, Numerics, Software. Mancheste: Springer Science & Business Media, 2012.
Kyrala, George A. High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics. Kansas: Springer Science & Business Media, 2015.
Leavitt, Loralee. Candy Experiments, Volume 1. New York: Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2013.
Lebedev, Sergey V. High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysic. Oxford: Springer Science & Business Media, 2017.
Mireles, Alberto Munguia. Field Book For Quality Control In Earthwork Operations. New York: iUniverse, 2014.
National Research Council, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, Board on Physics and Astronomy, Plasma Science Committee, Committee on High Energy Density Plasma Physics. Frontiers in High Energy Density Physics: The X-Games of Contemporary Science. Geneva: National Academies Press, 2013.
Pam Walker, Elaine Wood. Environmental Science Experiments. Manchester: Infobase Publishing, 2010.
Richard Bauer, James Birk, Doug Sawyer. Laboratory Inquiry in Chemistry. Chicago: Cengage Learning, 2012.
Shamos, Morris H. Great Experiments in Physics: Firsthand Accounts from Galileo to Einstein. Salt Lake: Courier Corporation, 2012.
Slater, Robert J. Experiments in Molecular Biology. New York: Springer Science & Business Media, 2010.
Stalke, Dietmar. Electron Density and Chemical Bonding II: Theoretical Charge Density Studie. New York: Springer, 2012.
Trigg, George L. Landmark Experiments in Twentieth-Century Physics. New York: Courier Corporation, 2013.
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download
