Name: ______________________________________ Date: ________________ Class: ____
Lab Partner Name: ____________________________________ Lab Due Date: __________
Introduction:
In science, we make use of large numbers and small numbers much of the time. In addition, we often use one set of measurements and a known property (such as density) to indirectly measure other quantities.
In this lab, we are going to measure the thickness of a sheet of aluminum foil. It is very difficult to accurately measure its thickness using a ruler, because the measurement is so small.
Instead, we will use a measured value (are), and one known property (density) to determine a piece of foil thickness.
The volume of a regular solid is found by using the formula.
V = L x W x H
Volume = Length x Width x Height
How will you measure the volume of a piece of aluminum foil? By using a known value such as density, you can find the volume. The density of an object is expressed in the equation:
Density = Mass / Volume
Materials:
5 Rectangular Pieces of Aluminum Foil
Centimeter Ruler
Centigram Electronic Balance

Every number must be followed by its correct unit and use the correct number of significant figures.
Show All Work!
1. Find the volume of a block that has a the following dimensions:
L = 8.20 cm
W = 2.25 cm
H = 1.00 cm
2. If the density of copper is 8.96 g/ cm
3
and the mass of a copper sample is 4.25 g.
What is the volume of this sample?
3. A rectangular piece of copper has a length of 2.50 cm and a width of 0.85 cm, and has a volume of 0.474 cm
3
. What is its thickness?

Hypothesis: How many cm thick do you think a piece of aluminum foil will be?
___________________________________________________________________________
Procedure:
1. Obtain a baggie containing five rectangular pieces of aluminum foil.
Record the length, width, and mass of each piece in the data table below:
Aluminum Foil Piece Length (cm) Width (cm) Mass (grams)
1
2
3
4
5
Calculations:
Calculate the area, thickness, and volume for each aluminum piece and fill the data table below:
Aluminum Foil Piece Area (cm
2
) Thickness (cm) Volume (cm
3
)
1
2
3
4
5

Post Lab Questions:
#1) Compare your thickness values with those of other students. How are they similar?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
#2) How precise are your answers for density between the 5 pieces of Al foil (you may want to look up the word precision in your textbook)?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
#3) If the balance you used only allowed one significant figure, how would this have affected your results for the following and what would your final answer be? SHOW ALL WORK! a) Area:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Show work here: b) Volume:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Show work here:

c) Thickness:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Show work here:
#4) Obtain graph paper and graph volume vs. area and attach to your lab report. a) Calculate the slope of your graph below: b) What are the units for the slope? _____________________ c) What is the thickness of your aluminum foil? Show work below: d)Calculate your percent error, which shows how close you were to the true value of aluminum foil. We’ll use the class average of aluminum foil thickness as our theoretical value.

#5) Could this method be used to determine the thickness of an oil spill? What information would be needed?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
#6) A very thin layer of gold plating was placed on a metal tray that measured 25.22 cm by 13.22 cm. The gold plating increased the mass of the plate by 0.0512 g. Calculate the thickness of the plating. The density of gold is 19.32 g / cm
3
.