Experiment no.

1
Determination of Density

Density is an intrinsic property of matter- the density of one glass of water or 2 gallons of water
at 4⁰C is equal to 1g/ml. It can be used to assess the purity or determine the identity of an unknown
material. It is computed by dividing the mass of the substance by its volume (D=m/v). For solid the
density is usually expressed in g/cm3 while g/ml and g/L for liquid and gas respectively.

This experiment will demonstrate on how to determine the densities of some regular and
irregular shaped solids including some unknown liquids.

Three regular shaped solids will be given; a cube, a rectangular solid, and a spherical object. The
mass of each object will be determined using a triple beam balance, while the volume will be obtained
by measuring the dimensions of the given material and by employing the formula; v=s3, v= LxWxH, and
v=(4πr3)/3 for a cube, rectangular solid and spherical object respectively.

Water displacement method is used to obtain the volume of an irregular shaped solid. This can
be done by placing a certain amount of water inside a graduated cylinder then the irregular shaped solid
is submerged to it. The volume of the rise in the water level minus the initial volume of the water in the
cylinder will be equal to the volume of the irregular shaped solid.

Procedure:
Cube

1. Weigh the cube using triple beam balance, and then record the weight.
2. Measure the side of the cube using a ruler in cm and determine the volume using the formula v=s3
3. Compute the density

Rectangular solid

1. Weigh the object using a triple beam balance. Record the weight
2. Measure the length the width and the thickness of the object in cm using a ruler and compute the
volume (V=LxWxH)
3. Determine the density

Spherical object (marble)

1. Weigh an empty watch glass using a triple beam balance then record the weight.
2. Place the marble in the watch glass then record the weight. The weight of the marble with the watch
glass minus the weight of the empty watch glass will be the weight of the marble.
3. Obtain the circumference of the marble using a string then measure the length using a ruler.
Determine the radius by dividing the circumference with 2π, (radius=C/2π). Use the formula v=(4πr3)/3
to obtain the volume of the marble.
4. Determine the density
Irregular shaped solid (a key)

1. Measure the mass of the key using a triple beam balance.

2. Place 40 ml of water inside a 100 ml graduated cylinder.
3. Submerge the key and record the final volume
4. Subtract the final volume from the initial volume of water in the cylinder; this is equivalent to the
volume of the key.
5. Determine the density.

Density of water

1. Measure the mass of an empty 100 ml graduated cylinder using a triple beam balance.
2. Place 50 ml of water and weigh. The weight of the graduated cylinder with water minus the weight of
the empty cylinder will be the weight of the water.
3. Compute the density.

Density of unknown liquid

1. Measure the mass of an empty 10 ml graduated cylinder using a triple beam balance.
2. Place 5 ml of an unknown liquid and weigh. The weight of the graduated cylinder with the liquid
minus the weight of the empty cylinder will be the weight of the unknown liquid.
3. Compute the density.
 Data Sheet
Cube Rectangular solid

Mass :_______________g Mass :_______________g

Length of the side :_______________cm Length:____cm, width:______cm, height:_____cm

Volume :_______________cm3 Volume:______________cm3

Density :_______________g/cm3 Density:______________g/cm3

Marble

Mass of the empty watch glass g

Mass of the watch glass with marble g
Mass of the marble g
Circumference of the marble cm
Radius of the marble cm
Volume of the marble cm3
Density g/cm3

Water Unknown liquid

Mass of empty graduated cylinder:__________g Mass of empty graduated cylinder:___________g

Mass of empty graduated cylinder Mass of empty graduated cylinder
plus water :__________g plus water :___________g

Mass of water :__________g Mass of water :__________g

Volume of water :__________ml Volume of water :__________ml

Density :_________g/ml Density :_________g/ml