Density Lab Report
Abstract
In Measuring and Understanding Density, several experiments were performed to find density of regularly shaped objects, irregularly shaped objects, liquids and gasses. An additional experiment was done to find the specific gravity of a sampling of liquids. The purpose of the experiment was to provide a better understanding of density and to be able to extrapolate unknowns based upon these calculations. The experiments yielded data in keeping with Kinetic-molecular theory in regards to the density of water versus its temperature. Key measurements and formulae were also used to determine densities of metal and plastic objects as well as irregularly shaped rocks. It is possible to find the density of an object (be it liquid, gas or solid) by the use of only a select few measurements and the formulae contained herein.
Introduction
In observing oil floating on water one unknowingly observes a difference in density. Encyclopedia Britannica describes density as offering “a convenient means of obtaining the mass of a body from its volume or vice versa.” Density calculations are used in a number of ways that impact daily life. They are used in the preparation of ballistics gelatin for testing the actual damage a bullet might do to a human body in order to provide information to forensic scientists (C.J.Shepherd et.al. 2009). Density calculations are also vitally important to ship builders in order to allow them to calculate how much weight a ship with a given sized hull can hold without sinking (Smith, and Jewett 342).
Density (d) is relative to mass (m) and volume (V) in as much as d=m/V. This experiment uses this equation in different fashions to analyze certain substances and extrapolate unknown measurements from known measurements. Through the techniques used in this experiment, one can easily determine differing factors about regularly or irregularly shaped materials as well as liquids and gasses, and thereby determine their densities. In knowing the
In Measuring and Understanding Density, several experiments were performed to find density of regularly shaped objects, irregularly shaped objects, liquids and gasses. An additional experiment was done to find the specific gravity of a sampling of liquids. The purpose of the experiment was to provide a better understanding of density and to be able to extrapolate unknowns based upon these calculations. The experiments yielded data in keeping with Kinetic-molecular theory in regards to the density of water versus its temperature. Key measurements and formulae were also used to determine densities of metal and plastic objects as well as irregularly shaped rocks. It is possible to find the density of an object (be it liquid, gas or solid) by the use of only a select few measurements and the formulae contained herein.
Introduction
In observing oil floating on water one unknowingly observes a difference in density. Encyclopedia Britannica describes density as offering “a convenient means of obtaining the mass of a body from its volume or vice versa.” Density calculations are used in a number of ways that impact daily life. They are used in the preparation of ballistics gelatin for testing the actual damage a bullet might do to a human body in order to provide information to forensic scientists (C.J.Shepherd et.al. 2009). Density calculations are also vitally important to ship builders in order to allow them to calculate how much weight a ship with a given sized hull can hold without sinking (Smith, and Jewett 342).
Density (d) is relative to mass (m) and volume (V) in as much as d=m/V. This experiment uses this equation in different fashions to analyze certain substances and extrapolate unknown measurements from known measurements. Through the techniques used in this experiment, one can easily determine differing factors about regularly or irregularly shaped materials as well as liquids and gasses, and thereby determine their densities. In knowing the
Cited: Hampton, David. Chemistry Laboratory Notebook: Gwinnett Technical College. 2011. Print. C. J. Shepherd, et al. "THE DYNAMIC BEHAVIOUR OF BALLISTIC GELATIN." AIP Conference Proceedings 1195.1 (2009): 1399-1402. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 30 Apr. 2011. "density." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 30 Apr. 2011. "Kinetic-molecular theory of gases." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition (2010): 1. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 30 Apr. 2011. Lide, David R. Handbook of chemistry and physics. 88th. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2007. Print. "liquid." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 30 Apr. 2011. Smith, Wayne P., and Edmund Gale Jewett. An Introduction to the Study of Science: A First Course in Science for High Schools. New York: The Macmillian Company, 1920. 342. Print. "specific gravity." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 30 Apr. 2011. Tro, Nivaldo J. Principles of Chemistry: A Molecular Approach. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc., 2010. Print.