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Using a Top Loading Balance

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Laboratory Assignment: Using a Top Loading Balance

1.How is the balance turned on?
To turn on the top loading balance, press down on the bar that is on the front of the machine.
2. Write a complete and accurate procedure for weighing a chemical on the top loading balance.
To weigh a chemical using the top loading balance, follow these steps:
a. Press the bar on the front of the machine to turn on the balance
b. Wait for the digital display to read “0.00 g” (grams)
c. Place a weighing paper on the pan of the balance
d. Zero out the scale by pressing the bar on the front of the machine
e. Using the paper to hold the substance, place the solid chemical on the pan to be weighed
f. Check the display for the mass of the chemical …show more content…

To weigh a chemical by difference in a volumetric flask, follow these steps:
a. Place the volumetric flask on the pan of the top loading balance.
b. Zero the scale by pressing on the bar on the front of the balance.
c. Transfer the chemical into the volumetric flask using a powder funnel and the appropriate tools to remove the chemical from the storage container.
d. Place the volumetric flask, now holding the desired amount of chemical, onto the scale.
e. The mass of the chemical (in grams) in the flask will show on the display on the balance.
f. You are basically to subtract the weight of the beaker with the chemical from the weight of the beaker empty. The difference is the weight of the chemical sample.
7. Why is this procedure more accurate than the previous procedure? Make sure your answer is complete and thorough.
The weighing by difference method of measurement is more accurate than the previously described method of weighing directly on the pan using a weighing paper. When using the weighing paper on the pan method, it is impossible to know for certain if the balance readings are accurate. Inaccuracies can occur due to of lack of proper scale calibration. Using the difference method, it does not matter if the scale calibration is off because the difference between the weight of the empty vessel and the weight of the vessel with the chemical is the actual weight of the sample. In summary, the difference between

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