IC1. Mass and Mass Density
Mass is measure of the amount of material. Mass density is a measure of the
amount of material per unit volume.
Letting m represent mass and V represent volume, density, , is defined as
m

V
Data tables are used to collect the results of measurements. Making the data
table before taking the measurements gives you chance to think about the
measurements.
Length and mass data have been collected. Complete the data table.
Description
copper block
steel block
wood block
ice cube
length
(cm)
1 cm
2 cm
3 cm
4 cm
volume
(cm3)
1 cm3
2 cm3
3 cm3
4 cm3
mass (g)
9g
60 g
20 g
63 g
density
(g/cm3)
9 g/cm3
30 g/cm3
6.66 g/cm3
15.75 g/cm3
Sometimes measurements are made of properties for which there are known, or
accepted, values. In science this is rare since scientists are engaged in making
measurements of what we do not know.
When there is a known value then we could define a statistical measure of the
bias, or accuracy, in your measurement, the percent relative error.

 accepted
percent relative error  measured
•100
accepted
Complete this table.
Description
copper block
steel block
wood block
ice cube
true density
(g/cm3)
8.85 g/cm3
7.75 g/cm3
0.80 g/cm3
1.00 g/cm3
measured
density (g/cm3)
9 g/cm3
30 g/cm3
6.66 g/cm3
15.75 g/cm3
% rel error
1.67 %
74.17%
88%
93.66%
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