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Lab Report on Density Measurement

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INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Experiment
Mass density describes how heavy an object is. Defined by the Greek letter ρ, read as rho, density is a basic yet important physical property of matter. For a bulk body without accounting its existing pores and voids, density is represented by the ratio of its mass and volume. It is given by the equation ρ= massvolume 1.
The SI unit of density is kg/m3. However, its CGS units, g/cm3 or g/ mL, are the most commonly used ones in the laboratory. The conversion is given by
1 gcm3=1gmL=1000 kgm3 [1].
The density of a homogeneous liquid is also defined by the amount of mass per unit volume. Liquid is usually confined in a container, so its volume is relative to the volume of its container …show more content…

Carefully clean and dry the pycnometer. B. Weigh the empty pycnometer and its stopper in the balance beam and record the mass. C. Fill the pycnometer with the liquid sample up to its brim, and insert the stopper carefully. Wipe off any excess fluid on the sides of the pycnometer with a clean cloth or tissue. D. Balance and record the mass of the filled pycnometer plus the stopper. E. Empty the contents of the pycnometer in a clean beaker. F. Make three trials for each liquid.

3.3 Determining the Mass and Volume of Alumina Balls [5] A. Measure the mass of each alumina ball in the balance beam. B. Add distilled water to the graduated cylinder and record its initial volume. C. Carefully drop an alumina ball to the graduated cylinder and measure the new volume. Do this by slightly tilting the cylinder and gently sliding the ball to its side. D. Use the 250-mL graduated cylinder for small cylindrical alumina balls while the 1000-mL cylinder for the large cylindrical and spherical alumina balls. E. Do the same procedure for the two sets of alumina balls.

3.4 Calculating the Density of Liquid [5] A. Calculate the mass of the liquid by computing the difference between the recorded mass of the pycnometer when empty and filled with liquid. B. Calculate the density of the liquid by dividing its obtained mass by the volume indicated on the pycnometer.

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