Density Lab-Pre Lab
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Partner:
Introduction: Density is the ratio of an object's mass to its volume. Gold has a density of 19, the average
rock has a density of 3, and water has a density of 1 g/mL. 1 g/mL means that 1 mL (or cm 3) of water has
a mass of 1 gram or 1 Liter of water has a mass of 1 kg.
You will be finding the density of a liquid and two solids. The masses will be found on a balance. The
volumes will be calculated from the radius and the height or determined by submerging in water.
Don't forget when reading the graduated cylinder to read the bottom of the meniscus as shown below.
Pre-lab questions:
1. Which is more dense, a marshmallow or hot chocolate?
a) It depends on how much you have
b) The marshmallow because it floats
c) The hot chocolate because it is a liquid
d) The marshmallow because it weighs 25g and the chocolate powder only 17 g
2. Which is denser, water or oil? Why?
3. What is the mass of 3.0 mL of gold?
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Partner:
Density Lab
Procedure: (Liquid) - Place a 10 mL graduated cylinder on the balance and record its mass. Put exactly
10 mL of the unknown liquid into the cylinder and find its mass again. Record your data in your data
chart.
Solid (regular shape) - Use a caliper to measure the height and diameter of the cylinder. Use V=pr2h to
find the volume of the object. Record your data in your data chart.
Solids (irregular shape)- Put approximately 50 mL of water into a 100 mL graduated cylinder and record
the exact amount in your data table. Gently place the object into the cylinder and record the new
volume. Place the object on the balance and record its mass in your data table.
Data:
Liquid:
Mass of empty cylinder
___________ g
Mass of cylinder and unknown liquid
___________ g
Mass of liquid
___________ g
Solid (regular shape):
Cylinder height
___________ cm
Cylinder diameter
___________ cm
Cylinder radius
___________ cm
Cylinder volume
___________ cm3
Cylinder mass
___________ g
Solid (irregular shape):
Original volume
___________ mL
Volume w/ object
___________ mL
Volume of object
___________ mL
Mass of object
___________ g
Calculations:
1. Calculate the density of the liquid. Show your work.
2. Calculate the volume and the density of the metal cylinder. Show your work
3. Calculate the volume and the density of the irregular object.
Post-Lab Questions:
1. What would be the mass of 100cm3 of the metal that the cylinder is made of?
2. Find a chart of the densities of common metals and figure out what metal it is.
3. If oil has a density of .88 g/cm3, would it float on the liquid used in this lab? Why or why not?
4. Since a balance is much more accurate than a graduated cylinder, densities are found differently
when an accurate answer is needed. A cylinder full of water is put on the balance and then the object is
put in, allowing some of the liquid to spill out. Then the cylinder, object, and water (minus the spill-over)
are weighed. The volume of the object is then calculated accurately. Use the following data to find the
density of the unknown. Assume that the density of water is 1.000 g/cm3.
Mass of cylinder full of water 201.051 grams
Mass of object 15.211 grams
Mass of object, cylinder and water (minus spill-over) 212.219 grams
Density of object (be sure to use the correct # of decimal, units and show your work) __________